Estate Planning for Conservation

Making a Planned Gift is one of the best ways to meet your family’s philanthropic and estate-planning goals, while creating a personal conservation legacy. Planned gifts go a long way toward providing GWLT with the resources to plan for the future of our communities’ natural areas and farm lands, forever.

There are many ways to provide a planned gift:

• Giving a bequest through your will or living trust, you can set aside a specific amount, a percentage of your total estate, or a share of the remainder after your gift to your heirs.
• Naming the Greater Worcester Land Trust as a beneficiary in your life insurance policy or retirement plan
• Contributing stocks or other appreciated securities

Your thoughtful planning will create a legacy of conservation for your family and for future generations to enjoy.

Download our brochure (.pdf)
Masswoods.org Estate Planning Resources & Information
Masswoods.org Online Legacy Planning Tool

For more information about GWLT’s planned giving program, please contact Executive Director Colin Novick at the Trust by phone 508-795-3838, or by email [email protected]

Before making a gift or bequest, you should consult with your attorney or financial adviser.

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Suggested Forms of Bequests
When making or revising a will, a donor should obtain the assistance of an attorney.  Members of the Greater Worcester Land Trust Development Team will be pleased to work with you and your attorney to design an estate plan specifically tailored to your wishes.  The following are suggested forms for making various types of bequests:
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1. Outright Bequest in Will
   1. Specific dollar amount
      “I bequeath the sum of $____ to Greater Worcester Land Trust, a Massachusetts non-profit corporation having a principal place of business in Worcester, Massachusetts, for its use without restriction.
   2. Specific property (personal property)
      “I bequeath (describe the property) to Greater Worcester Land Trust, a Massachusetts non-profit corporation having a principal place of business in Worcester, Massachusetts, for its use without restriction.
   3. Specific property (real estate)
      “I devise all of my right, title, and interest in and to real estate located at (give address and describe property) to Greater Worcester Land Trust, a Massachusetts non-profit corporation having a principal place of business in Worcester, Massachusetts, to be used or disposed of without restriction.
   4. Share of entire residue of estate
      “I devise and bequeath (all) (____percent) of the remainder of my property to Greater Worcester Land Trust, a Massachusetts non-profit corporation having a principal place of business in Worcester, Massachusetts, to be used or disposed of without restriction.
2. Conditional Bequest in Will
   Insert the conditional language in one more of the above provisions.  For example:
   “If my husband (wife) does not survive me, I bequeath the sum of $_____ to Greater Worcester Land Trust, a Massachusetts non-profit corporation having a principal place of business in Worcester, Massachusetts, for its use without restriction.
3. Restricted Use
   If the gift to Greater Worcester Land Trust is for a purpose other than the Land Trust’s unrestricted use, insert the restriction in place of the words “for its use without restriction.”  In the event of a gift subject to a restriction, we suggest including one of the following provisions:
   1. “I bequeath the sum of $____ to Greater Worcester Land Trust, a Massachusetts non-profit corporation having a principal place of business in Worcester, Massachusetts, for the following use: ______________________________________________.”[“If in the judgement of Greater Worcester Land Trust it becomes, or is likely to become, impossible or impractical to accomplish the purposes of this gift, the income or principal, or both, may be used for such related purposes and in such manner as determined by Greater Worcester Land Trust.]
   2. “I bequeath the sum of $_______ to Greater Worcester Land Trust, a Massachusetts non-profit corporation having a principal place of business in Worcester, Massachusetts. I hope Greater Worcester Land Trust will use this gift for: ___________________________, but I impose no legal or equitable obligation in this regard.”