Gift Planning
Designate and Donate—Bank Accounts
Designate and Donate—Bank Accounts
Learn More About Planned Gifts with Mass Audubon
If you’re interested in supporting Mass Audubon through a charitable gift and want to get started with facts, benefits, and next steps, we’re ready to help. These downloadable resources outline the process of supporting the nature of Massachusetts through a variety of planned gift options. We look forward to hearing from you!
Ask the bank for a Payable on Death (P.O.D.) form. After your passing, what remains in the checking or savings account will be transferred to Mass Audubon.
How It Works
- Contact your bank to complete or update your P.O.D. form for your checking, savings accounts, and jointly-held accounts.
- Designate Mass Audubon (Tax ID #04-2104702) to receive the remaining account balance after your passing.
Benefits
- You maintain control and use of the account balance during your lifetime.
- Your assets bypass probate court, simplifying the estate process for your heirs.
- You can modify your gift to address changing circumstances.
- You can direct your gift to a particular purpose (be sure to check with us to make sure your gift can be used as intended).
- Receive a charitable deduction, which will reduce any estate or inheritance taxes.
- Mass Audubon receives the balance of the accounts to use according to your wishes.
- A POD is simpler to create and maintain than a trust or will.
Checking and Savings Accounts: A Gift You Can Make
When you opened your checking and savings account, you signed paperwork describing how the bank account will work. Do you remember what will happen to the bank accounts after you pass away? The P.O.D. form tells the bank who will receive the funds remaining in the bank account when the account owner passes away. Your loved ones and/or Mass Audubon may be listed on the P.O.D. form. This is a meaningful way to begin your charitable legacy. It also keeps your bank accounts from becoming part of your estate, which may have to be administered by the probate system in your state.
Jointly Held Accounts
You may be a joint owner of the account or you may have made a loved one a joint owner. The joint owner may make deposits and withdrawals during your lifetime. The joint owner may also have "rights of survivorship," meaning that he/she will automatically inherit the account when you pass away. Even if you have a joint account, you should complete the P.O.D. form to assure that the bank knows what to do with the remaining assets when both account holders have passed away. This step will also assure that the account may not become part of a time consuming and costly probate process.