Learn how you can support our cause, benefit yourself and your loved ones with a planned or major gift. Discover how you can take advantage of tax and financial benefits while creating your personal legacy.
As promised in December of 2025, the fifth part of my five-part series on gift planning is a little more about bequest gifts. Let's start by defining this very legal sounding word: bequest. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary the word bequest means "the act of giving or leaving something by will."
A bequest allows you to continue to use the property you leave to Indiana State University during your life and make lasting impact on our work after you are gone. The benefits of a bequest include:
• Reduce the burden of taxes on your family
• Receive an estate tax charitable deduction
• Reduce the burden of taxes on your family
• Leaving a lasting legacy to Indiana State University
Another great benefit of a bequest is that it's one of the easiest gifts to make. When you are working with an attorney, you can have language in your will or trust specifying gifts to be made to family, friends, or Indiana State University as part of your overall estate plan, or you can make a bequest using a beneficiary designation form (this is even easier than a will or trust).
If you have any questions about charitable giving, would like more information, or to see an illustration on how a particular gift may impact you, please contact me. We would be pleased to send you a FREE Estate Planning Guide to assist you as you make your estate plans.
Go Sycamores,
Brady
Brady Hansel
Director of Planned Giving
Division of University Advancement
Indiana State University
Office: 812.237.6139
Email: [email protected]
Do you need to make plans for the future, but don't know where to start? We can help with an easy-to-use tool. Our Wills Guide is a fill-in-the-blank booklet that can help you organize all of the information an estate planning attorney will need to create your will or trust plan. We are offering this guide as our gift to you because we believe it will help you create a successful and satisfying future. To request your free copy, please call or email us. You can also visit our website and fill out the information to request the Wills Guide.
Personal Planner
Family Business Bailouts Joe and June started Children's Clothing Company 30 years ago. They are now both age 65 and are interested in retiring. Their daughter Susan is currently the company president and their son Michael is the vice president of marketing.
Savvy Living
I Have a Will — Do I Also Need a Trust? My spouse and I were recently talking about updating our will and wondered if we should also set up a trust. How do we know if we need one?
Washington News
Free File Still Available for Non-Filers On June 2, 2026, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that taxpayers who missed the April 15 tax filing deadline may still use the IRS Free File program.
Thank you for your interest in supporting Indiana State University through planned giving. To access any of our resources, please go to our website.
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FREE ESTATE PLANNING GUIDE
It's never too late to plan for the people and causes you care about. Our easy-to-use estate planning guide can help you gather the information you need before meeting with your attorney.
Use our online calculator to view the tax and income benefits of making a gift to support our cause. This can help you determine the best plan to meet your needs and goals.
Do you need to make plans for the future, but don't know where to start? We can help with an easy-to-use tool. Our Wills Guide is a fill-in-the-blank booklet that can help you organize all of the information an estate planning attorney will need to create your will or trust plan. We are offering this guide as our gift to you because we believe it will help you create a successful and satisfying future. To request your free copy, please call or email us. You can also visit our website and fill out the information to request the 
