A beneficiary designation gift is a simple and affordable way to make a gift to support the University of Miami. You can designate us as a beneficiary of a retirement, investment or bank account or of your life insurance policy.
If you are interested in making a gift but are also concerned about your future needs, keep in mind that beneficiary designation gifts are among the most flexible of all charitable gifts. Even after you complete the beneficiary designation form, you can take distributions or withdrawals from your retirement, investment or bank account and continue to freely use your account. You can also change your beneficiary designation(s) at any time in the future for any reason, including if you have a loved one who needs your financial help.
If you have any questions about leaving a beneficiary designation gift to us, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you.
If you have already designated us as a beneficiary of an asset or as part of your estate plan, please let us know. We would like to thank and recognize you for your gift.
Flexibility—Most beneficiary designation forms are very flexible. You can name the University of Miami as a "full" or "partial" beneficiary of your account or life insurance policy. You can also name the University of Miami as a "primary" or "contingent" beneficiary.
Family Considerations—Beneficiary designation gifts allow you to provide for family and support the causes that matter most to you. With a designation form you could, for example, name your spouse as the "primary" beneficiary and each of your children and the University of Miami as "partial contingent" beneficiaries. With this arrangement, if your spouse survives you, he or she would receive the account. If not, the account or policy would be paid out to your children and the University of Miami in whatever shares (or percentages) that you chose on the designation form.
Terminology—Beneficiary designation gifts are simple and straightforward. Common terminology includes "beneficiary designation" but also includes "payable on death" or "transfer on death." The term "beneficiary designation" is most commonly used when naming beneficiaries of retirement plans or life insurance policies. The term payable on death (or "POD") typically involves the designation of a beneficiary of a checking account, savings account or certificates of deposit, and transfer on death (or "TOD") often involves the designation of a beneficiary of stocks, bonds or mutual funds.
Additional Materials
To download a brochure and learn more about Beneficiary Designation gifts, click here.
To download a brochure and learn more about TOD gifts, click here.
To download a brochure and learn more about POD gifts, click here.
Beneficiary Designations and Real Estate—Some states even allow "beneficiary designation deeds" or "transfer on death deeds," which would allow you to name the University of Miami as the survivor beneficiary of your home, farm or other real estate. As with other beneficiary designation gifts, these gifts are revocable by filing a revocation or new beneficiary designation deed.
