Through your will, you can leave the entirety or a part of your assets to the Catholic Church of Montreal. This may include bank accounts, investments in stocks and bonds, guaranteed investment certificates, land or buildings, a residual sum from your pension plan or a life insurance benefit upon your death.

After ensuring that your family and loved ones are provided for, making a bequest to the Catholic Church of Montreal is a way to reflect and promote your values while leaving a significant and lasting contribution to your diocesan Church.

A testamentary gift can take one of several forms:

• Specific bequest: designates the Catholic Church of Montreal as the beneficiary of a specific amount of funds or a specific property.
   
• Residual bequest: designates the Catholic Church of Montreal as the beneficiary of the remainder of the estate, in whole or in part, following the payment of debts and the distribution of specific bequests.
   
• Universal bequest: designates the Catholic Church of Montreal as sole beneficiary or joint beneficiary with others of the entirety of the property left at death.
   
• Contingent bequest: designates the Catholic Church of Montreal contingent beneficiary in the event of the predeath of the primary beneficiary.

Recommended type of will:

A notarial will is recommended. This is a document drawn up by a notary and containing your instructions for any actions to be taken after your death.

If you wish to make a bequest to the Catholic Church of Montreal, please do so in the name of:

 CORPORATION ARCHIÉPISCOPALE CATHOLIQUE ROMAINE DE MONTRÉAL

For examples of bequest clauses in a will, click here

For further information, please contact Jeanne Folly at jfolly@diocesemontreal.org or at 514 925-4300, ext. 217.

There are a number of ways to plan a gift to the Catholic Church of Montreal through life insurance. The following solutions allow you to make a significant gift now or upon your death:

• Assigning an existing life insurance policy
  
  If you no longer require the protection provided under your life insurance policy, you may assign it to the Catholic Church of Montreal while continuing to pay the premiums, if any. In order to enjoy the tax savings immediately, you may designate the organization as beneficiary and owner of your policy. You will receive a tax receipt for the fair market value of your policy, if applicable, as well as a receipt each time you pay another premium.
  
  Since the donation is made during your lifetime, there is no tax advantage for your estate. However, if you anticipate that your estate will attract a heavy tax burden, it would be more advantageous for you simply to designate the Catholic Church of Montreal as the beneficiary of your policy, in whole or in part, while remaining the policy owner. In that way, the donation is effected at death and produces tax savings when the estate is settled. In this case, you will not receive tax receipts for premiums paid during your lifetime.
   
• Purchasing a new policy
  
  It is possible to make a significant donation even if your current resources are limited. You can purchase a life insurance policy and then assign it to the Catholic Church of Montreal. In that case, it is always preferable to distribute the payment of premiums over a limited period of time: for example over three, five, seven or ten years. A receipt of donation is issued to you reflecting the amount of the premium each time it is paid.
   
• Designating the Catholic Church of Montreal as beneficiary of the death benefit
  
  The Catholic Church of Montreal may be designated as beneficiary in whole or in part of a life insurance policy. The Church can also become third or fourth beneficiary. This is a way of protecting the death benefit, in the event that the first beneficiary of the policy should predecease the policy owner. This death benefit will be used to support a charitable work designated by the donor.

For further information, please contact Jeanne Folly at jfolly@diocesemontreal.org or at 514 925-4300, ext. 217.

The donation of a retirement savings plan, either a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) or a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF), can be directed to the Catholic Church of Montreal upon your death. This type of donation allows you to have a considerable impact on the Church’s Mission. Assuming the entire balance of the contribution is withdrawn for this purpose, the resulting tax credit can be applied to offsetting the amount of tax attracted by the withdrawal.
In the event that your spouse does not survive you, and that you either have no dependents or, if you do, you have already made provision for them, the unused retirement funds can constitute a very significant charitable donation, as the tax credit will offset the tax that would otherwise be payable upon the transfer or distribution of the funds.

If you would like to make a retirement savings plan donation to the Catholic Church of Montreal, please do so in the name of:

 CORPORATION ARCHIÉPISCOPALE CATHOLIQUE ROMAINE DE MONTRÉAL

For further information, please contact Jeanne Folly at jfolly@diocesemontreal.org or at 514 925-4300, ext. 217.

A donation of publicly-traded shares or securities such as bonds, mutual fund units or stock options allows the donor to support the Mission of the Catholic Church of Montreal while maintaining his or her cash flow.

This type of donation becomes particularly advantageous when the securities are transferred directly to the Catholic Church of Montreal, since the donor in this case, subject to application of the alternative minimum tax, pays no tax on the deemed capital gain, thus reducing the costs associated with the donation.

To make a gift of stock, simply complete the electronic transfer form and forward one copy to your broker and another to the Catholic Church of Montreal.

For further information, please contact Jeanne Folly at jfolly@diocesemontreal.org or at 514 925-4300, ext. 217.