How to Include Multiple Charities in Your Estate Plan: A Success Story
Executive Summary / Key Results
Sarah Miller, a retired teacher from Portland, Oregon, successfully included five different nonprofit organizations in her estate plan using our free online platform. Within six months of completing her will, she established a clear charitable legacy that will distribute approximately $450,000 across causes she cared about deeply. The process took her just 2.5 hours online, saved her an estimated $1,200 in legal fees, and provided peace of mind knowing her charitable intentions were documented legally and securely.
Background / Challenge
Sarah had spent 35 years teaching middle school science and had developed strong connections to several community organizations. She volunteered regularly at the local food bank, supported her alma mater's scholarship fund, contributed to cancer research after losing her sister to the disease, and was passionate about environmental conservation and animal welfare. As she approached retirement, she wanted to ensure these causes would continue to benefit from her support after she was gone.
Her challenge was threefold: First, she didn't know how to legally include multiple charities in her estate plan without creating complex, expensive legal documents. Second, she was concerned about the costs—traditional estate planning attorneys quoted her between $1,500 and $3,000 for a will with charitable provisions. Third, she worried about keeping her plan flexible enough to adjust percentages if her circumstances or charitable priorities changed over time.
Like many people considering charitable estate planning, Sarah felt overwhelmed by the technical language and complex options. She had put off creating a will for years because the process seemed daunting and expensive, despite knowing how important it was to have her wishes documented.
Solution / Approach
Sarah discovered our platform through a partnership with one of the nonprofits she supported. She was initially skeptical that free estate planning tools could handle her specific needs, but the guided online process quickly addressed her concerns.
Our approach focused on making charitable estate planning accessible and straightforward:
- Guided charitable selection: The platform helped Sarah identify and verify legitimate nonprofit organizations
- Percentage-based distribution: She could allocate specific percentages of her estate to each charity
- Flexible updating: She could modify her charitable allocations anytime without legal fees
- Educational resources: Clear explanations of terms like "residuary estate" and "specific bequests"
What made our solution particularly effective for Sarah was the ability to create what estate planners call a "charitable remainder trust" structure within a simple will format. This allowed her to specify that after providing for her family, the remainder of her estate would be split among her chosen charities according to percentages she controlled.
Implementation
Sarah's implementation process followed these clear steps:
Week 1: Research and Decision Making Sarah spent time reviewing our educational content about charitable estate planning, particularly our guide on how to choose charities for your estate plan. She made a list of the five organizations she wanted to include and gathered their legal names and tax identification numbers.
Week 2: Document Creation Using our online will builder, Sarah worked through the intuitive questionnaire. The charitable giving section allowed her to:
- Add multiple charities with percentage allocations
- Specify whether gifts were from the residuary estate or specific assets
- Include alternate charities in case any organization ceased to exist
- Add personal messages to accompany her gifts
Week 3: Review and Finalization Sarah reviewed her completed will, which clearly outlined her charitable intentions:
| Charity | Percentage | Estimated Value | Purpose Specified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portland Food Bank | 25% | ~$112,500 | General operations |
| University Scholarship Fund | 20% | ~$90,000 | Science scholarships |
| Cancer Research Institute | 25% | ~$112,500 | Breast cancer research |
| Nature Conservancy | 15% | ~$67,500 | Local land preservation |
| Animal Rescue League | 15% | ~$67,500 | Medical care for rescued animals |
She appreciated that the document used clear language rather than confusing legal jargon. After discussing her plan with her financial advisor (who confirmed its validity), Sarah printed and signed her will with two witnesses, following our state-specific instructions.
Mini-Case: The Johnson Family Legacy Another user, Michael Johnson, used our platform to create a family charitable legacy. He allocated 40% of his estate to be divided equally among four charities his family had supported for generations. His children were named as successor advisors who could recommend changes to the charitable allocations every ten years, creating a living legacy that could adapt to future needs and causes.
Results with Specific Metrics
Sarah's experience demonstrates the tangible benefits of using our platform for multi-charity estate planning:
Time and Cost Savings
- Time investment: 2.5 hours total (compared to 6-8 hours for traditional attorney meetings)
- Cost savings: $1,200 saved on legal fees
- Ongoing flexibility: $0 cost for future updates to charitable allocations
Charitable Impact
- Number of charities included: 5 distinct organizations
- Total charitable allocation: 100% of residuary estate (~$450,000 estimated value)
- Geographic reach: Local, national, and international causes supported
User Experience Metrics
- Satisfaction score: 9.8/10 post-completion survey
- Confidence in plan: 95% reported "high confidence" in their charitable provisions
- Recommendation likelihood: 98% would recommend to others
Six months after completing her estate plan, Sarah reported: "I sleep better at night knowing I've taken care of this. The platform made what seemed complicated actually simple. I love that I can update my charitable percentages anytime if I want to support a new cause or adjust my allocations."
The nonprofits Sarah included have also benefited. The Portland Food Bank's development director noted: "When supporters like Sarah include us in their estate plans, it provides sustainable funding that helps us plan long-term programs. These gifts often become the most significant contributions we receive."
Key Takeaways
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Multiple charities can be included easily in a single estate plan using percentage-based allocations. This approach is simpler than many people assume and doesn't require complex trust structures for most situations.
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Free tools can provide professional-quality results when they're designed with proper legal frameworks and state-specific requirements. Sarah's will meets all Oregon legal standards for charitable bequests.
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Regular reviews matter. Estate plans with charitable components should be reviewed every 3-5 years or after major life events. Our platform makes updates simple and free.
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Communication is valuable. While not required, consider informing charities about your plans. Some organizations offer recognition programs for planned giving donors.
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Professional consultation still has its place. For estates over certain thresholds or with complex assets, consulting with a financial advisor or attorney is wise. Our platform complements rather than replaces professional advice when needed.
For those considering similar planning, we recommend starting with our guide on splitting your estate between charities, which provides practical templates and considerations for allocation decisions.
About Our Platform
We're a free online platform providing estate planning tools to help individuals create legally valid wills, trusts, and other documents. Partnering with nonprofit organizations across the country, we've helped over 500,000 people create estate plans that include charitable giving. Our mission is to make estate planning accessible to everyone while facilitating meaningful charitable impact.
Our platform is particularly valuable for:
- Individuals seeking affordable, clear estate planning solutions
- Nonprofits looking to secure planned gifts from their supporters
- Professionals (financial advisors, attorneys) who recommend tools to clients seeking basic estate planning
All documents are created with privacy and security as priorities, and our partnership model ensures that while our tools are free to users, we can sustain our services through nonprofit collaborations rather than user fees.
Whether you're supporting one cause or ten, including charities in your estate plan is one of the most meaningful ways to create a lasting legacy. Like Sarah discovered, the process can be straightforward, affordable, and deeply satisfying—knowing your values will continue to make a difference for generations to come.
