Revocable & Irrevocable

Deferred gifts will be received by St. Lawrence at some point in the future, usually when the donor's estate is settled. Two terms often heard in conjunction with deferred giving are "revocable" and "irrevocable."

If your gift intention is "revocable," you have reserved the right to change your mind about the gift at any time. A bequest intention is a good example of a revocable gift. You may increase or decrease the amount of a bequest at any time, or you may change, add or delete charities from your will or living trust whenever you wish.

An "irrevocable" gift cannot be taken back once it has been planned. Funding a St. Lawrence charitable gift annuity is irrevocable; it is a gift plan that cannot be changed once it has been created.

We are fortunate that our government encourages philanthropy by offering income tax charitable deductions for our gifts. You can imagine, however, the problems that could arise by claiming a deduction for a revocable gift, so you can see why revocable gifts offer no income tax deduction, while irrevocable gifts will generally yield some level of income tax deduction.