Join the CBF Legacy of Justice Society, our way of recognizing those who have generously included The Chicago Bar Foundation in their estate plans. View the CBF Legacy of Justice Society brochure.
Your gift will help sustain the CBF’s efforts to make our community a fairer and better place for everyone by helping to ensure people in need have access to justice. Including the CBF in your estate plan can help you give back to the profession and leave a unique and lasting legacy. The CBF Legacy of Justice Society is a great place to pursue your philanthropic goals or create a memorial for a loved one while helping to make important systemic improvements in access to justice possible.
Making a Gift by Bequest
Retain control of your assets during your lifetime and leave a living tribute that will help provide critical legal assistance to low-income and disadvantaged families and individuals in our community. A bequest to The Chicago Bar Foundation may be the most meaningful gift you’ll ever give and countless people will benefit. Through a bequest to the CBF, you can perpetuate your values and help shape the future of our community’s justice system. In fact, bequests can also help to reduce the size of your taxable estate while helping advance the work of the CBF.
Two of the most common forms of a bequest:
Outright Bequests
An outright bequest is the simplest method of making a testamentary gift to the CBF. An outright bequest is a gift by will of a specific sum of money. The following language can be used in a will to make an outright bequest:
"I hereby bequeath to The Chicago Bar Foundation, 321 S. Plymouth Court, Chicago, IL 60604, the sum of $____________."
Residuary Bequests
Some people would like to make a bequest to the CBF but are not sure of the amount that will be available. Others want to make sure that specific bequests or estate expenses are paid first. In these cases, a residuary bequest is the best idea. A residuary bequest provides the CBF with a percentage or all of the remainder of a donor's estate after specific bequests, debts, taxes, and estate expenses have been paid. A residuary bequest to the CBF can be made in a will by incorporating the following language:
"I hereby bequeath all (or _____percent) of my residuary estate to The Chicago Bar Foundation, 321 S. Plymouth Court, Chicago, IL 60604."
For information on additional types of bequests and other opportunities for making a planned or major gift to the CBF, or to set up an appointment to discuss such a gift, contact David Gee at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or (312) 554-1209.
The CBF respects the privacy of all of our donors and will not sell or share your personal information under any circumstances. View the CBF Privacy Policy.
