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A donor wanted to make a charitable gift at death. We suggested an irrevocable pledge payable on death. Then, a question arose that was never before asked of us: “Can a donor make an irrevocable charitable bequest by a contract to make a will?”
To the law books (computers) we went. We found nothing specifically on contracts to make charitable gifts by will but a plethora1 of cases on the topic. We have more than charitable gifts on our minds, so the following takes a broad look at estate plans involving contracts to make a will.
Enforceability and Use
State law governs whether a contract to make a will is enforceable. Unlike charitable pledges, those contracts are enforceable only if all the elements of a contract (offer, acceptance and con...
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