Name the Library in Your Will or Living Trust

We are pleased to offer a new service to our supporters: access to Giving Docs, an independent, third-party online estate planning  tool that allows you to create or update your will free of charge during your lifetime. Giving Docs is simple, secure and free. Please visit Givingdocs.com/nypl and start planning your legacy.

You can arrange a bequest  in your will or living trust and  ensure that the Library provides  our patrons with free and open access to  the educational materials and resources  they need to improve their lives for themselves and for their families. There are different types of bequests: 

• Specific Bequest: A specific bequest is a gift of a particular dollar amount or property. For example: I bequeath (dollar amount or description of personal property) to The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations.
   
• Residuary Bequest: A residuary bequest is a gift of all or part of the property remaining in your estate after debts, expenses and specific bequests have been paid.  You control what percentage of your estate is given to an individual or charity. This method automatically adjusts the size of your bequest according to the value of your estate. In the event of unexpected changes in the size of your estate value, you can have peace of mind that your intentions will be fulfilled without the estate running out of assets to distribute. For example: I bequeath (___%) of the rest, residue and remainder of my property, both real and personal,  to The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations.
   
• Contingent Bequest: A contingent bequest is a gift which takes effect only if the primary beneficiary or beneficiaries of the bequest should predecease you. For example: If neither my spouse nor any descendant of mine survives me, then I give, bequeath and devise all the rest, residue and  remainder of (property or account) to The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. 

Information for the Attorney Drafting your Bequest

The full legal name of the Library is: The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. The Library’s legal address is 476 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10018; the Library’s Federal Tax Identification Number (TIN) is 13-1887440.