Legal Information for Your Legacy Gift to Our Place

If you would like to leave a legacy of care and compassion by including Our Place in your estate plans, please accept our heartfelt thanks.  Included here is information you and your legal advisor will need.

• Our legal name: Our Place Society
• Our charitable registration number: 82709 8344 RR0001
• Our society’s official address: 919 Pandora Ave, Victoria, BC  V8V 3P4

Charitable Status and Financial Health

You can confirm our charitable status on Canada Revenue Agency’s website. For your convenience, here is a link to our listing. As you can see, your support will go to a charity in good standing.

Currently, our cost of fundraising is approximately 11 cents per every dollar raised. This is outstandingly low for a small, local charity, and it means you can contribute secure in the knowledge that your support will be well managed and will efficiently help the cause itself.

Will Clauses

Bequests come in all shapes and sizes and are as unique as the individuals who establish them. Therefore, the language describing your gift will depend on the type of bequest you wish to create. Your legal advisor will draft the wording, but here are examples:

• For a pecuniary bequest (a gift of a specific amount of money) to Our Place, we recommend that you use the following clause:

“I give to Our Place Society the sum of $__________ to be used for the general purposes of Our Place at the discretion of its directors.”

• To leave a residual bequest (a % of your estate), the suggested clause can be adapted this way:

“I give to Our Place Society _____% of the rest, residue, and remainder of my estate to be used for the general purposes of Our Place at the discretion of its directors.” 

• If you would like to give Our Place a bequest of property (such as real estate, stocks, bonds, jewellery, or works of art), the clause can be customized accordingly:

“I give Our Place Society (insert a description of the specific piece of property) to be used for the general purposes of Our Place at the discretion of its directors.” 

Please note that gifts of property will be subject to Our Place Society’s Terms of Gift Acceptance Policy. If we receive the property but cannot use it to aid in Our Place operations, we will sell it and use the proceeds (less any appraisal or selling costs) according to the terms of your bequest. As with all our donations, they are used in the most cost-effective way to generate the greatest positive impact for those we serve.

Electronic Wills

Making your will is now easier than ever. As of December 2021, British Columbia became the first province in Canada to legalize electronic (digital) wills. This means that Canadians who reside in British Columbia can now draft and sign a will without recourse to a paper copy or witnesses who are physically present at signing — witnessing can be done remotely.

Note that an electronic will must be recorded or stored electronically, be readable by a person, and be capable of reproduction in a visible form. While all formats of electronic wills are acceptable, people are strongly encouraged to save their freshly made wills in PDF format to make the probate process as easy as possible for their executor.

To learn more about this legislation, visit the Province of British Columbia website here.

Codicils

A codicil is a separate, witnessed, legal document that modifies or amends your current hardcopy will (If you have an electronic will, the only way you can change it is by making a new will). You should consider updating your will whenever your circumstances or wishes change. Consult your legal advisor to determine what’s right for you.

Contact

If you or your legal advisor have any questions or comments regarding a legacy gift, please contact Diana Gallivan at 250-940-5063 or legacy@ourplacesociety.com.