Lesson From Fisk, Season 2: Get The Name Correct

Lesson From Fisk, Season 2: Get The Name Correct

September 2, 2024

By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi

Episode 5 in Season Two of the Australian comedy Fisk takes the viewer on a tour of the probate landscape when a will mentions a nonprofit that no longer exists.  The show opens with Helen attempting to find the Australian Cat Welfare League.  Through a conference call with an American nonprofit of a similar name, she learns that in the 1970s the American nonprofit forced an Australian nonprofit with the same name to change its name.  However, a recently deceased client who did a will in early 1972 named the Australian nonprofit prior to the name change.  Now Helen has to sort out where to direct the $10 million dollar bequest.  Quirky adventures follow, but in the end (spoiler alert) she is able to deliver a huge check to support Australian cats in need.  Maybe it is my fondness for cats (we have four of them in our family home) or my interest in everyday people including nonprofits in their wills, but this was by far one of my favorite episodes.

My take-away here is two-fold.  One, you do not need to have $10 million before including a nonprofit in your will or estate plan.  Anyone, and I mean anyone can, with a bit of thought and plan, be philanthropic at death.  In 2013 I released a small book (Middle Class Philanthropist: How Anyone Can Leave a Legacy) meant to inspire this very type of bequest.  And two, if you are going to name a nonprofit be certain you have the full legal name as well as the phrase "or its legal successor organization" or something of that nature.  That way, when a nonprofit modifies its names (and they all seem to) the bequest will follow and avoid costly litigation on what you meant for the bequest.

Remember, a blog is meant to spark thought and discussion.  It is not legal advice.  Please speak with an attorney licensed in your home state for counsel specific to your situation.  Thank you for reading.  Click the Follow button in the upper right hand corner to receive future posts in your email in-box.