The American Clock & Watch Museum celebrates the innovation and artistry of the clock and watch industries
through unique collections that engage, educate and enrich its community.

American Clock & Watch Museum

Subtitle


Leaving a Legacy for All Time

The Importance of Leaving a Legacy

Many generous people have included the American Clock & Watch Museum in their estate plans. Their planning and generosity is helping to sustain the museum and ensure our collections and programs will be shared with generations to come.


Your legacy gift will benefit the American Clock & Watch Museum in any number of ways. You may leave a general gift or a specific one. A specific gift may be directed to support the Museum’s endowment, or to the ongoing support of buildings and grounds, and/or artifacts and preservation.


Ways to Leave a Legacy

IRA: You may designate the American Clock & Watch Museum as a beneficiary of your IRA or retirement plan. An IRA can be a wise asset to use for a charitable bequest, as individual heirs may be heavily taxed on distributions received by inheritance.

During your lifetime, you may use Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) to fund a life-income gift. The distribution will be a taxable event, but you will be entitled to a charitable tax deduction if you itemize.

While outright gifts cannot be used to fund a life-income gift, the IRA Charitable Rollover legislation is now permanent: the donor must be age 70½ or older, giving a gift of $100,000 or less, and counting toward RMD. The gift must be transferred from an IRA directly to the charity. There is no deduction, but the distribution is tax-free

Wills and Bequests provide a simple way to make a timeless gift that continues after your lifetime. Without a will or other provision, state law determines how your assets will be distributed after your death; this may not align with your wishes. Your will includes your bequests or designations to your beneficiaries, whether heirs or charities. A bequest may be a specific dollar amount or percentage of the remaining estate after debts are paid.

A specific bequest might read as follows:
I give the sum of _____ dollars ($    ) to the American Clock & Watch Museum in Bristol, Connecticut to be used for its general charitable purposes.

A residuary bequest might read as follows:
I give _______ percent of the residue of my estate to the American Clock & Watch Museum in Bristol, Connecticut to be used for its general purposes.

A bequest to be applied to a specific purpose might read as follows:
I give the sum of _____ dollars ($    ) (or _____ percent of the residue of my estate) to the  American Clock & Watch Museum in Bristol, Connecticut to be used for the following purpose: (to be stated by the donor.)

For bequests of tangible personal property, please contact the Museum to talk about your proposed gift. The Museum may need to give special consideration to such gifts before it can accept them.

Life Insurance: Gifts of life insurance offer opportunities to make substantial charitable contributions. If you have a policy which is no longer needed for family protection, you may simply name the American Clock & Watch Museum as the beneficiary.

To receive a tax deduction, transfer ownership of the policy to the charity. (If the policy is not paid up, please continue to contribute these amounts as tax-deductible gifts to the American Clock & Watch Museum for us to pay the premium. You can also make a gift by purchasing a new policy, or apply life insurance for asset replacement.


Please use this information when designating the Museum as a beneficiary:

American Clock & Watch Museum 

100 Maple Street, Bristol CT 06010 

(860) 583-6070

Federal ID # 06-6006559


Please consult with a certified financial planner or estate attorney to advise you on your estate plans.
If you need more information, please call Patti Philippon, Executive Director, or John Avignone, Development Coordinator, at (860) 583-6070. Thank you for your consideration.