Gift and Estate Planning

Bequests, Trusts, Gift Annuities, Gifts of Property and more

Gift planning is one of the most powerful ways you can enhance  the department.  Through a planned or deferred gift, donors can impact future chemical engineering students.  Many people associate this type of philanthropy with wills or estates and may incorrectly assume that the benefits flow in just one direction.  In fact, gift planning can be extremely flexible, offer significant tax and estate planning benefits and, in some cases, provide you with reliable lifetime income while ultimately directing valuable resources to the department.

The University of Texas at Austin has assembled a top-notch team of gift planning experts, all available to assist alumni and friends of the university with their gift planning goals.  The university’s Office of Gift Planning has the tools and experience to help you explore the possibilities and customize a plan that will fit your needs and goals. They also have significant experience handling gifts of real estate and securities. For instance, gifts of appreciated assets, such as stocks, can be utilized to fulfill commitments while providing a possible reduction in capital gains and other taxes.

We hope alumni and friends consider including a gift to the Department of Chemical Engineering in a will or living trust. Called a charitable bequest, this type of gift offers these main benefits:

  • Simplicity: Just a few sentences in your will or trust are all that is needed. “I hereby direct $___________ (or ____ percent of my residual estate) in cash, securities, or other property to the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System for the benefit of The University of Texas at Austin. This gift shall be for the further benefit of _____________[college, school, unit and shall be used to __________[purpose].”  For further reference see provided sample IRA beneficiary designation language [PDF 111KB].
    For your information, our tax ID number is 74-6000203.
  • Flexibility: Because you are not actually making a gift until after your lifetime, you can change your mind at any time.
  • Versatility: You can structure the bequest to leave a specific item or amount of money, make the gift contingent on certain events, or leave a percentage of your estate to us.
  • Tax relief: If your estate is subject to estate tax, your gift is entitled to an estate tax charitable deduction for the gift’s full value.

Let us know you have included the department in your will so we can say thank you by downloading the Estate Intention Letter [PDF 258KB] and  and  mail, call or email to:

Michael Barasch
Assistant Director of Development
Cockrell School of Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX 78712-0287
(512) 471-0469 – office
(412) 720-4918 – cell
michael.barasch@austin.utexas.edu

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