How to Make a Bequest: Useful Language

The most useful bequest is an unrestricted bequest for the general purposes of the Museum. This permits the Museum to use your gift wherever it is most needed at the time.

Suggested language for making an unrestricted bequest:

"I give, devise and bequeath [the sum of ____ dollars], [all or ____ percent of the rest, remainder and residue of my estate of every kind and description (including lapsed legacies and devises)] to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York, for its general corporate purposes."

Suggested language for a specific purpose:

"I give, devise and bequeath [the sum of ____ dollars], [all or ____ percent of the rest, remainder and residue of my estate of every kind and description (including lapsed legacies and devises)] to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York, to create an endowment from which only the income is to be used for the following purpose: [state the purpose]."

Important Note: If you do specify a use for your bequest, the following language will ensure that your gift will always remain productive: "If at any time in the judgment of the Trustees of The Metropolitan Museum of Art the designated use of this bequest is no longer practicable or appropriate, then the Trustees shall use the bequest to further the general purposes of the Museum, giving consideration, where possible, to my special interest as described above."