When you leave your qualified retirement account (IRA, 401(k), 403(b), etc.) to an individual, that individual is subject to income taxation on the assets in the retirement account as they are withdrawn.  Because École Notre Dame des Victoires is a qualified 501(c)(3) charitable organization, it does not pay income tax.  By leaving all or part of your qualified retirement account to École Notre Dame des Victoires, you are able to give a larger portion of your estate away as the charitable distribution is not reduced by income tax.  To make a distribution of a qualified retirement account upon your death, work with your estate planning attorney or your financial institution to name École Notre Dame des Victoires as a beneficiary on the beneficiary designation form for your retirement account.  The beneficiary designation form is separate from your Will or your Trust.

NDV can also be named as the beneficiary of a charitable remainder trust.  A charitable remainder trust is an irrevocable trust wherein a taxpayer contributes assets to the trust fund, and the trust then pays income to the taxpayer (or to another individual recipient they designate, such as their child or grandchild) for life or for a set term of years.  At the end of the trust term, any assets remaining in the charitable remainder trust are transferred to École Notre Dame des Victoires.  A charitable reminder trust offers income tax advantages as the assets sold by the charitable reminder trust are not subject to income tax within the trust.  Instead, income tax is paid on the distributions by the recipient.  The taxpayer who establishes the charitable remainder trust also receives an immediate charitable deduction for the value of their contribution in the year of contribution.