What Legacy Will You Leave?
We all desire to be significant and to make a difference. What legacy will you leave? A bequest is perhaps the easiest and most tangible way to have a lasting impact on the people and organizations that mean the most to you and it is also an effective way to lessen the burden of taxes on your family and on your estate.
The Benefits Of A Charitable Bequest
A Charitable bequest is a bequest written in a will or trust that directs a gift to be made to a qualified exempt charity when you pass away. One benefit of a charitable bequest is that it enables you to further the good work of an organization you volunteer with or support, long after you are gone. Furthermore, a charitable bequest can help you save estate taxes by providing your estate with a charitable deduction for the value of the gift. With careful planning, your family can also avoid paying income taxes on the assets they receive from your estate.
An Easy Gift To Make
A bequest is one of the easiest gifts to make. With the help of an advisor, you can include language in your will or trust specifying a gift to be made to family, friends or the CHP 11-99 Foundation, as part of your estate. Contact us to receive sample language for your Will.
Testimonials
A Bequest To Further Good Work
Linda and Bob Hill have been CHP 11-99 Foundation donors for many years. The good work of our organization is very important to them. They had already made current gifts, but wanted to do more. The Hills learned that they could help even more by making a bequest. Their attorney added a provision to each of their wills designating a percentage of their estate to the 11-99 Foundation. The Hills appreciated the fact that the bequest was easy to create, they could continue to use their assets during their lives, and their estate would be permitted a charitable deduction for the gift at their death. Best of all, the bequests would help achieve their goals, by furthering the CHP 11-99 Foundation’s mission and programs well into the future.
A Bequest With Tax Savings
Judy Hamilton is a widow with two grown children. She has a great love for the work of the CHP 11-99 Foundation and she decided to include a charitable gift in her estate plan. Judy’s estate includes some stocks, real estate and savings bonds. Judy learned that if she gave her savings bonds to her children, very little would be left for her family after paying estate and income taxes. Her attorney recommended that she give appreciated stock and real estate to her children instead, because these assets would receive a step-up basis in her state. Judy’s children then could sell these assets immediately and pay little or no tax. At the advice of her attorney, Judy designated the 11-99 Foundation as the beneficiary of her bonds. Judy was delighted that she could make a tax-friendly gift to her children and her estate would receive a charitable deduction for the gift.
A Variety Of Options
A bequest may be:
- a percentage of your estate
- a specific asset
- the residue of your estate
Other Types Of Bequests
Certain types of property pass outside of a will or trust. These assets require that you name a beneficiary by completing a beneficiary designation form. To make a bequest of these assets, you should contact the company or entity from which you purchased the asset. Here are a couple of examples:
Bequest Of An IRA
A retirement asset such as an IRA account makes an excellent bequest to charity. If the IRA were given to your heirs, much of the value would be depleted through estate and income taxes. By designating the CHP 11-99 Foundation as the beneficiary of part or all of your IRA, the full value of the gift is transferred tax-free at your death and your estate receives a charitable deduction. If you wish to leave your IRA to your spouse at your death, you also may designate the 11-99 Foundation as the secondary beneficiary of your account. Contact your IRA or retirement account custodian to obtain a beneficiary designation form and make a bequest from your IRA.
Bequest Of An Insurance Policy
An insurance policy makes a nice bequest to charity. As an asset of your estate, an insurance policy may be taxable at your death. However, if the policy is gifted to charity, your estate avoids paying tax on the value of the policy and receives a charitable deduction for the gift. You generally may name anyone as beneficiary of your insurance policy and change your designation at any time. Contact your insurance company to obtain a beneficiary designation form and make a bequest of your policy to the 11-99 Foundation.
The Bob Weinberg Legacy Society
Named in honor of our founder, Bob Weinberg, this society serves our donors and the CHP. A diverse menu of mutually beneficial gift planning opportunities designed to support you and your heirs are offered. Society members benefit the CHP 11-99 Foundation’s programs now and into the future.
Among many giving options are:
- Set Dollar Amount Bequests
- Retirement Asset Bequests
- Insurance Policy Bequests
- Asset Percentage Bequests
- Charitable Gift Annuities
- Charitable Remainder Trusts
- Appreciated Asset Gifts and Sales
We encourage you to plan your legacy today. If you have questions about gift planning, creating a will or making a bequest, please do not hesitate to contact us.
All inquiries are treated with complete confidentiality.