How Can I Include Charity in My Estate Plan?
For many people, donating to charity is an important part of their everyday life. Did you know that if you are a philanthropist, you can continue giving after you’re gone? With careful planning, your charitable contributions can continue long after you pass away.
Elaine McGinnis P.A. discusses some common ways in which you can include charity in your estate plan so you can continue helping and serving others after your spirit moves on.
The Joy of Philanthropy
You probably feel strongly about your dedication to giving, regardless of whether you give to a variety of NGOs or concentrate on one particular cause. A simple donation can occasionally alter a life; it's not always essential to offer enormous sums of money.
I believe that there is
true joy in giving.
Given the importance of donating in your daily life, it is natural to consider continuing those efforts to make the world a better place after you are gone. This is where your estate plan can help you continue your good deeds.
Including Charitable Organizations in Your Estate Plan
There are several ways that you can incorporate charitable giving into your estate plan including:
Leaving Money to Charity in Your Will
A Last Will & Testament specifies how you want to allocate your assets when you pass away. In addition to naming family members as beneficiaries, you can also use a will to designate a charitable bequest and set up trust funds for your favorite organizations.
Naming a charity as a beneficiary in your will is one of
the best ways to continue your philanthropy when you are gone.
Further, doing so can lower the amount of your taxable estate taxes.
Set Up a Charitable Trust
A split-interest charitable trust lets you donate assets to a charity but retain some of the benefits of holding assets. The trust funds are funded in a charity’s name with a split-interest trust, and when you open one, you will receive a tax deduction when money is transferred into the trust.
However, you, the donor, will have control of the assets in the trust. They will be passed on to the charity at the time of your death.
Create a Foundation
When you set up a community foundation, you can establish a financial legacy for future generations through a charitable fund. This allows you to give any amount of money that you’d like to anyone that you want, for however long you want.
Examples of community foundations include:
Scholarships
Endowments
Field of interest funds
Giving circles
Community foundations are a great way for donors, no matter how many assets they have, to structure their gifts for maximum impact.
If you want to continue giving to your favorite charitable organizations
after you pass away, you need to put a plan in place.
Gifting Property
Not all charitable giving has to be in the form of money. Giving non-cash items like real estate can also benefit those in need as part of your estate plan.
You can donate your apartment, vacation house, ranch, or farm while keeping the right to lifelong usage if you own one. In this manner, you and your family will be able to use your property as long as you live.
Donating Retirement Accounts
Making a charity of your choice the beneficiary of your retirement account is an additional strategy for maximizing giving in your estate plan.
Income and estate taxes are not applied to charities. Your favorite charity will receive 100% of the value of your retirement account when it is liquidated if you choose to give it.
Giving After You’ve Gone
If you want to continue giving to your favorite charitable organizations after you pass away, it is important to consider which estate planning option is most beneficial to you, your family, and the charities that you want to support.
Our compassionate estate planning attorney, Elaine McGinnis P.A. will help you navigate the ins and outs of including philanthropy in your estate plan. Call today for an estate planning consultation; 813-851-3380.