PLANNED LEGACY GIVING | SERVING SENIORS ON THE NORTHSHORE | COVINGTON, LA

A charitable bequest is one of the easiest ways to make a planned gift and typically only involves adding language to your will or living trust to gift a certain amount or percentage of your assets. A bequest may entitle your estate to an unlimited federal estate tax charitable deduction.

A charitable lead trust is designed to provide financial support to one or more charities you designate for a set term. It can be funded either during your lifetime or through a will. When the term ends, the remaining assets of the trust are distributed to family members or other beneficiaries you designate. You may use the charitable lead trust to transfer assets to heirs at a significantly reduced tax liability, potentially allowing you to provide significant support to Christwood at little or no cost to your heirs.

In contrast, a charitable remainder trust provides income to family members or other beneficiaries for the term of the trust. At the end of the term, the remaining assets are transferred to one or more charitable organization beneficiaries.

There are additional trust options including:

• Charitable remainder unitrust
• Charitable remainder annuity trust
• Sale and unitrust
• Give-it-twice trust
• Unitrust and special needs trust

Please consult your financial advisor to determine the specific type of trust that will meet your long- and short-term goals.

Making gifts of appreciated assets can often reduce or eliminate capital gains taxes. Your gift may include assets such as:

• stocks, bonds, or other securities
• real estate
• art, jewelry, or other items of value

Life Estate Reserved
In the case of real estate, you may choose to use a life estate reserved. This is an estate planning tool through which you can transfer legal ownership of real estate to Christwood but retain the absolute right to live in, use, and benefit from the property for the remainder of your lifetime. To learn more about establishing a Life Estate Reserved, we suggest you consult an experienced elder law or estate planning attorney.

When you name Christwood as a beneficiary of all or part of a financial asset such as a retirement plan, investment, bank account, or life insurance policy, you can extend your gift beyond your lifetime. It’s as simple as using your plan’s beneficiary designation form to indicate the amount or percentage of the plan’s assets you would like to give to Christwood, and you may review and adjust your beneficiary designation any time you wish.

Donor-Advised Funds (DAF) are an increasingly popular charitable vehicle. This type of giving program allows you to combine the most favorable tax benefits with the flexibility to easily support your favorite charities and facilitate your strategic goals.

A DAF is managed and invested with the purpose of supporting the charitable organizations chosen by the fund donor. Making Christwood the recipient of a DAF is a simple yet powerful way to support Christwood while supporting your philanthropic goals.

How does a DAF work?

1. Work with your financial advisor to establish your DAF.
2. Make an irrevocable, tax-deductible donation to a public charity like Christwood.
3. Advise the investment allocation of the donated assets (any investment growth is tax-free).
4. Recommend grants to qualified public charities of your choice.

A charitable gift annuity is a gift that can provide you or someone you designate with a secure source of fixed payments for life. When you fund a charitable gift annuity with stock or cash, you will receive fixed gift annuity payouts and Christwood receives the remainder after all payouts have been made.

With a charitable gift annuity, you will receive a charitable income tax deduction for the charitable gift portion of the annuity. If you fund your gift annuity with cash, a significant portion of the annuity payments you receive will be tax-free.
You may also make a gift of appreciated securities to fund a gift annuity and avoid a portion of the capital gains tax.

If you are age 70.5, you can make a one-time IRA transfer (subject to limits) to fund a gift annuity. You (and, if you choose, your spouse) can receive lifetime fixed payments and potentially reduce your required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year in which you make the transfer.