Monthly Planning Tips Archive

Planning Endowment Gifts

Charitable organizations and their donors have long been attracted to the concept of endowment, and for obvious reasons.  For the donor, endowment is “the gift that keeps on giving.”   Endowment gift principal remains untouched and only the income is used, offering donors a “touch of immortality.”  Worthwhile causes need endowments for self-preservation and long-term security, to guard against financial setbacks and downturns in the economy and to demonstrate their stability and permanence. 

Many of our friends would like to continue their lifetime of support through their estate plans, but also need to fulfill family responsibilities.  Happily, it is possible to achieve both goals.  Charitable remainder trusts allow friends to provide assistance but only after lifetime income is paid to a surviving spouse or other family member.  These trusts are often set up as memorials:  “The John and Mary Doe Memorial Trust,” for example.  Your gifts can pay tribute to a parent or spouse or any person who has been important in your life.  Please ask us for details on “life income” gifts, endowments and memorials.

Make Your Will a Personal Statement

Your will can be much more than a dry legal document for dividing up your estate.  It can be warm and human – a reflection of your personal values and beliefs.  Distributing property through a will can serve as a lasting expression of your particular life.  You might arrange, through your will, a special tribute to your husband or wife, establish a memorial in the names of your late parents, aid an impoverished friend or remember special friends or relatives with gifts of personal items.

Consider the importance of leaving something with sentimental value to “just the right person” – the antique pickle jar to Anna, the crystal to Sally, the stamp collection to Peter.  In a similar manner, your will can memorialize and continue the support you provided during life to important organizations.  A gift through your will can help the people we serve for many generations to come.  Please call our office if you are interested in adding this most thoughtful bequest to your estate plan.

U.S. Savings Bonds Tools

Recent stock market volatility has brought fresh attention to U.S. savings bonds.  Bonds are generally regarded as a safe haven for long-term savings and offer the ability to defer tax on interest until they are cashed or reach final maturity.   The Treasury has a variety of online tools for evaluating U.S. savings bonds at http://savingsbonds.gov/indiv/tools/tools.htm.

Savings Bonds Calculator. (Valuation, accrual dates, final maturity dates, accrued interest, etc.)

Savings Bond Wizard®.  (Downloadable program to manage and evaluate savings bond holdings)

Savings Bonds FRB Locator and Treasury Bills, Notes, Bonds and TIPS FRB Locator. (Addresses and phone numbers of the Treasury Retail Securities Site that services specific ZIP Code areas)

Treasury Hunt®.   (Determine the status of savings bonds issued since 1974 that have reached final maturity, most registered Treasury notes, and most registered Treasury bonds)

Estimation Calculators.  (Evaluate how bonds can fit into financial planning, including Growth Calculator, Savings Planner Calculator, and Tax Advantages Calculator)

Savings Bond Earnings Reports.  (Find savings bond redemption values, six-month earnings as  an annual yield and yield from issue date)

Redemption Tables. (Values and interest earned for EE/E Bonds, I Bonds, and Savings Notes issued from 1941-present)

Savings bonds also offer an important avenue to tax-wise charitable giving.  Bonds can be an excellent asset to leave to tax-exempt organizations through a will or living trust because all of the build-up of interest will escape income tax and be used for important work.  Savings bonds can’t be given directly to charity during a person’s lifetime, but it may make sense to cash the bonds and contribute the proceeds (charitable deductions generally will more than eliminate any tax from cashing the bonds).

Plan an Annual Financial Review

You may or may not be at an age when annual medical checkups make sense, but you should start now to have annual “financial checkups.”  Once a year, perhaps New Year’s Day or the date you file your income tax return, make or update a “personal affairs record” that catalogs all your assets and debts.  Your listing should include the following items, including their current values:

• Employment benefits and business interests

• Bank accounts and other financial deposits

• Life insurance – how much, on whose life, owned by whom?

• Other insurance, such as automobile and homeowners policies

• Valuable personal property; make an inventory and include information on any safety deposit boxes you maintain

• Real estate owned jointly or separately

• A listing of all your investments – stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, etc.

• Information on wills and trusts you and your spouse have established, including where documents are located

• Debts you owe others and debts that are owed to you

• Names, addresses and telephone numbers of all personal advisers

Your annual “checkup” should include a review of your will, living trust and life insurance coverage.  Reexamine your investment portfolio.  Determine what sources of income surviving family members will have, including Social Security.

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