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Charitable Gifts from Estate Plans: More Popular than Ever
What motivates people to make major gifts through their estate plans? The reasons for the popularity of “testamentary” gifts are easy to understand:
- Long life expectancies: “I might outlive my financial resources, and gifts from my estate eliminate that concern.”
- Uncertainties about the future, including the economy, health care and nursing home costs and tax law changes. “I don’t want to do anything that’s permanent.”
- Death taxes – state and federal – can be reduced or eliminated by charitable bequests.
- Leaving a legacy – making the world a better place and leaving behind a statement that says: “I was here; my life was important; I made a difference.”
Gifts through estate plans can be made through legal documents such as wills or revocable living trusts, or any arrangement that designates a death beneficiary, such as life insurance, retirement accounts, brokerage accounts and most savings arrangements. Charitable bequests also can be arranged to provide lifetime income to an individual before ultimately benefiting an organization.
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Copyright © 2009
by R&R Newkirk. All rights reserved.
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