Estate Planning and Charitable Giving

Nearly 70% of Americans do not have an up to date will or living trust, with procrastination being one of the main reasons. Without an estate plan, any assets you owned without a beneficiary designation will be distributed according to your state’s intestacy laws, typically through a court-supervised probate proceeding and the distributions may not be the ones you would have chosen. Further, no state distribution law provides for gifts to friends or charities or makes provisions for your pets. How an Estate Is Settled If There's No Will: Intestate Succession 

You may have numerous charities that you believe in strongly and you may have supported these organizations throughout your lifetime. Making a gift provision to one or more charitable organizations in your estate can be a natural extension of that support and can have a lasting impact on the causes you care most about.

Elements of an Estate Plan

Estate plans take several forms. The key essentials are described below:

Will. A will is a set of instructions to be followed by the estate’s executor, the person responsible for administering your estate. A will sets out your wishes for distributing your property after you die and who will care for your minor children. The individuals or organizations who will receive your assets under the terms of the will are your “beneficiaries." A valid will is generally typed, dated, and signed by you as well as two legally competent witnesses.

Under a will, the assets must still go through your state’s probate court before they can be distributed to your intended beneficiaries. The process varies greatly from state to state, but it can take anywhere from a few months to two years or longer.

Revocable Living Trust. This legal document can be used instead of a will as the main vehicle to distribute your assets. The primary advantage of a trust is that it avoids probate. The trust is created while you are living, most often people serve as their own trustee, and the power to change and even revoke it can be retained. The living trust becomes irrevocable upon your death.

A living trust requires that you actually transfer your property into it for it to be effective. As with a will, you can make gifts to favorite charities in your revocable living trust. These gifts will in most cases be distributed to the charities you name after your passing.

If you decide upon a revocable living trust, you should still have what is called a “pour-over” will. It catches any property that was, intentionally or inadvertently, left out of the trust during your life and is not transferred in another way. While this property will still need to go through probate, it will eventually be distributed according to your trust instructions instead of being distributed under state law provisions.

Beneficiary Designations. These are the forms you fill out when you do things like open a bank or stock brokerage account, establish an IRA or other type of retirement plan, purchase a commercial annuity or life insurance policy, that designate who will receive whatever remains upon your passing (or the death benefit in the case of life insurance). You can name charities in beneficiary designations to receive all or a portion of the account upon your passing.

Which type of estate plan is right will be different for each person. The following guide may make it easier to decide which type of estate plan is right for you  What is the Difference Between a Will and a Trust

Leaving a Legacy for WildCat Ridge Sanctuary

A bequest, also called a “legacy gift”, is a gift made through your will or living trust. You can leave a specified amount of money, a particular piece of property, or all or a portion of the ‘residual’ of your estate (what remains after your final expenses, debts, and specific gifts are paid). Making a legacy gift to WildCat Ridge Sanctuary is a wonderful way to leave a legacy and continue a lifetime of support for an institution that has meant so much to you.

You can provide a future gift to WildCat Ridge Sanctuary by including a bequest provision in your will or revocable trust. WildCat Ridge Sanctuary will receive your gift upon your passing based on the specifications included in the provision.

If you wish to leave a bequest to WildCat Ridge Sanctuary, the process is relatively simple. Be sure that our correct legal name appears in all final documents as:

“I give to WildCat Ridge Sanctuary, having a principal place of business at PO Box 280 Scotts Mills, OR 97375 USA, Federal tax identification 93-1320051, ____ percent of my residuary estate (or $_____, or other property) to be used or disposed of in its sole discretion as it deems appropriate.”

Types of Bequests

Specific Bequest: WildCat Ridge Sanctuary receives a specific dollar amount, a specific piece of property or a stated percentage of the estate. This is one of the most popular forms of bequests.

Residuary Bequest: WildCat Ridge Sanctuary receives all or a stated percentage of an estate after distribution of specific bequests and payment of debts, taxes and expenses.

Contingent Bequest: WildCat Ridge Sanctuary receives all or part of the estate under certain specified circumstances, such as the death of another beneficiary.

Beneficiary Designation Gift

Just as you designate individuals to receive certain assets directly as your named beneficiary, you can name WildCat Ridge to receive part of the asset. This is most commonly used with IRAs and other retirement plan assets and life insurance policies, but it can also work with assets such as checking and savings accounts, brokerage accounts, and commercial annuities.

Beneficiary designations have the advantage of being flexible (give as little or as much as you like), revocable (generally they can be changed at any time), and perhaps most importantly, they leave the assets under your control should you need them during your lifetime.

Bequests and beneficiary designation gifts are fully deductible from your estate and there is no limit as to how much can be deducted.

Summary

Regardless of the size of your estate, you want to ensure that what you own will go to those people and organizations you care for and love. Your estate documents become a last expression of what you have valued in your life, expressed through a personal statement and by what you leave to whom. By being thoughtful and organized about your affairs, you will have left a final, loving gift to your family and organizations you care about.