Why You Should Include Charities In Your Will

Although charitable giving is not the first thing that comes to mind when people begin their estate planning, most people do want to use their money to help change the world.

The thought of estate planning all by itself is a daunting project. Who wants to think about the end of their lives? The idea of allocating your assets for loved ones, who may be happy with their inheritances or may not, can fill some people with dread.

Those who have a passion for a specific charity may see estate planning as an opportunity to lend their support long after they are gone.

Additionally, the IRS found that a typical bequest is almost three times larger than the total amount that a person has donated in his or her lifetime.

People don’t realize how easy…and painless…it is to include a charity in their estate planning. Let’s take a look at the options:

A charitable rollover. Individuals over the age of 70 may donate up to $100,000 per year to charities directly from their IRA. This is known as a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). This QCD will count towards any required minimum distribution (RMD) an account holder must take from the IRA.
A bequest in your will or trust. This is a sentence stating the amount you’d like to leave to the charity, including the legal name of the charity, and stating the purpose for which you’d like the charity to use the funds.
Give appreciated stock. If you sell appreciated stock, you will pay capital gains tax on the appreciation. If you donate it, you get an income tax deduction equal to the full fair market value of the stock.

It helps that charitable giving may help to reduce federal estate and gift taxes for that estate.

As you can see there are many options to benefit your favorite charity, either in life or in death. By minimizing the tax impact for you, you maximize the amount received by not only for your loved ones but for the charity as well.

There are several ways to structure your charitable giving too. Learn more about this important part of an estate plan here.

Kevin Miller is available and ready to advise you on charitable giving, wills, trusts, and estate planning questions that you may have, so you are able to support the charities of your choice while planning to give to your loved ones too. It is important that you plan ahead and make the legal arrangements necessary to be sure that your charitable giving is carried out according to your wishes. Kevin Miller has extensive experience in estate planning and will put your interests first. Contact us or call us at 405-443-5100 if you have questions. We are here to help.

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