Including a charitable bequest as a part of your will is a great way for you to provide long-term support for the Meeting House while also effectively managing your estate. Making a charitable bequest is easy. If you want to leave a bequest to the Meeting House, you must specifically do so in a will or trust. Your will or personal trusts are legal records of your wishes regarding how your assets should be handled at your death. Instructions regarding the dispensation of your assets are called bequests.

Charitable Bequests are not subject to estate or inheritance taxes, therefore reducing the tax burden of an estate. Charitable bequests also provide flexibility because they may be changed at any time. Your estate will be entitled to a charitable deduction for the full, fair market value of your gift. The Meeting House can assist you and your attorney with standard legal language necessary to establish your charitable bequest.

• General Bequest: With this type of bequest, you simply leave a specified dollar amount (e.g., $25,000) to the Old Presbyterian Meeting House.
• Specific Bequest: A bequest of this type involves the designation of specific property (e.g., a home, a farm, or shares of stock) that you want the Old Presbyterian Meeting House to receive.
• Residuary Bequest: Through a residuary bequest, the Meeting House will receive the remainder of your estate after all liabilities and other bequests have been paid. It may augment a general or specific bequest to the Meeting House if the size of the estate allows, or may ensure that other beneficiaries receive their bequests prior to distribution to the Meeting House.
• Percentage Bequest: You may direct that the Meeting House receive a percentage of your estate or residuary estate. In this case, if the size of your estate changes, the bequest will change proportionately.
• Contingent Bequest: It is important to anticipate a situation in which a beneficiary might die before you or choose to disclaim the property. To prepare for such an occurrence, consider naming the Meeting House as the contingent beneficiary.

Perhaps a charitable gift sounds attractive but you are not ready to give up ownership of your life insurance. By naming the Old Presbyterian Meeting House as beneficiary only, you retain ownership of the policy; have access to the cash value and the right to change the beneficiary.

If you would prefer that a member of your family remain the primary beneficiary, you can make the Meeting House the contingent or successor beneficiary to receive the proceeds if your primary beneficiary dies before you.

Because you retain ownership of the policy, there is no charitable deduction for the value of the policy upon designation of the Meeting House as beneficiary or for subsequent premium payments. However, any proceeds payable to the Meeting House at your death will not be subject to federal estate tax.

A retirement plan is one of the best types of assets to transfer to the Meeting House following death because of the income tax consequence. Most inherited assets are free from income tax. However, an heir will pay income tax on disbursements from a decedent’s retirement plan such as a profit sharing plan, Section 401(k) plan or IRA. If you are going to make a charitable bequest, it is usually better to transfer assets subject to income tax to a tax-exempt charity – such as the Meeting House – and to transfer assets not subject to income tax to heirs.

For a taxable estate, the combination of estate and income taxes will frequently exceed 75 percent of the total amount – even more if the generation skipping transfer taxes are triggered. At a cost to your heirs of only 25 percent of the fair market value of these types of assets, you could apply 100 percent of the assets to the Meeting House to accomplish your specific charitable objectives. Estate taxes change, so be sure to consult an accountant.

Of course, married couples can postpone the decision by transferring the assets to the surviving spouse and claiming the marital estate tax deduction. However, since that deduction is not available to unmarried individuals and the second-to-die of married couples, a charitable bequest of pension plan assets might be the best option.

Disclaimer: Old Presbyterian Meeting House and its affiliates do not provide tax, legal or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.

You may have purchased life insurance when you needed protection for your family, business or estate. In later years, you have found you no longer need that insurance. If you want to achieve immediate tax benefits, you should consider irrevocably assigning an insurance policy to the Meeting House.

Giving life insurance as a gift to charity allows even those with modest means to leave a substantial contribution to the cause most meaningful to them. A gift of life insurance is a deferred gift, which means the proceeds from a commitment made now will be realized in the future. Donors often struggle between their desires to achieve philanthropic goals and their need to preserve their estates for their families. A gift of life insurance can eliminate this conflict.

If you desire to contribute to Old Presbyterian Meeting House anytime during life, please contact the Church Business Administrator to discuss your charitable intent. Donors who give during life get to see the benefits of their gifts and realize the tax benefits of giving.

A gift of stock is one of the easiest methods to make a gift. If the stock has appreciated, the donor not only avoids the capital gains tax on the appreciation but also receives a charitable deduction for the full fair market value of the stock at the time of contribution.

To make a stock donation, please contact the Church Business Administrator to get the stock transfer detail and discuss your charitable intent.

While the Meeting House does not offer management services for Donor Advised Funds, we are able to assist in identifying options for those who wish to establish a Donor Advised Fund.

For more information, please contact the Finance Office.