Estate planning presents many opportunities for philanthropically minded people, and you don’t have to be a millionaire to be a philanthropist. One way to ensure that your assets are given to causes you care about is addressed in the article “What Is Planned Giving?” in Financial Advisor.
Planned giving means donating assets to a nonprofit in a structured way during your lifetime or as part of an estate plan. The assets can be cash, securities, real estate, life insurance proceeds, funds from retirement accounts, or assets held in trusts.
Why make a planned gift? Planned giving is a means to create a legacy, ensuring something you value continues after you are gone. This can be a large donation to fund building construction, a student scholarship, or an endowed program. It can also take the form of an annual gift to the organization.
The benefit of a planned gift is it allows you to structure assets to accomplish other things, like providing for beneficiaries. Certain charitable trusts can provide income to spouses, children, or grandchildren over decades or in a lump-sum payment.
Creating a planned giving program should align with your overall estate plan to achieve optimal results in growing wealth and minimizing tax liabilities. Doing so requires discussing your charitable intent with your estate planning attorney, determining the best way to do this and then drafting wills, trusts and any other instruments to work together.
The development office of any nonprofit organization will be familiar with planned giving and may even have someone on their team who focuses on planned gifts. They are usually happy to receive donations this way and will also know about different types of gifts and tax-efficient strategies.
Planned giving can also be used with a tax-advantaged vehicle like a donor-advised fund, which owns assets specifically for use by a charity.
Consider why you want to make a charitable gift and what you hope to accomplish. You and your estate planning attorney can then map out a strategy to benefit you, your loved ones and the nonprofits of your choice, demonstrating your priorities and creating a legacy.
Reference: Financial Advisor (June 1, 2024) “What Is Planned Giving?”