Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Gift Plans that Benefit Family & Charity

By: Laurie Valentine

Charitable gift planning not only provides a variety of ways for you to provide valuable support to causes that are important to you, it can also help you solve certain personal financial challenges.

One such giving plan is a charitable remainder unitrust (“CRUT”). A CRUT is an irrevocable trust that pays a designated income stream to the giver and/or others for life or a term of years and the remainder to one or more charitable organizations.

A CRUT can provide beneficial ways to solve a variety of financial challenges such as:

Providing Funds for College: Your grandson is starting college this fall and you would like to help with his expenses. A gift of $100,000 to a CRUT that will pay him 15% of the value of the trust assets for 5 years will provide the following benefits: a $45,000 charitable income tax deduction for you; payments averaging $12,400 each year to your grandson; and, at the end of the 5-year trust term, approximately $61,000 (assuming a 6.2% average annual return) left to distribute to the charities you named in the trust agreement.

Financial Assistance for Family Members: You have been providing $500 per month ($6,000 per year) to your 85-year-old father for the past few years. While, at age 65, you have no current health problems, you want to make sure that support would continue for your father, no matter what your future circumstances. A gift of $100,000 to a CRUT paying your father for his lifetime and then you, if you survive him, 6% of the value of the trust assets, as revalued annually, establishes a plan that will provide a gradually growing stream of income to your father, and then you. It also entitles you to an income tax deduction of approximately $36,845 and provides you the opportunity to set up a gift that will provide significant future support to ministries that are important to you.

Laurie Valentine is COO and Trust Counsel for the Kentucky Baptist Foundation, PO Box 436389, Louisville, KY 40253; (502) 489-3533 or 1-866-489-3533 (Toll-free, Kentucky Only); KYBaptistFoundation.org

The information in this article is provided as general information and is not intended as legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should seek the advice of an attorney or other professional adviser.

Thursday, February 9, 2017

A Gift of Love

By: Richard Carnes
February is filled with reminders to express our love and affection to those close to us. We may express this affection through romantic greeting cards, bouquets of red roses, abundant chocolate, and candle lite dinners. All of these gestures can be memorable but they are temporary in nature.

A lasting way to say “I love you” is by making provision to care for your loved ones, yourself and charities important to you through creating a written estate plan. Knowing where to begin, what to look for, and what you might expect can help turn this task into an effective plan. A great place to start the process of creating an estate plan that reflects your goals and values is through the Kentucky Baptist Foundation’s Estate Plan Organizer, located on our website, KYBaptistFoundation.org. The Estate Plan Organizer will take you through the estate planning process easily and at your own pace. The whole process can be completed in as few as 30 minutes and you can save your work at any time and return to the Organizer at your convenience.

When you have completed the Organizer, you will have a well thought out design for your estate that reflects your priorities. You will then be well prepared to work with your attorney and financial advisors, who will assist you in structuring an estate and financial plan that best achieves your goals.

An estate plan may not be a glamorous gift, but it is a valuable gift… a gift of love.

The Kentucky Baptist Foundation is honored to work with individuals seeking how best to organize their estate planning goals to achieve their personal and charitable objectives, to support their families, their church and other Baptist causes. To learn more, you may contact the Foundation’s trust counsel, Laurie Valentine, or me at our toll-free number (866) 489-3533.

Richard Carnes is the president of the Kentucky Baptist Foundation, PO Box 436389, Louisville, KY 40253; toll-free (866) 489-3533; KYBaptistFoundation.org

The information in this article is provided as general information and is not intended as legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should seek the advice of an attorney or other professional adviser.