GIFT PLANS

There are several ways to make gifts to the Legal Aid Foundation that will help fund legal services into the future, and at the same time, offer you an opportunity to save on income, capital gains and estate taxes, provide for your heirs, and supplement your retirement income.

1. Life Insurance Policies

There are several ways to give a life insurance policy:

  • Irrevocably assign ownership of a paid-up policy to the Legal Aid Foundation of Colorado.
  • Irrevocably assign ownership and beneficiary status to a policy on which premiums are still being paid.
  • Establish a new life insurance policy and designate the Foundation as applicant, owner, and beneficiary.
  • Designate the Foundation as a beneficiary of a policy.

2. Charitable Remainder Trusts

Charitable Remainder Trusts provide substantial financial and tax benefits for donors, as well as meaningful gifts to the Foundation. When you establish a Charitable Remainder Trust, you irrevocably donate cash or property to fund the trust. A trustee is selected to manage the assets and earnings, and money from the investments is used to provide regular annual payments to you or to your trust designated beneficiaries. At the end of the term, or upon the beneficiary’s death, the assets pass to the Foundation. Generally it is not cost effective to set up a Charitable Remainder Trust for less than $100,000.

3. Charitable Gift Annuities

The Charitable Gift Annuity is another way to make a significant gift to the Foundation while continuing to provide for your own future. In exchange for making an irrevocable gift of cash or securities, you or the person you designate, receive fixed annual payments for life. The amount of the payment depends upon the value of the gift and the age of the income beneficiary(ies) at the time the gift is made. In addition, your gift qualifies for a charitable tax deduction.

4. Charitable Lead Trusts

Through a Charitable Lead Trust, you donate cash or property to fund a trust from which annual payments are made to the Foundation for a set period of years. When the trust terminates, the assets revert back to you or are given to your heirs. If the assets of the trust appreciate in value over the years, this increase is passed on to your heirs free from gift or estate tax. Administrative costs generally require gifts of at least $100,000 to establish a Charitable Lead Trust.

5. Retirement Plans

You can designate the Foundation as the final beneficiary of your retirement plan through a beneficiary designation form or through your Will. When left to the Foundation, assets in traditional retirement plans such as a 403 (b), 401 (k), IRA, Keogh, or tax-sheltered annuities can avoid income and estate tax that would be due if they were left to heirs.

WILLS

A Will is one of the most fundamental parts of an estate plan. It specifies how and to whom your property will be distributed after your lifetime. After providing for family members and friends, a bequest in your Will enables you to continue to support the Legal Aid Foundation of Colorado. A Will can be updated or changed at any time, and it should be reviewed regularly with your attorney or financial advisor.

Here are four ways to remember the Foundation in your Will, including sample wording:

1. Include a specific or explicit bequest for a stated dollar amount or particular security.

“I give, devise, and bequeath to the Legal Aid Foundation of Colorado, a non-profit organization located at 1120 Lincoln St., Suite 701, Denver, Colorado 80203, the sum of $ (or describe the specific property or security you intend to bequeath).

2. Include a percentage bequest allocating a fixed percentage of your estate.

“I give, devise, and bequeath to the Legal Aid Foundation of Colorado, a non-profit organization located at 1120 Lincoln St., Suite 701, Denver, Colorado 80203, % of my estate, both real and personal property of whatever kind and wheresoever situated.”

3. Include a residual bequest which grants the residue, or portion of the residue, of your estate to the Foundation after explicit bequests have been made.

“I give, devise, and bequeath to the Legal Aid Foundation of Colorado, a non-profit organization located at 1120 Lincoln St., Suite 701, Denver, Colorado 80203, all or (_%) of the rest, residue and remainder of my estate, both real and personal property of whatever kind and wheresoever situated.”

4. Include a contingent bequest in case one or more of your bequests cannot be fulfilled.

“If any of the above-named beneficiaries should predecease me, I hereby bequeath his/her share of my estate to the Legal Aid Foundation of Colorado, a non-profit organization located at 1120 Lincoln St., Suite 701, Denver, Colorado 80203.”

Unrestricted bequests may go to the operating fund for its general use and purpose, or bequests may be restricted to the Endowment Fund, which will provide perpetual financial support to the Foundation.

This is a brief overview of some of the giving options that are available and is in no way meant to be legal advice. The Foundation encourages you to consult with your financial planner, estate planning attorney or tax advisor to get information that would best suit your situation. Laws change frequently and professional advisors can give you the most current information.

For more information contact Jordan Bates-Rogers, Executive Director.