Deferred or Planned Gifts

Estate Gifts

The largest gifts to the College have traditionally been estate gifts. Estate gifts may be a few hundred dollars or millions of dollars. Like all other gifts they may be "unrestricted" for use where need is greatest, or "restricted" to a particular program. Your estate gift allows your assets to continue helping Cedar Crest College long after you are gone.

Bequests (Gifts by Will)

Please make bequests to Cedar Crest College. A bequest may be particularly attractive as a gift option if you are unable to make a current (outright) gift, but would like to contribute to the College in a meaningful way. Bequests may be restricted or unrestricted and will be used where need is greatest.

Specific bequests are most common. You leave a specific amount of money, a specific asset, or a specific percentage of your estate to Cedar Crest College.

Residual bequests go to the College only after all debts, expenses, taxes, and other bequests have been paid.

Contingent bequests are ways for you to contribute to the College even if you have young children. The contingent bequest takes effect only when all other bequests fail.

EXAMPLE: "If my granddaughter should predecease me then I leave my entire estate to Cedar Crest College for the benefit of the unrestricted endowment fund."

Testamentary Trusts

Your Will may direct that a portion of your estate will go to a pooled income fund or a charitable remainder trust. The pooled income fund or charitable remainder trust will then pay life income to a named beneficiary. After the beneficiary's death, Cedar Crest College will receive any remaining funds.

Life Insurance Policies

Two forms of life insurance are typically donated: paid-up whole and universal life insurance policies, and newly issued whole and universal life insurance policies. A paid-up policy has a cash value that may be used immediately if necessary by the College.

Taking out a new whole life or universal life insurance policy is one way to make a significant gift to the College. The policy may be structured such that you only pay premiums for approximately ten years and each year's premium payment is tax-deductible. If you are considering such a life insurance policy, we suggest that you contact one of our Development Officers before beginning the insurance policy paperwork.

Newly issued whole and universal life insurance policies usually have little or no cash value. Therefore, they provide no benefits until significant cash value builds within the policy or the insured passes away.

For all whole and universal life insurance policies, you should name the College as both owner and beneficiary. Your tax deduction is equal to the lesser of either the replacement cost or the cost basis of the policy.

If you pay any further premiums, those payments are also tax-deductible. Payments in the amount of the premium should be paid to Cedar Crest College. The College will then pay the insurance company premiums.

Even though term life policies do not provide a charitable income tax deduction, we encourage you to remember Cedar Crest College as a beneficiary of your term policy.

If a person simply makes Cedar Crest College a beneficiary of a life insurance policy, no income tax deduction is allowed. However, upon the death of the insured, the policy proceeds going to the College will be an estate tax charitable deduction.

Life Income Funds

Imagine making a gift that gives back to you. You may make a gift of cash, securities, and/or real estate to Cedar Crest College and retain the right to receive income from those assets for as long as you live. Usually you include your spouse or another beneficiary in the gift contract so they will continue to receive life income if you predecease them. At your death and/or the death of the last remaining beneficiary, the College receives the remaining principal.

Pooled Income Funds

Pooled Income Funds were designed to allow you to give away assets, such as stocks or bank savings, while keeping the right to receive the interest and/or dividend income. The College may use the remaining principal only after your death (and the death of one surviving beneficiary if one is designated).

A pooled income fund gift provides several financial and estate planning benefits:

  1. You retain income for life (if you donate a typical dividend-paying stock you may approximately double the quarterly income you were receiving).
  2. You avoid taxes on capital gains on the sale of appreciated securities.
  3. You remove all or most of the assets donated from your estate, thereby reducing potential estate taxes.
  4. You receive an income tax deduction based upon your age (usually around 40% of the amount donated).
  5. You eliminate your day-to-day investment decisions and worries.
  6. Eventually, your gift will be a significant benefit to the College.

Charitable Remainder Trusts

Charitable Remainder Trusts are basically similar to the Pooled Income Fund in concept. There are two main types of charitable remainder trusts: Annuity Trusts and Unitrusts. With both types of trusts, you receive a charitable contribution income tax deduction based on your life expectancy, you avoid taxes on capital gains on the sale of appreciated securities or real estate, and you reduce potential estate taxes. The main difference between the two types of charitable remainder trusts is the way your annual income from the trust is determined.

Annuity Trusts - The assets given to a charitable remainder annuity trust are valued on the date of transfer to the trust. An annual payout is determined on that date. You receive this same dollar amount each year for life. Any named beneficiaries will also receive this same amount for life. After your death and the death of any beneficiaries, the remaining principal is given to the College.

When you create the trust, you receive an income tax charitable contribution deduction based on your life expectancy and the life expectancy of any beneficiaries (such as a spouse). You avoid taxes on capital gains on the sale of any appreciated property such as stocks or real estate. The assets in the trust are removed from your estate for estate tax purposes. (Depending on the existence of named beneficiaries of the trust, some of their expected life income may be included in your estate.) After your death, your designated interests at Cedar Crest College will perpetually receive support in your memory. Annuity trusts are usually created with assets worth $50,000 or more.

Unitrusts - The assets given to charitable remainder unitrusts are valued each year; an annual income payout is made based upon a fixed percentage determined when the trust is established.

This allows for a variable payout from year to year, in contrast to the fixed dollar amount payout from the annuity trust. The unitrust is often used when inflation and its effect on the future purchasing power of a fixed income is a concern.

The same basic tax benefits that applied to the annuity trust also apply to the unitrust. Unitrusts are usually created with assets worth $50,000 or more. There are Charitable Remainder Trusts and Life Insurance Trusts (Wealth Replacement Trusts).

In addition to making significant charitable gifts possible, both types of charitable remainder trusts (annuity and unitrust) are excellent financial and estate planning tools. The drawback, however, is that the assets donated to the trust are irrevocably taken from potential heirs and given to charity.

A very popular alternative used today is a combination of a charitable remainder trust and a life insurance trust. The charitable remainder trust provides lifetime benefits to you, the donor, and then after death to the charity.

The life insurance trust replaces to your heirs the asset value given to charity and may increase your heirs' net inheritance over what they would have received had you not made the charitable gift.

Life Estate Agreements (Retained Life Estates)

A life estate agreement allows you to give your home or farm to the College today, but retain the right to live in the home or use the farm for life. You may also stipulate that your spouse may continue to live there for his/her lifetime. You receive an immediate income tax deduction based upon your age(s) and the useful life of the property, and you remove the home or farm value from your estate. You must continue to maintain the property, insure it, and pay property taxes. After your death, Cedar Crest College becomes owner of the property and may utilize the property for College-related purposes or sell the property to generate funds.

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