Charitable Bequest
A charitable bequest is one of the easiest and most flexible ways that you can leave a gift to Upstate Forever that will make a lasting impact.
Benefits of a bequest
- Receive an estate tax charitable deduction
- Reduce the burden of taxes on your family
- Leave a lasting legacy to charity
How a bequest works
A bequest is one of the easiest gifts to make. With the help of an attorney, you can include language in your will or trust specifying a gift to be made to family, friends or Upstate Forever as part of your estate plan, or you can make a bequest using a beneficiary designation form.
Here are some of the ways to leave a bequest to Upstate Forever
A bequest may be made in several ways
- Percentage bequest - make a gift of a percentage of your estate
- Specific bequest - make a gift of a specific dollar amount or a specific asset
- Residual bequest - make a gift from the balance or residue of your estate
Click here to review sample bequest language.
Contact us
If you have any questions about leaving a bequest to us, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you. If you have been so generous as to include a bequest to Upstate Forever as part of your estate plan, please take the time to let us know. We would like to recognize you and your family for your generosity.
The method used to make a bequest will depend on the kind of gift you choose to leave to Upstate Forever.
Bequests of real estate, personal property, business interests and cash are typically made by way of a will, revocable trust or even a simple codicil to your current estate plan. Your estate-planning attorney can assist you in preparing the necessary papers for you to complete the bequest.
Other bequests, such as those involving retirement assets, insurance policies, bank accounts and stocks and bonds, are typically made by completing the appropriate beneficiary designation form. Simply contact your retirement plan administrator, life insurance company, bank or investment broker and ask them to send you the appropriate "beneficiary designation" or "payable on death" form. To complete your bequest, you will need to complete and sign the form and then send it back to the person who originally sent the form to you.
The last step in leaving any bequest involves the transfer to charity. When you pass away, the bequest property will be transferred to Upstate Forever. The full value of this gift will be transferred tax-free and your estate will receive an estate tax charitable deduction.
IRA Charitable Rollover
You may be looking for a way to make a big difference to help further our mission. If you are 70½ or older you may also be interested in a way to lower the income and taxes from your IRA withdrawals. An IRA charitable rollover is a way you can help continue our work and benefit this year.
Benefits of an IRA charitable rollover
- Avoid taxes on transfers of up to $105,000 from your IRA to our organization
- Satisfy your required minimum distribution (RMD) for the year
- Reduce your taxable income, even if you do not itemize deductions
- Make a gift that is not subject to the deduction limits on charitable gifts
- Help further the work and mission of our organization
How an IRA charitable rollover gift works
- Contact your IRA plan administrator to make a gift from your IRA to us.
- Your IRA funds will be directly transferred to our organization to help continue our important work.
- Please note that IRA charitable rollover gifts do not qualify for a charitable deduction.
- Please contact us if you wish for your gift to be used for a specific purpose.
Contact us
If you have any questions about an IRA charitable rollover gift, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you and answer any questions you might have.
Beneficiary Designation Gifts
A beneficiary designation gift is a simple and affordable way to make a gift to support Upstate Forever. You can designate us as a beneficiary of a retirement, investment or bank account or your life insurance policy.
Benefits of a beneficiary designation gift
- Support the causes that you care about
- Continue to use your account as long as you need to
- Simplify your planning and avoid expensive legal fees
- Reduce the burden of taxes on your family
- Receive an estate tax charitable deduction
How a beneficiary designation gift works
- To make your gift, contact the person who helps you with your account or insurance policy, such as your broker, banker or insurance agent.
- Ask them to send you a new beneficiary designation form.
- Complete the form, sign it and mail it back to your broker, banker or agent.
- When you pass away, your account or insurance policy will be paid or transferred to Upstate Forever, consistent with the beneficiary designation.
Important considerations for your future
If you are interested in making a gift but are also concerned about your future needs, keep in mind that beneficiary designation gifts are among the most flexible of all charitable gifts. Even after you complete the beneficiary designation form, you can take distributions or withdrawals from your retirement, investment or bank account and continue to freely use your account. You can also change your mind at any time in the future for any reason, including if you have a loved one who needs your financial help.
Contact us
If you have any questions about leaving a beneficiary designation gift to us, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you.
If you have already designated us as a beneficiary of an asset or as part of your estate plan, please let us know. We would like to recognize you and your family for your gift.
Flexibility—Most beneficiary designation forms are very flexible. You can name Upstate Forever as a "full" or "partial" beneficiary of your account or life insurance policy. You can also name Upstate Forever as a "primary" or "contingent" beneficiary.
Family Considerations—Beneficiary designation gifts allow you to provide for family and support the causes that matter most to you. With a designation form you could, for example, name your spouse as the "primary" beneficiary and each of your children and Upstate Forever as "partial contingent" beneficiaries. With this arrangement, if your spouse survives you, he or she would receive the account. If not, the account or policy would be paid out to your children and Upstate Forever in whatever shares (or percentages) that you chose on the designation form.
Terminology—Beneficiary designation gifts are simple and straightforward. Common terminology includes "beneficiary designation" but also includes "payable on death" or "transfer on death." The term "beneficiary designation" is most commonly used when naming beneficiaries of retirement plans or life insurance policies. The term payable on death (or "POD") typically involves the designation of a beneficiary of a checking account, savings account or certificates of deposit, and transfer on death (or "TOD") often involves the designation of a beneficiary of stocks, bonds or mutual funds.
Additional Materials
To download a brochure and learn more about Beneficiary Designation gifts, click here.
To download a brochure and learn more about TOD gifts, click here.
To download a brochure and learn more about POD gifts, click here.
Beneficiary Designations and Real Estate—Some states even allow "beneficiary designation deeds" or "transfer on death deeds," which would allow you to name Upstate Forever as the survivor beneficiary of your home, farm or other real estate. As with other beneficiary designation gifts, these gifts are revocable by filing a revocation or new beneficiary designation deed.
Charitable Lead Trust (for Family)
If you are looking for a way to pass on some of your assets to your family while reducing or eliminating gift or estate taxes, a charitable lead trust is an excellent option.
Benefits of a charitable lead trust
- Receive a gift or estate tax charitable deduction
- Pass inheritance on to family at a reduced or zero cost
- Establish a vehicle from which you can make annual gifts to charity
How a charitable lead trust works
- You make a contribution of your property to fund a trust that pays Upstate Forever income for a number of years.
- You receive a gift or estate tax deduction at the time of your gift.
- After a period of time, your family receives the trust assets plus any additional growth in value.
Contact us
If you have any questions about charitable lead trusts, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you and answer any questions you might have and to provide you with an illustration demonstrating your specific tax benefits.
Zero Tax Plan - It is even possible to set up a lead trust that will allow you to transfer assets to your family with zero transfer taxes. The IRS assumes that a lead trust is only earning at the current low federal rate. If the actual investments of the trust produce a higher return than the payments made to Upstate Forever over the term of the trust, then the full value of the trust may be transferred to family with zero gift tax.
FLP/Lead Trust Plan - To discount your gift to family even more, you may consider first transferring your real estate or other assets into a family limited partnership (FLP), which will fund your lead trust. The combination of the FLP, the lead trust and a gift exemption can permit the lead trust to pay income to us for a number of years and potentially transfer substantial assets tax-free to your family.
Increasing Payment Lead Trust - With increased volatility in the stock market, you may also want to consider creating a lead trust that makes fixed payments of increasing amounts to us over time. Because the payments to us are fixed, your family ultimately benefits from any growth in the trust. Low payouts in early years allow the trust to grow, thus allowing protection should the economy produce below-average returns in the future.
Grantor Lead Trust - A grantor lead trust permits you to transfer your cash or assets to a trust that will make gifts to charity for a number of years. At the end of the trust term, you receive the assets back from the trust.
Life Estate Reserved
You may desire to leave your home or farm to Upstate Forever at your death but would also like to receive a current charitable income tax deduction. A life estate reserved might offer the solution you need!
Benefits of a life estate reserved
- Receive a federal income tax deduction for the value of the remainder interest in your home or farm
- Preserve your lifetime use and control of your home or farm
- Create a life estate based on more than one life. This will preserve the use of the property for you and a loved one, such as a spouse or dependent child
How a life estate works
- You deed your home or farm to Upstate Forever. The deed will include a provision that gives you the right to use your home or farm for the rest of your life and that of any other life estate party named in the deed.
- You and Upstate Forever sign a maintenance, insurance and taxes (MIT) agreement to explain that you will do your best to keep the property in good condition and that you will maintain property insurance and pay the property taxes.
- When the owners of the life estate have passed away, your home or farm will belong to Upstate Forever. We will use or sell the property to further our charitable work.
Contact us
To learn more about a life estate, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you and answer your questions.
Life Estates Work for Spouses Too - The life estate can last for your life or based on your life and that of another person, such as a spouse or loved one.
Mortgage Debt - It is possible for you to make a gift of your property even though there is a mortgage upon the residence.
Maintenance Issues - You will be responsible for the maintenance, insurance and taxes on the property, just as you were prior to creating the life estate.
Life Estates Are Flexible - If, at some point in the future, you are no longer able to live independently in your home, we may be able to help you use your life estate to create a lump sum cash payment (with a joint sale) or create an income stream (using the life estate to fund a charitable remainder trust or charitable gift annuity).
