Planned Gifts
Estate Planning
Wills
A will is the most common method used when contributing a gift to benefit Hays Medical Center through estate planning. Making a gift through your will provides you with control of your assets throughout your lifetime and becomes an ultimate gift to the Foundation. Almost anyone who makes a will can name a charitable institution for a bequest without adversely affecting his or her family's financial security. Consider naming the HMC Foundation to receive a certain amount, percentage or to receive the "residue" of your estate. There are no immediate tax advantages although a bequest may reduce estate taxes if applicable.
Below is the wording to use including a charitable bequest for HMC:
"I give and bequeath [specific amount, percentage or residue of the estate] to Hays Medical Center Foundation, a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Kansas and having an office at Hays, Kansas, for its general purposes. All charitable gifts, bequests and devises should be made to the extent possible from assets that constitute income in respect of a decedent as that term is defined in the Internal Revenue Code."
Life Estate
A good way to make a gift and take advantage of appreciated value of your home or farm is to enter into a life estate agreement with the Foundation. You continue to use the property throughout your lifetime, receive an immediate tax deduction and avoid taxation on gains in addition to reducing possible estate taxes. Hays Med benefits from the ultimate use or sale of the property.
Retirement Plans
A tax-deferred retirement plan [IRA, 401(k), 403(b), Keogh, etc.] is an excellent way to provide for retirement years, and reflects wise financial planning. However, much of the remaining principal value can be highly taxed upon death when a natural heir or other person is named as a beneficiary. Donors who select the Foundation as the beneficiary avoid those taxes, and can leave other, lower-taxed assets to family members. Your plan administrator can provide the beneficiary designation forms needed.
U.S. Savings Bonds
Bonds are ideal assets to bequeath to the Foundation because, like qualified retirement plans, they are subject to income taxes in the hands of those who inherit them--unless they are given to charity.
Life Income Gifts
These attractive charitable giving options provide donors (and/or others) with a life income or other benefits. These gifts specify the Foundation as the ultimate charitable beneficiary. Such gifts can take several forms:
- With a charitable gift annuity, the donor transfers cash or other liquid assets, such as stocks and bonds, to the Foundation in exchange for regular payments for life. The amount of each payment is determined, in part, by the donor's age at the time the annuity agreement is established. The older the designated annuitants are at the time of the gift, the greater the fixed income the Foundation can agree to pay. In addition, a portion of the income may be tax-free.
- Charitable remainder trusts pay the donor or a beneficiary on an annual basis for a fixed number of years, or for life. A charitable remainder annuity trust pays the beneficiary a fixed amount annually, regardless of the trust's investment performance. In a charitable remainder unitrust, the donor receives a set percentage (determined at the outset depending on personal needs and situation) of the value of the trust assets. This value is re-determined each year, providing the donor with protection against inflation. In both trust types, the remainder of the trust may be given to the Foundation.
- Charitable lead trusts provide specific income to the Foundation for a set number of years, then return all trust assets to the named beneficiary. These trusts make it possible for donors to reduce the size of their estates, while passing assets to the next generation and benefiting the Center.
