PLANNED GIVING

Planned Giving can help you achieve your financial goals while finding great tax savings and benefits while helping LSH. We would be glad to work with any investment or legal advisors as you consider LSH in your charitable giving.

Gift planning offers you the chance to give to LSH now or after your lifetime, helping you align your charitable giving with your overall financial and estate plans. Many giving options offer you financial benefits, allowing you to make the greatest impact for people with sight or hearing loss, while maintaining the future security of you and your loved ones.

Planned gifts are sometimes referred to as “stop-and-think” gifts because they require some planning – and often, help from your professional advisors. Unlike cash donations, they are typically made from assets in your estate rather than disposable income, and come to fruition after you pass away.

The most common planned gift is a bequest in your will or living trust. Other planned gifts include: charitable gift annuity, charitable remainder trust, charitable lead trust, an endowment fund, retirement plan assets, life insurance policies, or a remainder interest in your home.

A common misconception is that gift planning is only for the well-off. But even people of modest means can make a difference, and create a legacy, through gift planning.

To discuss any of these options, please contact Randy Stein at 800.647.6638 rstein@lshf.org or your legal or tax advisor.

This is a gift vehicle that involves a contract between a donor and LSH. The donor transfers cash or property to LSH in exchange for a partial tax deduction and a lifetime stream of annual income from LSH. When the donor passes away, LSH keeps the gift.

A charitable remainder trust allows donors to share distributions between a number of beneficiaries, at least one of which is not a charity. This way, it is possible to leave a legacy for family members or other beneficiaries while supporting LSH as well. A charitable remainder trust is exempt from all taxes as long as it complies with the applicable section of the Internal Revenue Code.

Charitable lead trusts make payments, either of a fixed amount (charitable lead annuity trust) or a percentage of trust principal (charitable lead unitrust), to a charity during a specified term. At the end of the trust term, the remainder can either go back to the donor or to heirs named by the donor.

This is a donation of money or property to LSH for its ongoing support. Usually the endowment is structured so that the principle amount is kept intact while the investment income is available for use, or part of the principal is released each year, which allows for the donation to have an impact over a longer period than if it were spent all at once. An endowment may come with stipulations regarding its usage.

Retirement assets are one of the most beneficial gifts you can give to LSH. These funds grow tax-free until the time of withdrawal. With the innovative use of these assets, you can contribute generously to LSH as well as provide for your loved ones. Many taxes on these plans can be avoided or reduced through a carefully planned charitable gift.

Life insurance is an excellent tool for making charitable gifts for a number of reasons. Through a relatively small annual cost (the premium), a benefit far in excess of what would otherwise be possible can be provided for LSH. This sizeable gift can be made without impairing or diluting the control of a family business or other investments.