Planned Giving – It’s for All of Us

Learn the basics of Planned Giving.  View the slide show below and hear remarks from our guest speaker, James Murphy, Managing Program Director, Episcopal Church Foundation.

View the Sunday Forum "What is the Best Gift for Me? To Benefit Yourself, Your Loved Ones, Causes You Care About," presented by James Murphy, Managing Program Director, Episcopal Church Foundation, below.

Please note: After this instructional forum was held, a change occurred in the Required Minimum Distribution age requirement, raising it from 70½ to 72. This only applies to individuals who turn 70½ on or after January 1, 2020. Please be sure to consult your tax advisor about the impact of this change. 

​Planned Giving and Ways to Ensure Immanuel’s Strong Future

​Planned giving offers a variety of ways to leave a legacy, have a meaningful impact and help secure a strong future for Immanuel Church on-the-Hill.
           
Bequests

1. Bequests are the most common way to make a future gift. These gifts can be from a will or trust or designated allocations of financial accounts.
2. Gifts can be made with cash, securities, real estate or other assets.  
3. Bequests can be designated as a dollar amount, a specific asset, a percentage of your estate or the residual balance.
4. Bequests are flexible and revocable – changes can be made at any time and you control your assets during your lifetime.  

​Beneficiary Designations

1. Beneficiary designations are the simplest way to make a future gift. You can name Immanuel as the beneficiary of a retirement plan, life insurance policy or financial account.
2. Beneficiary designations are flexible and revocable – changes can be made at any time by filling out a “beneficiary designation form” obtained from the relevant contact, such as insurance agent, bank branch or financial advisor.
3. If you are married, you need a “spousal consent form” to name anyone other than your spouse as the death beneficiary of your tax deferred account or pension plan. 

​Special Asset Gifts 

1. Special Asset gifts can include life insurance or other appreciated property, such as real estate, artwork or automobiles.
2. If you decide to name Immanuel to receive these kinds of special asset gifts, be sure to discuss this in advance with the rector and members of the Gift Review Board, which includes the Rector, Wardens and the Treasurer, to ensure that the future gift can be accepted by the Vestry and together can determine how the gift would be used.  

​Life-Income Gifts/Charitable Gift Annuities

1. These future gifts fund an annuity or trust that can pay you, and/or someone you designate, income for life.
2. The remainder of the gift is given to Immanuel.
3. Life-income gifts and charitable gift annuities require making a gift that is irrevocable in exchange for a fixed or variable income for life or for a term of years.

Planned Giving is for all of us, as stewards of God’s bounty. It’s not reserved for the wealthy. It’s a loving and responsible act of hope and an expression of faith in the future of Immanuel Church-on-the Hill.

Planned giving

• offers an opportunity to provide for ourselves and loved ones while also having a meaningful impact on Immanuel’s future 
• allows us to decide thoughtfully how we want our resources ultimately to be used 
• lets us continue supporting the causes and missions we care about beyond our lifetime 
• helps us make a difference – and do great things in the future

​Planned giving is like planting seeds in faith and hope for the future -- that small seeds will produce a great tree whose fruit will sustain future generations. 

Making Plans for Future Gifts

​Gift planning can be done at any time. It may often coincide with significant life events, such as:  marriage, divorce, birth of a child, death of a family member, retirement, moving out of state, or a large influx of taxable income, such as from the sale of a business, a bonus, inheritance, or successful investment.​

Planning for Your Best Life

Whatever your age, health status, or the amount of your assets, it’s essential to make sure that your legal documents are current and reflect your wishes.

Now is an excellent time to take action – create or review your legal and estate planning documents to see if they fulfill your wishes.

What are Estate Planning Documents?
This is a general term that can include your Will, Power of Attorney, Health Care Power of Attorney, Advance Medical Directive (or “Living Will,”) and Revocable Trust.

How to Take a Fresh Look

1. Review your fiduciaries. Fiduciaries are the Executor under your Will, the individuals you have identified in your Power of Attorney or Health Care Power of Attorney, and the Trustee of your Trust.   Are these individuals still the ones you want managing your estate and making important decisions for you or your beneficiaries? Are you still in close touch them and do they know and understand your wishes? Do they know where your important documents are kept? Have you named alternates in case they cannot serve?
2. Ensure your documents still reflect your wishes in case your decisions have changed since you created the documents. You can make necessary changes through a Codicil to your Will or Amendment to your Trust, or you can create new documents.  
3. Make a current list of all your accounts – such as bank accounts or brokerage accounts and store the account lists with your estate planning documents.
4. Doublecheck that accounts are titled correctly to show account owners accurately. Life circumstances change through marriages, births, deaths, and divorces and your accounts need to reflect what’s current.
5. Recheck the beneficiaries and contingent beneficiaries listed for your accounts, such as your insurance policy or 401(k) plan. You can easily update them by completing a Beneficiary Designation form.
6. Check that your legal documents give someone control of your digital assets. Make sure that person knows how to find your list of current passwords.

Online planning resources are available and can be a way to get started, as well as contacting your legal, financial, and estate advisors. If you decide to use an online tool to draft documents, it is very important to have those documents reviewed by an attorney to ensure they both meet your needs and comply with all legal requirements.​

​​Immanuel Church on-the-Hill created the Zabriskie Society to recognize parishioners who have made Immanuel, or one of its trust funds, a beneficiary of their will, or other planned giving program.
 
There is no minimum gift amount required for a gift from your estate to become a member of the Zabriskie Society.
 
For more information about making a future gift to Immanuel and becoming a member of the Zabriskie Society, contact the Vestry steward for Planned Giving.

Leaving a Future Gift to Immanuel
As you do this important and necessary estate planning work, we hope and pray you will consider leaving a future gift to Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill. The Zabriskie Society recognizes parishioners who have made Immanuel, or one of its trust funds, a beneficiary of their will, insurance policy, financial account, or other planned giving program.

Planned gifts to Immanuel are for all of us to consider. It is not something reserved just for the wealthy. It’s a loving and responsible act of hope and faith in Immanuel’s future that all of us desire.

For more information about how you can become a member of the Zabriskie Society, contact Danette “Dani” Kauffman, danettekauffman@starpower.net or 202-258-9743.
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Every situation is different, and this guidance is not legal advice. So be sure to work with your legal, financial, and estate advisors to determine what is best for you. ​

Consult Your Advisors Before Making a Planned Gift

1. ​Legal, tax and/or financial advisors can help you determine which planned giving tools are the best fit to help you meet your personal goals, your situation and circumstances.
2. Planned Giving usually involves creating an estate plan to ensure family members and other heirs are provided for while also remembering Immanuel Church on-the-Hill and other charities you are passionate about.
3. Be sure to seek advice first from your legal, tax and/or financial advisors to determine which, if any, planned giving tools might be appropriate for you.

Consider Telling Us about Your Planned Gift

​For those who designate a planned gift of life insurance to Immanuel, it is especially important to notify Immanuel of this future gift. That is because state laws do not require insurance companies to notify beneficiaries. That means your planned gift might go unclaimed.
 
If you wish to indicate that you have designated a planned gift for Immanuel, we will be delighted to thank you, acknowledge your generosity and recognize you as a member of the Zabriskie Society.