Planning a Future Gift

There are many ways in which you can help the Lupus Foundation of Northern California by planning a future gift. By planning a gift to the Foundation, you can become a member of our Legacy Society. Plans are available that can help decrease death taxes, reduce income taxes, reduce Capital Gains taxes, and increase the amount of your gift investment. For more information, read below, contact your tax accountant, or contact us at (408) 954-8600.

Bequests

You can ensure your commitment to the lupus community continues with a bequest to the Lupus Foundation through your will or trust. Bequests are the most frequent type of planned gift made to charity. Your estate receives a charitable deduction for the full amount given, so your heirs pay no estate tax.

Learn more about getting started planning for your future and the well being of your family by preparing or updating a will.

Gifts of Stock

Owning stock that has gone up in value presents a unique opportunity for you to make a cost-effective gift of those shares to the Lupus Foundation and gain significant tax benefits. By donating your appreciated stock rather than the cash you receive from its sale, you avoid the capital gains tax that occurs from your sale of those shares and you receive a charitable income tax deduction based on the fair market value of the donated stock.

Learn more about donating gifts of stock.

Charitable Reminder Trust

A charitable remainder trust is a tax-exempt trust that enables you to make a gift into trust using appreciated assets, usually stock or real estate. You receive the following benefits:

The trust pays income to the income beneficiaries you designate. This usually refers to you or you and others you designated in the trust document, usually your spouse. While the term of the trust can vary, most are either for the life of the donor or the joint lives of the donor and his or her spouse. The income stream can be structured in the form of an annuity or as a percentage of the value of the trust, revalued annually.
Because this is a tax-exempt trust, the trustee can sell the appreciated assets given to the trust without incurring capital gains tax. Thus, the entire proceeds from that sale, reduced only by costs incurred to complete the sale, are available for reinvestment by the trustee to generate your stream of income.
You receive a charitable income tax deduction for the portion of the trust that will pass to charity when the trust terminates. You may pay income tax on the income you receive from the trust.
If either you or your wife is the sole or joint income beneficiaries of the trust, no estate tax will be incurred at either of your deaths.
You have the satisfaction of knowing that, following the death of the last surviving income beneficiary, the assets remaining in your trust will begin to fund the programs and services of the Lupus Foundation.

Charitable Lead Trust

A charitable lead trust is the opposite of a charitable remainder trust. Thus, the income beneficiary of the trust is the Lupus Foundation and the assets remaining in the trust when it terminates revert to you or any other person or persons you designate. Your charitable lead trust immediately benefits the programs and services provided by the Lupus Foundation. Your charitable lead trust can be structured to provide you with immediate income tax benefits, immediate gift tax benefits, estate tax benefits when you die or relief from all of them.

Bargain Sale

A couple or individual can make a gift of real estate which has a mortgage on it. The value of the mortgage is considered a sale to the Lupus Foundation and the value of the home is considered a gift. For the gift portion, the donor receives a charitable income tax deduction. Depending on the donor's tax basis in the property, there may be a taxable gain on the sale portion.

Charitable Endowment

The Purpose of A Charitable Endowment — find out why charitable organizations set up endowments and the benefits of making an endowment gift.

Gift of Real Estate with a Retained Life Estate

A couple or individual can gift a personal residence to the Lupus Foundation and retain the right to live in the home for the rest of their lives or until they decide to voluntarily move, such as to a smaller home or residential care home. The donor continues to maintain the home - taxes, insurance, maintenance & repairs - and receives a charitable income tax deduction for the gift based upon the donors' life expectancies and the value of the property.

Gifts of Life Insurance

You may currently own a life insurance policy that is no longer needed that could provide a year-end tax deduction if donated to the Lupus Foundation. To receive the deduction you must designate the Foundation as both the owner and the beneficiary of the policy. Contact your insurance agent for the details.

Learn more about charitable gifts of life insurance.