Leave a Legacy
Make A Charitable Bequest
A charitable bequest is how donors benefit a favorite cause through their will or living trust. Including a bequest to Fortuna Senior Center in your will or trust is an easy way to make a difference.
Charitable bequests can work to the benefit of your estate’s primary beneficiaries courtesy of the current tax laws and is a wonderful way to provide a pre-planned gift.
Advantages to you:
- It doesn’t affect your current cash flow or assets.
- It’s easy to make and to change if your circumstances change.
- You retain full use and complete control of your property for life.
- It may save you estate taxes later.
- Every dollar of your thoughtful gift is fully tax deductible through Fortuna Senior Services, Inc. 501(c)3 private nonprofit corporate status.
- You have the satisfaction and pride of knowing your legacy will continue to benefit future generations after you’re no longer here.
- You can make a legacy gift of any size with a simple directive in your will or living trust.
You might be thinking “But I have family. Shouldn’t I leave my entire estate to them?” This is the #1 concern when making a bequest. The fact is, depending on the current tax laws, leaving a gift to charity in your name can reduce the estate tax burden on your heirs. Consult a financial advisor or estate attorney to see how this would work in your instance.
If you have not yet written a will, or have not reviewed your existing will recently, now is a good time to take care of that. Without a will, you are leaving the disposition of your estate up to the government. If you have a will but have not looked at it since you’ve moved, changed your marital status, had a child or grandchild, or experienced the loss of a loved one, you may want to make changes to it.
Step 1: Contact a financial planner, estate attorney or qualified paralegal to ensure you have a will or to make sure the one you have is up-to-date, and that it includes establishing a charitable gift if that is your wish.
Step 2: Let Fortuna Senior Center know of your plan to give your support. It is important we know what you want done with your eventual gift, and we will want to thank you.
There are a few differences in bequests, depending on what you want to leave and how you want it done, which call for very specific language. Here are three examples to help direct your gift:
1. Specific Bequest:
“I give, devise and bequeath to Fortuna Senior Services, Inc., 3811 Rohnerville Road, Fortuna, CA 95540, (Tax ID No. 20-0322659)
1) the sum of $__________, or,
2) ________% of my estate, or,
3) ________ shares of stock in (name of company), or
4) My interest in (describe the real property), parcel number #_____ located at (address)”
2. Residual Bequest:
“I give, devise and bequeath to Fortuna Senior Services, Inc., 3811 Rohnerville Road, Fortuna, CA 95540, (Tax ID No. 20-0322659) (amount – all or a percentage) of the residue of my estate.” (Residue is defined as that which remains after debts and expenses of administration, legacies and all other devises have been satisfied.)
3. Contingent Bequest:
“In the event that (name of beneficiary) does not survive, I give devise and bequeath the deceased beneficiary’s gift to Fortuna Senior Services, Inc., 3811 Rohnerville Road, Fortuna, CA 95540, (Tax ID number 20-0322659).
There are a number of forms of property that you can bequest such as:
Appreciated Stocks and Bonds, IRA Balances, Real Estate: With careful planning, charitable gifts of long term appreciated securities or real estate can create very favorable tax benefits for you and your heirs, such as elimination of paying long-term capital gains tax or receiving an income tax charitable contribution. If you meet the IRS requirements you may be able to transfer directly from a Traditional IRA to a charity. You won’t be able to claim a tax deduction for the contribution, but you won’t owe income tax on the withdrawal either.
Trust Distributions: Charitable Trusts offer an opportunity to make a substantial gift to Fortuna Senior Services, Inc. while retaining the annual income produced by these assets. You will retain income for your life and the life of your spouse. This gift can also be structured to create a substantial tax break over a period of years.
Insurance: You may own some form of life insurance that can play a very important part in Planned Charitable Giving. Life insurance for charitable purposes can be accomplished by (1) the transfer of ownership of an existing policy to Fortuna Senior Services, Inc. or (2) the purchase of life insurance which names Fortuna Senior Services, Inc. as the beneficiary and/or owner.
Before making any decisions regarding your estate, we encourage you to talk to your estate attorney or financial advisor for more information on these types of gifts.
Fortuna Senior Services, Inc. Federal Tax ID #: 20-0322659