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H O S P I C E
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Planned Giving For Regular People By Merica S. Dobry, Senior Counsel, Warner Norcross & Judd LLP
I
f you are like me, your mailbox and email inbox
You can also make a planned gift to a nonprofit
get flooded at the end of each year with year-end
by designating the nonprofit as a beneficiary of your
appeals, along with holiday greetings and store flyers.
retirement or IRA account, or your life insurance. Then
The last few months of the year are sometimes expensive,
those assets would pass directly to the nonprofit at your
especially if, like my family, you have birthdays mixed in with
death. You may designate all, or merely a portion, of
holiday celebrations, to say nothing of our charitable giving
your account or life insurance benefits. Gifts of any size
plans each year. It can be a challenge to allocate our limited
can make a real impact on a nonprofit and adding a
resources between all the perceived obligations jostling for
charitable organization as a beneficiary does not interfere
our attention. It comes down to a simple question: What do
with your income.
you hope to accomplish? What does the new year look like, for yourselves, for your families, for your community?
If your funds are limited or you need to maintain a certain level of financial security, but you still want to make
What if you use the beginning of the new year as a time
an impactful gift during your lifetime, you could set up a
to thoughtfully consider the legacy you wish to leave for your
charitable gift annuity or a charitable trust. For example,
family, friends and community? Perhaps your legacy involves
you can contribute cash or investment assets to a charitable
making gifts to support causes that are important to you.
trust, and the trust will provide you with fixed income
Perhaps you wish to pay tribute to a special friend or family
payments for a period of years or for your lifetime (and
member by giving to a charity. If your legacy vision involves
your spouse’s lifetime if desired). The charitable beneficiary
giving, even on a small scale, you should consider the
can invest the trust assets during your lifetime and watch
benefits of planned giving which can amplify the impact of
them grow, and then it keeps the remaining funds after
gifts of any size.
your death. Even though planning for this type of gift can be complicated, this is a wonderful option to support
How do I make a “planned gift”? Planned giving
nonprofits like the Harbor Hospice Foundation. An attorney
is creating a plan to make a gift (either during your lifetime
should assist you to set up this type of giving plan.
or after your death) that will have the best impact on the nonprofit. You don’t need to be wealthy to make an impact. If you do not feel comfortable making a gift during your
Remember that even small seeds grow into large trees. Any gift you wish to make to a nonprofit,
lifetime, you may choose to make a deferred gift instead.
now or in the future, can grow into something more
Deferred gifts are planned in advance and then triggered by
impactful over time with the right planning. Imagine the
an event, such as the donor’s death. The easiest way to do
impact if each of you readers designated even 1% of your
this is through a charitable bequest, where you state in your
estate to the Harbor Hospice Foundation. Creating a planned
will the estate assets that you wish to gift to the nonprofit
gift is a wonderful way to leave a legacy, provide future
upon your death. In creating a bequest, you can leave the
funding and ensure that the Harbor Hospice Foundation
nonprofit either a percentage of your total estate value,
resources will be available to families in the future.
a specific asset (such as a car or part of an investment portfolio), a specified amount of money, or the remaining assets in your estate after all your other requests have been satisfied.
Merica S. Dobry is an attorney and Senior Counsel at Warner Norcross + Judd, LLP in their Muskegon, MI office. Merica also serves on the Harbor Hospice Foundation Board of Directors. You can reach Merica at her office by calling 231.727.2610 or by email to mdobry@wnj.com.
HarborHospiceMI.org
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