YOUR
LEGACY
January 2014
University Hospitals Kingston Foundation Guide to Planned Giving
4
Easy Steps
to a bequest
Creating a bequest gift is an easy thing to do. These four simple steps can help you achieve your dreams while ensuring your loved ones are cared for, your estate is protected and the gift you wish to make is secure.
Step 1: Make the decision that creating a bequest gift is right for you. Decide what kind of gift you wish to make (either a specific amount of money or a percentage of your estate) – your financial professional can help with this step. Step 2: Designate your gift using the legal name “University Hospitals Kingston Foundation.” You may also wish to direct it to one of Kingston’s hospitals or a specific program. Step 3: Call your lawyer and ask them to add a codicil to your Will that establishes a gift for University Hospitals Kingston Foundation. Give your lawyer the legal written name, and they will handle the remaining details. Many lawyers will prepare this codicil without cost. Cont’d on page 2
In this issue...
Creating a planned gift is a tribute to care and strong values: CAROLANNE VAIR
Creating a Legacy: A gift for the future
When Carolanne Vair thinks of Hotel Dieu Hospital, she remembers the compassionate care delivered to both her mother and herself, as well as the hospital’s deeplyheld values of dignity, justice and integrity, and a 12-year high in her health administration career. “Hotel Dieu is very near and dear to my heart, and has been ever since I was hired,” she recalls. “My family and I have received excellent care there. It was a wonderful place to work, too. The environment is unique because of the values of Hotel Dieu’s founders, the Religious Hospitallers of Saint Joseph. I have tremendous respect for what they have managed to do in the face of very challenging times.” As life went on, Carolanne yearned for a way to give back to the hospital that had rewarded her with a fulfilling management role and that had also taken such good care of her and her mother. A faithful annual supporter, she found the right opportunity when
Page 2 Meet Zoë MacKenzie
Page 3 Tax-wise charitable giving
the time came to update her Will. Now her estate plan includes a bequest – a gift through the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation – that will express her gratitude beyond her own lifetime. Carolanne is enthusiastic about Hotel Dieu’s vision of excellence in ambulatory care and patient education. A lifelong health-care professional, she is well aware that much care is now delivered on an outpatient basis. “A good ambulatory hospital is essential in the Kingston region,” she says. “When I think that my gift will help a lot of other people after I am gone, I see Hotel Dieu achieving even more of the vision that was Cont’d on page 2
Page 4 Deferred gifts: Giving today vs. establishing a legacy for tomorrow
Cont’d from page 1
4 EASY STEPS TO A BEQUEST Step 4: If you feel comfortable, contact UHKF to let us know when you have created a bequest gift. This will allow us to add your name to our list of donors who have included University Hospitals Kingston Foundation in their estate plan, and give us an opportunity to thank you. It will also help us understand how you want the Foundation to use your gift in sustaining the care, equipment, research and/or education in Kingston’s hospitals.
Cont’d from page 1
CREATING A LEGACY:
CAROLANNE VAIR
developed when it was converted to an ambulatory care centre. It feels terrific to know I’m helping to make that happen.” Anyone can do what Carolanne has done – directing their gift to any of Kingston’s university hospitals or to be shared where needed most. Tax credits from a properly structured bequest often allow people to leave as much as they originally intended to family members and other heirs. If you are ready to consider following Carolanne’s example, UHKF staff would be pleased to give you the information you need or put you in touch with professionals who can assist you in meeting your goals. Contact Zoë MacKenzie at 613549-6666 extension 4953 or email Zoe.MacKenzie@uhkf.ca to talk about a way that you, too, can make the gift of a lifetime to University Hospitals Kingston Foundation.
2
Zoë MacKenzie is ready to help you achieve your dreams Zoë MacKenzie is the first person to admit that she has a pretty amazing job. After all, most careers don’t involve helping people achieve their innermost dreams. As the Associate Director for Planned Giving at the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation (UHKF), that is exactly what she does. “My role is to help people leave a legacy in support of patient care, research and/or education in Kingston’s university hospitals. It is quite exciting because I am able to match people with opportunities that really resonate with them.” For someone who dreamt of becoming a nurse, a legacy gift that will help comfort others in the future may be a perfect fit. For those interested in leading-edge discoveries, perhaps it’s a gift to research. “It really is about helping people achieve their dreams,” she says. Some donors simply want to make a difference to help others and prefer to make a legacy gift to be used by Kingston’s hospitals (Hotel Dieu Hospital, Kingston General Hospital and Providence Care) where needed most. As a professional planned giving officer, Zoë works with donors to find the perfect giving match. “It really is a win-win,” she says. “You get to create a legacy and you are able to make a difference in the future.” UHKF is also a member of LEAVE A LEGACY™, a national program designed to promote awareness about the importance of including a charitable gift in the estate planning process. Through the LEAVE A LEGACY™ network, Zoë can assist in putting interested individuals in touch with local professionals such as financial advisors and lawyers who are well-versed in planned giving. Zoë has been working in this area for a long time. Her career in planned giving – sometimes referred to as deferred gifts – began as an underwriting agent with Empire Life where she decided to specialize in planned giving in 1996. Zoë has taken several executive level planned giving courses, and has volunteered with many charitable organizations setting up their Planned Giving programs. She soon wanted to work directly in the charitable organizations and found herself in Ottawa. There, she spent 11 years as Executive Director of Champions For Children Foundation where she was instrumental in creating some exciting and meaningful educational bursaries, through planned gifts. Zoë is looking forward to sharing her skills. “I want to reach out and help people who are interested in learning more about how to leave a legacy, but who perhaps don’t know how to do it.” What she loves most is the look of joy on the faces of people who know that they are leaving a legacy of care. “It is great to see their reaction when they realize that things will be done the way they want that will make a difference for others. It really is about achieving your dreams and making a difference in our community.”
Tax-wise charitable giving
When people make a charitable gift to Kingston’s hospitals through the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation, they do so for very personal reasons. Perhaps one of the hospitals has taken care of them or a loved one, or helped them live a full, meaningful life despite a chronic condition. Each reason is as unique as each supporter. Each of these gifts also provides significant tax savings to the person’s estate. Although it may not be the primary reason a person creates a charitable bequest for the benefit of UHKF, it is a benefit that should be considered when planning the gift. Tax benefits of a bequest gift When a charitable gift is made from a person’s estate to a registered charity such as UHKF, a tax receipt is issued to the estate for the gift. The estate trustee uses the receipt to offset taxes that arise during the liquidation and distribution of assets. A gift that exceeds 100% of the person’s income in the year of death may be carried back one year to help offset taxes paid in the previous year. Other benefits of a legacy gift are: • the satisfaction of establishing a substantial gift to a charity; • the donor retains the amount for use in life; • a bequest in the Will is revocable – donors retain the right to change their mind.
Example: A benefactor leaves a bequest of $100,000 to University Hospitals Kingston Foundation in their Will. What is the impact? 1. Upon the person’s death, the Foundation receives $100,000 and issues a tax receipt in that amount to the estate. 2. The combined federal and provincial income tax rate is presumed to be 46.4%, and the combined donation credit rate is presumed to be 44.2%. 3. The estate trustee applies the donation receipt to the estate’s tax return and, assuming the client has sufficient tax obligations, saves $44,200.00 in taxes. 4. The cost to the estate of the $100,000 bequest is only $55,800. If you have made, or are considering a bequest in your Will, we encourage you to inform us so that your generosity may be recognized. This is a way for us to honour the commitment of our donors who have made a planned gift of support to the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation through a bequest, life insurance or trust arrangement.
Your Hospitals. Your Health. Your Future.
3
Deferred Gifts: the difference between
giving today and establishing a legacy for tomorrow Most people know that by making an outright charitable gift of things such as cash, stocks, property or a work of art, they can see their donation being used right away. The donor also realizes immediate income tax savings. But did you know there are other ways that you could contribute to Kingston’s hospitals through the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation? A planned gift (also referred to as a deferred or legacy gift) can benefit both you and the Foundation. You establish the gift in the present, with its actual delivery to the charity sometime in the future. The majority of legacy gifts are bequests established in a person’s Will. These types of gifts also will allow tax savings – some current and others to be realized later by your estate. Your gift will have a deep impact on patient care, research and education in Kingston’s university hospitals.
A gift of life insurance gives Paul and Debi Moore the opportunity to make a very generous gift. “It’s just one of those nice things that works out for everybody.”
Gifts made by Will are deemed to have been made in the year of death. Therefore, the charitable tax credit is received by the estate and can offset Bequests any tax owing from the estate. Almost Bequests are gifts created in a every estate will owe taxes to the federal Will as part of the normal process government. Charitable bequests can help of distributing an estate. Charitable reduce or eliminate those taxes. bequests – or legacy gifts – are A bequest gift may be for a fixed generally made after a person has sum, or for a specified amount of the provided for their loved ones and other residue of the estate after other specific heirs. bequests have been distributed. The following are some examples of different ways to give a legacy gift:
Life insurance Giving a new or existing insurance policy allows everyone to make a sizable gift with only a small annual or monthly outlay. In addition, a tax credit is available for immediate tax relief. Your family’s share of your general assets will not be reduced by this form of giving because you are providing the funds through premium payments out of income.
For further information please contact: Zoë MacKenzie, Associate Director, Planned Giving (613) 549-6666 ext. 4953
University Hospitals Kingston Foundation supports
55 Rideau St., Suite 4, Kingston, ON K7K 2Z8 Phone: 613-549-5452 - Fax: 613-549-5455 Email: foundation@uhkf.ca
Your Hospitals.Your Health.Your Future. The information and opinions contained in this newsletter are obtained from various sources believed to be reliable, but their accuracy cannot be guaranteed. University Hospitals Kingston Foundation and its employees and agents assume no responsibility for errors or omissions or for damages arising from the use of the published information and opinions. Readers are cautioned to consult their own professional advisors to determine the applicability of information and opinions in this newsletter in any particular circumstances. This newsletter is under copyright; its reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of the copyright owner is forbidden.