Your Legacy - May 2013

Vol.1 2013

LEGACY University Hospitals Kingston Foundation Guide to Legacy Planning

University Hospitals Kingston Foundation Profile: LARRY PHIPPS

Creating a Legacy: A gift for the future

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elcome! We’re delighted to send you the first issue of Your Heritage, a special guide to legacy planning. We’ve designed it to be both a help to you and a way to say “thank you” to our friends and supporters.

Without you and so many others, Hotel Dieu Hospital, Kingston General Hospital and Providence Care could not provide the high level of quality care they do for more than 500,000 people in Kingston and southeastern Ontario.

Every day, you help our three hospitals to offer medical care, emotional support and groundbreaking research to everyone in our region. Never forget that your generosity is deeply appreciated by everyone who benefits from our work.

Thank you!

Denise Cumming Executive Director

In this issue...

arry Phipps has always been a man who knows what he wants and who does the right thing. When someone asks why he has been such a strong supporter of Kingston’s hospitals, he gets right to the point: “I don’t have a bucket list. I have enjoyed my life and I appreciate what the hospitals in Kingston have done for me and mine.”

A long time donor to the University Hospitals Kingston Foundation, Larry wants to ensure a strong future of healthcare in our community. And he is doing something about it.

After spending many years in the Canadian military, working for the long-term health and well-being of our country, he chose to settle in Kingston.

He is committed to supporting our hospitals because he and his family have received outstanding care. He also knows that someone helped to buy the equipment that those talented caregivers used to provide him and members of his family with quality patient care. “I also know that equipment wears out, becomes obsolete or is invested and so now it is my turn, and perhaps yours, to help.”

“I know that this equipment costs thousands of dollars and that it is unlikely that me or you on our own can step up to the plate and pay the whole cost, but if we all do our share, these things can be done.”

Larry stated out as an annual donor to the Foundation, he made a generous pledge to the Together We Can campaign and has made outright Cont’d on page 2

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There’s Good Will in a Good Will

Planning for the Future: Your Estate Plan

Gift Planning: Many Ways to Give and Gain

Interview with David Bonham, University Hospitals Kingston Foundation

GIVING THE GIFT OF A LIFETIME T

hroughout my career as a lawyer, I drew up wills for hundreds of clients. By the time I retired, I viewed a will as a chance to give the gift of a lifetime. That’s because people may be able to give more through a bequest than they’ve ever been able to donate in life, thanks to the tax credits that apply to a properly planned estate.

When my clients consulted me about their wills, I always made it clear that I was working for them, not controlling the process. “It’s your will,” I told them. “I’m here to help you set up the legacy that expresses your values and hopes.” Most of them had already thought deeply about their bequests. If they wanted to include University Hospitals Kingston Foundation in their wills, it was because they and their families had received wonderful care at Hotel Dieu Hospital, Kingston General Hospital or Providence Care.

Sometimes people wonder how their heirs will react when they learn that a portion of the estate is going to charity. I encouraged my clients to share their bequest intentions

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CREATING A LEGACY: LARRY PHIPPS

major gifts to a named endowment to support cancer research in honour of his parents, Will and Ethel Phipps.

Now, in planning for the future, he has made arrangements to add to that fund through his will.

“It’s important to me to leave a legacy that will make a difference; it’s the right thing to do,” he says.

Larry represents many donors who contribute to the hospitals through planned gifts. Their generosity will

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with their families because their will is their last significant statement.

It sums up who they are and what they have valued throughout their lifetimes.

It’s absolutely essential to have a proper will. Once you’ve decided to take that step, it’s not at all complicated to include charitable bequests. You can expect the process of drawing up your will to be quite straightforward. Generally you’ll be able to do it in two or three meetings with your lawyer.

I found that my clients became very enthusiastic about charitable bequests. They realized they were making an impact, often in their home community. And they understood that Canada’s tax system actually supports their charitable intentions. To benefit from that, get your lawyer to work with any other advisors you may have – an accountant or financial planner, for example. Together, they can help you do what so many of my clients have done: give the most to your family and to wonderful organizations like our UHKF.

provide vital funding for patient programs, equipment purchases, redevelopment, research and educational activities for our hospitals in the years to come.

“Not only are you helping the hospitals and everyone who uses them, but you get a really nice feeling and a tax deduction for your donation,” he adds. “I hope you will join me in making our hospitals even better than they are now.”

There’s

Good Will in a

Good Will M

any people feel that a will – any will – is better than no will at all. Preparing a will shows that we have thought about our dependents, our beneficiaries and the charitable organizations we supported during our lifetime.

Sadly, a poorly drafted will may cause more grief than gratitude. It can result in additional expense or litigation, and chances are the estate won’t be administered or distributed as we might have wished. A poorly drafted will can be as bad as no will, and it may suggest to family and friends that we didn’t care enough.

Wills and estate planning are very technical areas. The complexities of the Family Law Act as well as the various laws affecting the taxation of estates make it essential that a will be prepared by a specialist.

Don’t be discouraged. While making a will involves much more than expressing your wishes in writing, there’s competent help and good information out there to get you on the right path.

The expertise of your financial or legal advisor will also help you tackle the very personal issues addressed in a will and give you peace of mind.

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, insurance or trust arrangement.

Planning for the Future: Your Estate Plan M

ost people understand the importance of financial planning. We all want to make our hard-earned dollars grow.

Unfortunately, many people don’t realize that estate planning is just as important as financial planning. In fact, financial planning and estate planning go hand in hand.

Although it can seem complicated, estate planning makes sure that your assets will be preserved so that your family and the causes you care about will be supported during your life and beyond. Thorough estate planning involves professionals, such as your financial advisor, your accountant and your lawyer.

What is estate planning?

Estate planning involves many things.

One element of estate planning involves taking a careful inventory of all you own (taking into account all your debts) and deciding who is to get what. This should be recorded in your will. Naturally, you will want to make sure you keep probate fees and taxes to a minimum.

Your estate plan should probably include insurance to replace your income in case you become incapacitated, and to help pay taxes that arise when you die. Smart estate planning goes a step further: it ensures that if you are somehow incapacitated and unable to make decisions about your property or your personal care, someone you trust and have chosen will step in to make those decisions for you. Planning charitable contributions is also an important part of planning your estate.

Everyone should have an estate plan which is tailored to his or her particular needs. Careful estate planning will give you a security net which can help preserve the assets which you have worked hard to build.

Further, a plan can provide for you and your family should you become unable to do so. It can take care of your family after your death, and help you to make meaningful

contributions to causes you value. In short, it can help give you peace of mind and personal satisfaction.

Your estate plan should include: • a completed will • designated power of attorney • life and disability insurance • a plan to minimize probate fees • a plan to minimize or defer taxes

Your Estate Planning Checklist 1. Practice good personal financial planning. Be an informed financial consumer. Read to educate yourself about your choices and strategies.

2. Know your net worth and keep your plan updated annually.

Keep a budget summary so that you know where your money comes from and where it goes. Make an inventory of special, personal, or family items. Decide how and to whom these items will be distributed at your death.

3. Decide which beneficiaries should get what assets, in what amounts, over what time period. Remember to be clear in your wishes so that if you do give to an organization, other beneficiaries will clearly understand that these were your wishes.

Your Hospitals. Your Health. Your Future.

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GIFT PLANNING: M

ost people are aware that by making an outright gift of cash, stocks, property or work of art, they are able to see their donation being used immediately by the charity of their choice. As a donor, you will usually also realize an immediate income tax saving.

There is an alternative way to give to University Hospitals Kingston Foundation. Making a deferred or planned gift can benefit both you and the Foundation. You establish the gift now, with its actual delivery to the Foundation in the future. Planned gifts will allow tax savings. Depending on the type of gift, some tax advantages could be current, while others will be realized later by your estate.

Since planned gifts enable you to make a substantial contribution, your gift would have a deep impact on the future of Hotel Dieu Hospital, Kingston General Hospital and Providence Care. Here are some examples of planned gifts.

Will bequests Charitable gifts made by will are deemed to have been made in the year of death. The estate receives the charitable tax credit and can use it to offset any taxes owing. The gift may be a fixed sum or a specified amount of the residue of the estate after other specific bequests have been distributed.

Many Ways to Give and Gain

Life insurance Giving a new or existing insurance policy allows even people of modest means 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 provide the funds through premium payments out of your current income.

For Further information please contact: Bill Durnford - Director, Leadership Philanthropy University Hospitals Kingston Foundation 55 Rideau St., Suite 4 Kingston ON K7K 2Z8 Phone: 613-549-5452 - Fax: 613-549-5455 Email: foundation@uhkf.ca

Planning is the key For a planned gift to truly make sense for you, it should be part of an overall estate plan. This plan would consider all your heirs and ensure they are cared for to the level you would hope.

Finally, planning will allow you the chance to make a real difference to UHKF. It is a way to express your philanthropic dreams and leave a lasting legacy.

University Hospitals Kingston Foundation Supports

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.