PLANNED GIVING WITHIN YOUR STATE PLAN
Neal A. Deutsch, CFP®
Published in Rivertown Journal, January 2010
 As a Rocklander for over 40 years, I have had both the good (and not so good) fortune to have the public facilities of our great County for my use at different times of my life: hospitals, libraries, civic centers, theatre and other public facilities. While the internet may have diminished our library visits, the value of that sacred facility is beyond value. Civic centers, the social facilities for our senior citizens, provide an outlet for our elders to socialize, congregate, and have the security of their contemporaries helping to sharpen their minds and continue to have fun in life. If you've ever taken sick in the middle of the night, broke or bruised one of your delicate body parts, or have fallen to one of the many life threatening illnesses that may befall any of us, I don't think I have to extol the virtues of our local hospitals.
Some time ago I was contacted by a Director of one of our local hospitals asking for my sage advice. You see, and to my surprise, while there is a constant level of fundraising in place, there is no "planned giving" program. In a meeting with the Director, she explained that fundraising, while always a challenge, has become critical in securing the future of her facility. How? What's planned giving? I'm so glad you asked…
Planned giving is the act of making a charitable gift to assist in the long-term success of a facility, as in this hospital. It may be in the form of a donation of stock, including the facility in your will, making it a partial beneficiary of your life insurance policy, or any of a number of plans that would seriously impact the facilities future for you, your children and your grandchildren. Just think for a minute (and I shudder) if Rockland lost all of its hospitals due to lack of funding. I just can't imagine…
Charitable giving provides help to those less fortunate than us, or to perpetuate a cause. Many make gifts or bequests to charitable organizations for various reasons: just completing a stay and care for yourself or a loved one, support for sciences, education or the arts, a desire to share one's good fortune with others, or to just experience the sheer joy of giving where others will enjoy the fruits of your gift. Whatever the reason, the US tax laws are designed to encourage these gifts. Some donors prefer to make an outright gift of cash, some gift appreciated securities for a tax incentive, some create an income program as a result of the appreciate property. Since income is a concern with most of us, there are ways to donate securities to the charity or facility while creating an income for life.
With the tax laws allowing unlimited conversions from an IRA to Roth in year 2010, there are plans available to utilize this one-time allowance for tax advantages and charitable giving. While complicated and not for all, a consultation with the planned giving department (or give me a call) of the facility you are interested in benefiting along with your tax advisor may uncover ways to both benefit your local charity and help you at tax time. It's a win-win situation for all. The gift of an asset to a charity generally results in a federal tax deduction which should decrease the tax due and increase the amount of net after tax income for the contribution year. State and local taxes will vary from state to state. There may be limits due to factors from person to person, so consult your tax advisor in all cases.
I strongly suggest you consider planned giving in your estate plan- it just may save your life or the life of the one's you love…
If hearing from me once a month isn’t enough, come visit me in our new blog site at www.chestnutblog.com. If you think I’ve got pearls of wisdom here…you ain’t read nothin’ yet! See you there!
Neal A. Deutsch is a Certified Financial Planner™ & Registered Securities Principal, offering securities through First Allied Securities, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Neal is President of Chestnut Investment Group in Suffern, NY, helping people with financial planning since 1984. Please feel free to call Neal at 845.369.0016 or email him with your questions at neald@chestnutinvestment.com. Visit his website at www.chestnutinvestment.com | 
