Offering donations to charities and organizations is one of the best ways to live your values and transform the lives of future generations. By donating to charity in your will, you can continue helping the causes you care about most and leave a lasting legacy.
That said, even a well-intentioned gift requires careful thought, since making charitable donations comes with certain tax and estate planning implications. Here's everything you need to know about setting up charitable donations in your will.
What can you donate to charity in your will?
It's common to leave money in your will to a charity, but you can actually donate several types of assets, including:
- Financial assets such as stocks, bonds or cash
- Life insurance benefits such as death benefits from a whole life insurance policy
- Real estate such as your primary home or investment properties
- Personal property such as jewelry, a car, collectibles or artwork
- Retirement assets such as proceeds from an annuity, your IRA, 401(k) or other qualified retirement accounts
You can choose to allocate all or just a portion of these assets to the charity or organization of your choice. As part of your estate planning, it's worth leaving specific instructions for the executor of your estate to notify the charity of your death in a timely manner. Include details about how and when they can access your donation.
Please note that given the legal nature of estate planning, it is always beneficial to review estate planning with a legal professional. Thrivent does not provide specific legal or tax advice, but we can partner with you and your tax professional or attorney to provide details on your overall financial strategy at Thrivent.
4 ways to set up charitable donations in your will
No matter what assets you decide to donate, have a strategy in place. You can donate to charity with a bequest through your will, designating a charity as a life insurance beneficiary or as a beneficiary for your retirement accounts, and by creating a charitable lead or charitable remainder trust.
1. A bequest through your will
One of the most straightforward ways to make charitable donations after death is via a
With this approach, you can designate assets such as stocks, bonds or real estate to a charity through your will or a
You can donate a specific asset, a certain dollar amount, a percentage of your estate or any assets remaining in your estate after your loved ones receive their share. You could even
2. Designate the charity as your life insurance beneficiary
You can choose a charity to be a
To do so, you'll need to complete the beneficiary forms for that particular asset and list the charity as a beneficiary of that asset. You must provide the organization's tax ID number to make this change and notify the charity that their organization is a beneficiary of your policy.
There are some things to keep in mind when donating beneficiary proceeds to charity. Ensure that your life insurance provider allows you to designate a charity as your beneficiary in the first place, as some insurers prohibit this. How you structure this gift is also important. As long as you remain the owner of the policy, you can still access the contract's
Alternatively, you could transfer ownership of the policy to the charity. The advantage here is that the policy won't be counted as part of your estate—however, you can't reverse the decision. That being said, this approach may be worthwhile if you have a smaller, secondary whole life insurance policy you want to designate for charity.
3. Designate a charity as a beneficiary for your retirement accounts
With an IRA or other qualified retirement account, you can designate a charity as the
Another option is to donate your retirement proceeds via a
4. Create a charitable lead or charitable remainder trust
A
A
Consider consulting an estate planning attorney to walk you through the specific rules dictating how assets must be distributed and the length of time a beneficiary can receive income from the trust. Despite the work involved, split-interest trusts offer tax benefits, including tax-exempt status.
What to consider before you donate to charity in your will
If you want to donate to charity in your will, set aside time to really think about which organizations to support. Ask yourself several questions:
- Does the organization's mission align with my values?
- What causes are most important to me?
- How much can I afford to donate?
- Are there charitable organizations my family loves that we can donate to together?
- Do I want to designate my charitable contributions for a specific purpose within the organization?
Once you decide the best route for donations, make a list of potential charities and discuss your plans with your loved ones. Then, sit down with a financial advisor and/or estate planning attorney to figure out how much you can donate to your chosen charities and how to best structure your charitable donations for maximum impact. Putting a plan for charitable giving in place now helps ensure you leave a lasting legacy.
Are you ready to make the most of your giving? We can help you determine if a gift of bequests or beneficiary proceeds is right for you. Contact your Thrivent