Charitable giving and estate planning can help you maximize your philanthropic impact while providing significant tax benefits and ensuring your wealth is distributed according to your values. By incorporating charitable strategies such as donor-advised funds, charitable remainder trusts, or direct bequests into your estate plan, you can reduce estate taxes, create income streams for yourself or heirs, and support UW both during your lifetime and after.
You have benefited from all the support that you have received in your life, and you have achieved success. Now you want to be able to give back. While a gift of cash is not strictly an estate consideration, it might be among your charitable goals, so why not make a gift today? It is quick and easy, it provides an immediate income tax deduction, and it removes property from your estate. You also have the satisfaction of knowing that you have impacted the lives of generations of future students.
Giving through your estate is a powerful way to save on taxes for yourself or your heirs.
Tools such charitable gift annuities and charitable lead trusts give you income in retirement.
Provide income for a spouse or loved one with special needs while supporting Wyoming's students.
An estate gift is the perfect way to make a significant impact while leaving a legacy.
There are many creative ways to fulfill your charitable planning goals and also take care of your heirs and beneficiaries at the same time, all with tax benefits. For example, you could establish a charitable remainder trust, which during your life provides income for you and your family, and upon death and expiration of the trust, the remaining assets are passed to the your university, which creates your legacy. This option may offer you significant income and estate tax benefits. Another creative solution is through a charitable lead trust, which satisfies your charitable giving goals up front through annual payments to the UW program or area of your choice. The assets remaining in the trust upon the expiration of the charitable lead term pass to your children or grandchildren. If structured properly, what your heirs receive can be free from estate and gift taxes.
“I was accepted on a scholarship grant that covered my out-of-state tuition. That was part of what inspired me to give. I don’t like the fact that kids are going into debt to go to college. I think Wyoming does a good job at lowering the cost of tuition, especially compared to these other schools. I’m hoping this endowment will keep student costs even lower.” – Martin Knauss, alum, donor, and petroleum engineer
Planning your estate is increasingly critical as you age. In your 40s and 50s, you may have limited time to build wealth and need more sophisticated planning strategies. By your 60s and 70s, proper planning becomes essential for ensuring financial security in retirement and protecting your loved ones and your legacy. Over 70, you may be focusing on maintaining stability.
With a charitable remainder trust, your payments can either be based on a percentage of the value of the assets on an annual basis (called a Unitrust), or can be a fixed payment determined at creation of the trust (called an Annuity Trust). With the Unitrust, the payments you set up for yourself today, but receive tomorrow, will adjust with inflation and grow with the market. The Annuity Trust is consistent and based a known amount that can be budgeted for. However, the Annuity Trust does not hedge against inflation.
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Do you remember the saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”? It also applies to financial planning. You want to diversity your asset allocations among and within the categories of stocks, bonds, cash, and other investments. Charitable planning can help you diversify your asset mix when you are facing tax implication such as when you are considering the sale of highly appreciated assets. By including a charitable component in your financial and estate plan, you might find that you can save money in taxes that you can reinvest or pass on to family members.
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When you retire, you may decide to downsize your residence or to move into a retirement community. With careful estate and charitable planning, you can reduce or eliminate long-term capital gains from the sale of an extra home.
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If you would like to support your university significantly, one option is to give your home, vacation home, or farm to UW while still living in it and maintaining it during your life. By setting up a retained life estate, you not only benefit generations of UW students through the value of your gift, but you can also continue to live in your home for the remainder of your life.
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Perhaps you have a C.M. Russell bronze or maybe you have spent your professional life analyzing and collecting oil well data, and you would like to donate these items as part of your estate so that others can enjoy them. UW will consider such gifts and can often use them to further the purposes of the university.
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Financial and estate planning when done properly includes a discussion of family values and how to ensure that those values continue for generations to come. Our Planned Giving Team can engage with you and your advisors in these discussions to help education you and your family regarding the charitable tools available to accomplish your goals. We can also help to ensure that your wishes are carried out and that your gift is put to the most beneficial use by matching your desires with the needs of the department or program that you want to support. A great way to pass on your values is by naming a fund in honor of an important family member, friend, or a mentor.
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Perhaps you have worked hard and achieved success in your life, and now you are in a position to give back. Rest assured that your gift will have an impact within the area you designate and upon UW’s students, faculty, and programs. Alternately, you may have the desire to create a legacy at UW but believe that you don’t have the means. You might be surprised—an estate gift is the perfect way to make a significant and lasting impact at UW while leaving a legacy for yourself, your family, and UW’s students.
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