Estate & Planned Gifts

Gifts by Will

A will is the easiest and most effective means to ensure that you fully provide for your family and that your assets are distributed as you wish. Many of our supporters have remembered Camillus House in their will while also providing for their family. These bequests provide a major portion of the Camillus’ funding each year. A bequest through your will also provides continuing support of the ongoing work of Camillus House. A gift to Camillus House through your will has several advantages:

A will offers you many benefits:

• Lets you direct how your assets will be distributed and provide for your family, relatives and friends.
• Provides for your minor children financially and by designating a guardian.
• Lets you give to charitable causes, thus leaving a legacy that reflects the values you held during your lifetime.

By creating a will, you'll be able to:

• Choose the personal representative or executor you want to oversee the distribution of your assets.
• Avoid unnecessary expenses in administering your estate.
• Use some estate planning techniques to save considerable estate taxes.
• Memorialize someone especially important in your life through a bequest made to Camillus House in their name.

Charitable Gift Annuity

Charitable gift annuities are a wonderful way to make a gift to Camillus House and realize generous lifetime income as well as current year tax savings. A charitable gift annuity is an agreement between a donor and Camillus House whereby you transfer cash or appreciated assets to us, and in return you (or you and someone you name) receive guaranteed fixed-dollar payments. These payments will continue for as long as you (or the two of you) live.

The gift rate and tax savings for a charitable gift annuity vary from person to person, depending on age and the number of beneficiaries. You can arrange a one-life or a two-life charitable gift annuity that can provide for you and/or a loved one.

A deferred gift annuity is similar to a charitable gift annuity. You transfer cash or stocks in exchange for quarterly fixed-dollar payments that will continue for as long as you live. The difference is that the annuity payments start at some point in the future. You set the date when the gift is made. You might consider a deferred gift annuity if you don't need more income now, but would benefit from charitable deduction while insuring a regular income at some future point in your life. Deferred gift annuities are an excellent way to combine a legacy gift with supplemental retirement savings.

A trust is a legal agreement that specifies how the assets placed under the trust will be managed. The charitable remainder trust is an attractive method to achieve a variety of goals while providing income for life and knowing that after your lifetime, the property remaining in the trust will be used by Camillus House as you specified. There are two types of charitable remainder trusts: the unitrust and annuity trust.

• Unitrust: income fluctuates annually with the fair market value of the trust.
• Annuity Trust: income payments are fixed and determined when the gift is made

The advantages of a Charitable Remainder Trust are many. For example, you receive income for life, avoid capital gains tax if trust funded with appreciated securities, receive immediate charitable income tax deduction, possibility of reducing your estate tax, and the satisfaction of supporting Camillus House.

These types of trust allow you to attain your own personal financial objectives while making a significant gift to Camillus House. The best type for you depends on your own individual needs. For more information, please use the Contact Us email address or call us at 305-374-1065, Ext. 332.

A pooled income fund is a donation and an investment. Participants make charitable gifts of cash or stocks, which are "pooled" with gifts from other participant donors and invested. The participants in the pooled fund receive a proportionate share of the income that's earned. When a participant's life ends, the value of the portion of the pooled income fund that represents the donor's contributions to Camillus. The money he or she puts into the fund passes to Camillus House. (This is called the "remainder interest." It's the amount of the principal that's left after all the income payments to the beneficiary have been made.)

Ownership is represented by units of participation. The value of these units rises or falls as the value of the fund changes.

When you participate in a retirement plan, you set aside money to use later. If you die before you receive any lifetime payments, the accumulated funds go to the beneficiary or beneficiaries that you've named. If you die after your retirement benefits have begun, the remainder in your fund is paid to your beneficiaries.

It's also possible to donate all or part of your retirement plan to Camillus House. If you're considering this, here are some points to keep in mind.

You may name Camillus House as first, second or last beneficiary for part or all of the remainder. (You may name Camillus House as beneficiary at any time.)

A spouse must sign a spousal waiver when Camillus House is named for benefits to which the spouse is entitled.

There are four basic types of retirement plans:

• Qualified pension and profit-sharing plans
• 401(k) Plans
• Keough Plans
• Individual retirement accounts (IRAs).

Tax benefits: Retirement plans offer important tax advantages to participants.

• Contributions can be deductible for federal income tax purposes, by the employer, the participant or both
• Earnings from investments accumulate and income tax is deferred until retirement payments begin

Many people have insurance policies that have outlived their original purpose. For example, some people have old policies to cover the cost of a child's education or to provide financial support to a spouse or child in case of a premature death. If the original need for a policy has been met, consider giving the policy to Camillus House.

How to give general life insurance as a gift

There are ways that you can give life insurance.

• Give a paid-up policy. Policies that have outlived their intended purpose can make wonderful gifts.
• Buy a new policy. You can make a substantial gift by taking out a policy and making us both owner and beneficiary. The premium payments can be tax deductible.
• Give a single premium policy for maximum benefits.
• Add a beneficiary. You can name Camillus House as a primary or joint beneficiary. Another option is to name us as a secondary or final beneficiary on an existing or new policy. If the beneficiary(ies) dies before you do, we will become the beneficiary. This lets you provide for loved ones and potentially make a gift to fight homelessness and poverty. Because the gift isn't definite, the tax benefits would be deductible from federal estate taxes. You may name us as a beneficiary on whole or term life insurance policies.

A charitable lead trust creates a gift for Camillus House today and ultimately returns that gift to the donor or his or her loved ones.

A charitable lead trust is created by the irrevocable transfer of assets, such as cash or securities, to the trust. The gift that results is an annual income that is paid to Camillus, generally for a lifetime(s) or a period of years. The donor determines the income amount to be paid to Camillus House when the trust is created. At the end of the trust period, the accumulated assets in the trust are returned to the donor or passed to others as he or she has chosen. The charitable lead trust presents an attractive method for a donor to return assets to his or her control in later years or pass assets to family members.

Benefits of a Charitable Lead Trust

• The satisfaction of creating a gift that immediately benefits Camillus House
• A gift of current income for Camillus House
• The ability to provide a multi-year gift that Camillus House can count on
• The ability to transfer assets back to yourself or to other generations
• Potential tax savings
• The ability to make a gift now, but retain control of assets in later years