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Deferred Giving, Lecacy Gifts & Bequests

A deferred gift to FIAF ensures the continuation of promoting and enhancing the knowledge and appreciation of French and Francophone culture, while creating your own legacy of support.

Click on a link below for some additional details:

- The Truth about Deferred/Planned Giving

- How Can I Give Later?

- Remembering Others with Special Gifts

- True or False? – 10 Points on Wills and Estate Planning

If you are considering making FIAF part of your trust, bequest, or endowment, please contact:

Jess Burkle, Development Coordinator
jburkle@fiaf.org / 646 388 6680

The Truth about Deferred/Planned Giving 

1. You can give and protect your economic security. Making charitable gifts while enjoying comfortable retirement years can often be achieved by better planning your gifts. For example, using the right assets to fund your gifts may help you meet both personal and charitable goods.
2. You can give and increase your income. You can make a gift that provides lifetime income to you and/or a loved one while still making a charitable gift. You not only receive income each year for as long as you live, but you can also enjoy special tax savings as well.
3. You can give and provide for loved ones. Providing for children and other loved ones need not compete with your desire to make charitable gifts. Through careful planning, you can fund charitable gifts in ways that first help you provide for your loved ones. For example, certain gift plans can help fund a grandchild’s educational expenses or provide income to a brother, sister, or other loved one.
4. You can give and reduce taxes. Making charitable gifts may also help you minimize capital gain, income, and estate taxes. And if you are over 70 ½ it may be possible to make certain tax free gifts from your IRA

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How Can I Give Later?

You can arrange for a gift today that will provide meaningful support for charitable interests in the future. Consider these ideas:

1. A gift through your will or living trust is a convenient way to continue to support your charitable interests while still maintaining control of your assets during your lifetime.
2. Gifts of what remains in retirement plan accounts can be among the easiest to arrange. You simply designate a charitable organization to receive all or a portion of the balance of these funds when you no longer need them. This may allow you to give more than you ever thought possible while leaving heirs other assets that may be taxed at lower rates.
3. Gifts of a life insurance policy or proceeds of a policy that are no longer needed to protect a loved one can also be an excellent way to give. Additionally, “replace” assets you donate to charity, allowing you to provide for your loved ones as well as your charitable interests.
4. A gift that provides for you with immediate tax savings along with generous, guaranteed lifetime payments can be another way to give while maintaining or enhancing financial security.

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Remembering Others with Special Gifts

Giving in honor of those who have touched your life is a special way of demonstrating your love, admiration, and lasting values. For example, a gift plan that makes yearly payments to you for the rest of your life can be designated in memory of a spouse or another loved one. We would be happy to discuss the many options that are available to you through memorial gifts.

Most importantly, please know how much we appreciate your continued support. Whether you make your gift in a way that provides income for you or create a remembrance through your will or living trust, we thank you!

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True or False? – 10 Points on Wills and Estate Planning

We hope you find this information helpful as you plan for your future financial well-being and that of your loved ones. Believing that one “knows” things about wills and estate planning, which are simply not true, is the most common reason for failure to plan ahead. We will be pleased to assist you and your advisors where possible with the charitable dimension of your plans.

1. “Only people with children and others who depend on them need wills.” - False
   Even people with no dependents need wills if they want to determine who eventually receives their property.
2. “Only wealthy people need wills.” - Wrong
   If you have any assets at all, you need a will, even if your estate is modest, your heirs few, and your wishes simple.
3. “Only people with troublesome relatives need wills.” - False
   In the absence of a will, even family members with the best intentions can be confused as to what your wishes may have been.
4. “The laws on wills are pretty much alike throughout the United States.” - False
   Laws that govern estate settlement can vary greatly from state to state. That’s why, when you move to another state, you should always carefully review your will with the help of an attorney in that state. The tax laws that apply to estates may be different in the new state. This is just one factor that should be taken into consideration.
5. “A will made by a person who is mentally and physically sound is valid regardless of its content.” - False
   Not if, in making a will, he or she is defrauded or is subject to what the Law refers to as “undue influence” by another.
6. “Non profit organizations named as beneficiaries in wills need only be identified by their popular, generally accepted names.” - False
   They should be identified by their exact corporate, legal names and addresses. The use of other names can lead to confusion and, in some cases, lengthy and expensive court procedures that may or may not result in the intended charity receiving its legacy.
7. “When a will contains a trust, it is best to spell out the terms exactly and narrowly define trustees’ powers.” - False
   It is usually best to provide for discretion in some matters. For example, you may wish to grant a trustee broad powers for investment of estate assets so they will have the flexibility to adapt to future changes in economic conditions.
8. “When you want to care for your surviving spouse and also include charitable gifts, it is usually best to leave everything to your spouse, who can then leave any balance to the organization.” - False
   It is sometimes best to set aside amounts you choose, as your charitable interests may differ from those of your spouse.
9. “The best and most preferred way to be a philanthropist is through your will.” - False
   The best way for you to give depends on many personal factors. Giving by will is convenient for many, but other methods should also be explored in order to maximize tax and other benefits.
10. “It is expensive to have an attorney draw up your will and often hard to find out how much it will cost.” - False
    It’s as easy as asking, and attorneys expect to be asked and to quote fees in advance. The fee for their work and advice is often a bargain when measured in terms of the taxes and other expenses a well-drafted will and other plans can serve your heirs.

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