Bequests and Other Planned Gifts

Turn your values into legacies for learning

Planned gifts connect you with our students, faculty, and campus in enduring and transformative ways. A planned gift can take many forms: a living trust, a bequest in a will, or a gift that provides you with either life income or life use. Arranging a bequest or including Lewis & Clark in your estate planning allows you to support the school with assets that might otherwise be lost to estate, income, or capital gains taxes.

Types of Planned Gifts:

Bequests
Planned Gifts with Retained Income
Using Retirement Plan Assets to Assist Lewis & Clark
Gifts of Life Insurance
Making a Deferred Gift of Your Home

Donors who have made a planned gift to the College of Arts and Sciences or to the Graduate School of Education and Counseling automatically become members of the Heritage Society.

Every individual's tax picture is unique, and it is important that you consult with your tax advisor when contemplating a gift to the Lewis & Clark. Our senior development officers will be glad to have a confidential discussion with you, your attorney, or other financial and trust advisors.

To find out more about planned giving and bequests, contact Sharon Bosserman-Benson, Director of Planned Giving, at 503-768-7911 or sharon@lclark.edu. We welcome your inquiries.

Bequests

A bequest to the College of Arts and Sciences may be an unrestricted gift that supports the general purposes of the school as a whole, or a restricted gift for a specific purpose, such as a scholarship, or an academic department or program. Bequests may be used to establish an endowed fund in support of a named scholarship, professorship, or lecture. Bequests are the single largest source of funds for Lewis & Clark's endowment. You can fund a bequest with cash, securities, real estate, tangible personal property, or any other type of property. Samples of Bequest Language.

Planned Gifts With Retained Income

Under a Lewis & Clark College planned gift agreement with retained income, you give funds to Lewis & Clark with the understanding that Lewis & Clark, as trustee, will pay you (or your spouse or others you designate) an annual income from those funds for life or for a period of years. Your gift will support education in perpetuity.

Three main types of planned gifts that retain income:

Gift Annuities. A gift annuity has substantial advantages, though they are different from those associated with other life income contracts. The annual income you receive from a gift annuity is a fixed sum and is guaranteed. It is calculated using a percentage based upon the age of the beneficiaries. A portion of the income is returned to you tax free; the exact percentage depends on the age of the beneficiaries. If the gift annuity is bought with appreciated property, you must pay tax on a small part of the gain. However, you may prorate the taxes on the capital gain over your life expectancy.

Unitrusts. When you establish a unitrust, Lewis & Clark, as trustee, pays you a fixed rate of return set by you at the time of the gift and tied to the market value of your funds. Trust assets are revalued each year, so earnings reflect changes in market level. The return can be set at any reasonable value, but it must be at least 5 percent. In creating a unitrust with appreciated property, you avoid capital gains tax. Often earnings can be substantially increased. There is a substantial charitable deduction, and a large part of the value of the unitrust, up to all of it, is removed from your taxable estate.

Annuity Trusts. An annuity trust differs from a unitrust in that you receive a fixed sum of money each year. The amount is calculated using the initial value of trust assets. The rate used will depend upon age and the projection of long-range prospects for earnings. In creating an annuity trust with appreciated property, you avoid capital gains tax, earnings can be substantially increased, there is a substantial charitable deduction, and a large part of the value, up to all of it, is removed from your taxable estate.

A Few Points to Remember

Any unitrust, annuity trust, or gift annuity you make will

a. if made with appreciated property, avoid, reduce, or defer the impact of capital gains taxes at the time you make your gift;

b. substantially reduce, if not eliminate, any estate taxes that otherwise might be imposed on the transferred property at your death; and

c. immediately generate a sizable income tax deduction.

Using Retirement Plan Assets to Assist Lewis & Clark

Your retirement account may be a major financial resource. To preserve your retirement assets after your lifetime—rather than relinquishing a large portion to taxes—consider using them as a source for charitable giving. Amounts from retirement plans designated for charitable use are fully deductible from estates as charitable gifts. The full amount will generally be received and used for charitable purposes with no income tax due.

Gifts of Life Insurance

Individuals often own life insurance policies that are no longer necessary for the protection of their families. Such policies may be used as gifts to Lewis & Clark, providing donors with substantial income tax deductions.

Making a Deferred Gift of Your Home

You might prefer to give Lewis & Clark ultimate ownership of your home, retaining life use for yourself—a retained life estate. By deeding the property to Lewis & Clark in this way, you receive a substantial current income tax deduction, and you (or someone you choose as a survivor) can use your personal residence for life.

The preceding information is designed to give accurate general information about the subjects covered. It is not designed to render legal, accounting, or other professional advice. You should seek a professional advisor if legal or other professional advice is required.