By including Ragdoll Rescue Connection Home in your estate plan, you'll create a lasting legacy that helps save the lives of all healthy and treatable animals in the community. By including Ragdoll Rescue Connection Home in your estate plan, you'll create a lasting legacy that helps save the lives of all healthy and treatable animals in the community.
Several options allow you to make a meaningful contribution to help shape the future of Ragdoll Rescue Connection Home and also potentially receive income tax deductions, supplement your retirement income, and plan for the smooth transfer of your estate to your heirs.
Will
We’ve partnered with FreeWill: a free estate planning resource that guides you through the process of creating your legal will and including a planned gift to Ragdoll Rescue Connection Home in just 20 minutes.
Do you have an IRA, 401(k), life insurance policy, or any other assets not included in your will? These are called non-probate assets and you must plan your beneficiaries for them separately. You can use this secure online tool to make your plans and designate Ragdoll Rescue Connection Home as a beneficiary of these kinds of assets.
By putting a bequest in your will (cash, property, or a share of the estate residue), you can make a gift to Ragdoll Rescue Connection Home that costs you nothing today but can provide an estate tax deduction in the future. There are several ways that you can make a gift through your will or trust:
Specific Gift
A specific bequest is a type of gift where you specify the exact amount of money or a particular item (such as a collector’s item or a piece of property) that you would like to leave to an individual or organization. This type of bequest is used when you want to leave a specific dollar amount from a particular source or a designated item.
Residuary Gift
This type of bequest is honored after all other bequests have been made, and all debts, expenses, and taxes have been paid.
Contingent Gift
This type of bequest is fulfilled if certain conditions are met. For instance, if your primary beneficiary does not survive you, you can indicate your next choice through a contingent bequest.
Retirement Assets
If you’re 70 and a half or older, you can transfer up to $100,000 out of your Individual Retirement Account to charity. For some taxpayers, this is more tax-efficient than taking the required IRA distributions, paying income tax on them, then giving to charity and getting an income tax deduction for the charitable gift.
Retirement plan balances are usually subject to both income and estate taxes. However, if you choose to donate your retirement assets to Ragdoll Rescue Connection Home, a nonprofit organization, you will not have to pay income tax on the distribution, and your gift will not be subject to estate tax. To transfer your retirement assets to Ragdoll Rescue Connection Home, all you need to do is complete a beneficiary designation form provided by your plan custodian, and list Ragdoll Rescue Connection Home as a beneficiary. By doing so, you will ensure that the animals benefit from the full value of your gift, as your IRA assets will not be taxed at the time of your death. In addition, your estate can also benefit from an estate tax charitable deduction.
Revocable Living Trust
Revocable living trusts are one of the most popular trusts set up for charitable purposes. A revocable living trust is a trust where you may take back or change the conditions of the trust. You retain control of the assets in the trust. During the life of the trust, income is earned and you may designate the earnings to be paid to Ragdoll Rescue Connection Home, individuals such as your spouse or children, or use the earnings as income for yourself. Only after death does property transfer to the beneficiaries.
Charitable Remainder Trust
A Charitable Remainder Trust is a type of trust that is both irrevocable and tax-exempt. It allows you to transfer assets to the trust and receive income from it for a specified period, not exceeding 20 years, while you are still alive. After this period or in the event of your death, the remaining assets are then passed on to Ragdoll Rescue Connection Home, the named beneficiary of the trust. With a Charitable Remainder Trust, you won’t have to pay any capital gains taxes on assets that are transferred and sold through the trust.
Charitable Lead Trust
With a charitable lead trust, you place assets in the trust and specify a set number of years during which a guaranteed amount or a fixed percentage of the value of the assets will be paid to Ragdoll Rescue Connection Home. The remainder is left to your heirs. You receive a discounted gift tax when transferring assets to the trust, and the trust beneficiaries receive the remaining assets free of estate taxes.
Securities
Life estates allow you to make a substantial gift by donating your home, vacation home, or farm without having to vacate the property or give up any benefits you currently enjoy from it. You will receive a charitable tax deduction upfront for the donation, but the property’s benefits and responsibilities will remain yours until the time of your choosing, which is usually after death.
Endowment
Endowments are funds made up of gifts and bequests that require the principal amount be preserved and only the income is used for the organization. Because use of the fund is restricted to a small portion each year, the fund can last forever.
You can create an endowment or put a bequest in your will or living trust to specify that funds be added to Ragdoll Rescue Connection Home’s general endowment. When your gift is invested as part of our endowment, it generates a total return (income plus growth) along with the rest of the endowment. As a portion of that return is paid out each year in your name, your gift will be providing income to support our mission.
Note: This information is not intended as legal advice. Donors should consult with their attorneys, accountants or tax advisors concerning questions related to estate planning, planned giving and the deductibility of various types of contributions toRagdoll Rescue Connection Home.
