Planned giving continues your support for causes that matter most to you.

You give to those who need it the most. You find ways to give back to support your community.

But you want to do more!

Donations through gift planning benefit both you and your favorite charity. A planned gift creates a legacy of compassion by providing lasting funds for needed programs and services in your community. Additionally, estate and gift planning reduce future financial tax burdens on your loved ones by creating estate and inheritance tax breaks.

Estate Planning is preparing your will or trust for the transfer of your assets after death, while Gift Planning is selecting your favorite charities and donating to them for the future.

How can you make a planned gift?

Your options include:

• Wills: By creating a will, you continue to help the people and causes dearest to you. Your lawyer and tax advisor can assist you in this process. Remember, if you prepare a codicil and then change your will, that codicil no longer will be valid.
• Beneficiaries: Naming your favorite charity as a beneficiary on your life insurance is simple and easy and the benefits go directly to your charity. Designating a charity as a beneficiary on your IRA assets also offers multiple benefits. Charities do not have to pay income tax on withdrawals from these accounts and you may be able to avoid certain penalties that come with a higher adjusted gross income (or AGI).
• Charitable Gift Annuity: These are contracts between you and your chosen charity in which you make a gift and receive a lifetime fixed-income stream in return. The remainder of this gift goes to your charity.
• Charitable Remainder Trust: This is an irrevocable trust that distributes an income stream to you and any other beneficiary you name while the remainder is donated to your charity of choice. To learn more about charitable remainder trusts, contact your estate lawyer or a wealth management expert.
• Charitable Lead Trust: This is an irrevocable trust that produces a fixed amount or percentage of trust assets for your charity and then gives the remaining assets to your heirs or other beneficiaries. To learn more about charitable lead trusts, contact your estate lawyer or a wealth management expert.

What should I leave?

That is totally up to you, your financial advisor and/or your lawyer. However, if you want to maintain your annual gift, take the amount you currently give each year and multiply that by 20.

For example:

Current Annual Gift			Yields Annual Gift of:
$100	x 20	$2,000	$100
$1,000	x 20	$20,000	$1,000

Charitable gift annuities normally start at $10,000, but can be more. Charitable trusts should be discussed with your attorney and your charity.

If you would like to ensure that the money you leave behind goes to a cause you care about, consider making a donation to Catholic Charities New Hampshire, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your donation will make a lasting, positive impact on 1-in-13 people in New Hampshire by funding vital programs that serve the poor and vulnerable.

Your support strengthens families and builds communities by providing services for adoption, counseling, health care, pregnancy and parenting education, immigration legal services and more. You move lives forward toward independence. And you will leave a legacy of compassion and respect.

For more information on how to include Catholic Charities in your planned giving, please contact Karen Moynihan at 603-669-3030 or click here.