Other Featured Articles by Gadi Zohar, Esq.
The Solution is Near for Therapists' often Unmet Obligations --
Psychotherapists and psychological counselors in private practice must plan for incapacity or death with considerations others may not think of. Various laws and ethical codes require that a therapist make a plan for the quick transition of existing clients and for the proper handling of clinical files in the event of the therapist's death or incapacity. The problem is that most templates for such plans are created by therapists, as opposed to trusts and estates attorneys. All that is about to change! Click here to read more...
-- Estate planning is much more precise and involved than first meets the eye. But for some reason many people who are not steeped in the world of estate planning think that it is straightforward and simple. A host of do-it-yourself guides exist that allow you to do your own estate planning, and after all, you just want to say who should get your property. What could be so complicated about that, you say? Click here to read more...
Plan to Leave a Legacy
"Leaving a legacy" can mean many different things. A legacy can be your reputation. People often refer to the legacy a president will leave. A president's legacy would be something he has done for which he will be remembered. We will all leave legacies like this and hopefully we have lived our lives in a manner that creates the legacy we wish to leave behind.
A legacy in estate planning often refers to something we leave behind for our children or our community. A legacy can be a playground built in our community, or a scholarship or a gift to a charitable organization. Some believe only the very wealthy can afford to establish scholarships or other types of legacies but many people can afford to leave something of value which will continue to provide for others into the future. For example, someone who loves flowers and city gardens could leave money in her/his trust to build a park bench in the garden she/he visited most often. The park bench might cost $500 but her/his contribution to the park will be there for every person who wants to sit and enjoy the gardens that brought the donor so much joy.
Scholarships
Scholarship funds can be established while a person is living or after a person has passed away. An individual should not think he needs to make an initial investment which would fund many years of a scholarship because a scholarship fund can start out small. A scholarship fund begins with an initial investment but if that investment is managed wisely, it can continue to grow and continue to provide more and more scholarships in the future. Donor advised funds can be a good way to achieve this type of goal.
Gifts to Nonprofits
Nonprofit organizations have many needs for investment and most are happy to satisfy specific requests for donations. Here is a hypothetical example of more specified giving than a blanket donation: A man who was passionate about animals wanted to his local humane society to build an outdoor area for dogs to run and enjoy the outdoors rather than remain locked up in a kennel while awaiting adoption. He left money to a donor advised fund with instructions to fund the creation of an outdoor play area. When the man died, the fund was not large enough to cover the costs of the play area, so the trustee of the fund continued to manage the account after he died and six years later, the fund had enough value to cover the costs and the play area was created in his honor.
You can leave assets to your family and friends and still leave a legacy to your community or your school even if you are not leaving millions. For people who do have millions, establishing a trust for scholarships or for nonprofit organizations can be a very smart tax-saving strategy which also provides for many worthy causes. A qualified estate planning lawyer can help you create a comprehensive estate plan which honors your passions and helps the organizations or people to continue to do the work you support.
SIDE BAR
Every year you can deduct contributions if they are made to or for the use of a qualified recipient. Only gifts to qualified organizations can be deducted, and determining who those organizations are is not always obvious. Some gifts to organizations who are nonprofit organizations are not eligible for you to claim a deduction. This is especially true of nonprofits who operate primarily outside the United States. There are many private foundations who might appear to be public charities, but according to the law are not.
You can find out whether an organization is a qualified charity for tax purposes by looking at many sites online, including your state's attorney general office who keeps records on businesses. You can also contact the organization directly and ask them if they can provide you with their nonprofit status. Of course you can give to any organization you choose, whether or not it is a charity. The designation of charity status only comes into play if you want to use the donation as a tax-saving strategy.
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Internal Revenue Service Circular 230 Disclosure. Please note that any discussion of or advice regarding United States tax matters contained herein (including any attachments hereto) does not meet the requirements necessary to be a "covered opinion" as defined in Internal Revenue Service Circular 230, and therefore, is not intended or written to be relied upon or used and can not be relied upon or used for the purpose of avoiding federal tax penalties that may be imposed or for the purpose of promoting, marketing, or recommending any tax-related matters or advice to another party.
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