Managing your estate well is the best gift you can give to your family and the charities you support. Managing your estate takes skill, good judgment and the sound advice you can get from trusted financial and legal advisors.
Ask your legal and financial advisors what and when and how you should give your hard-earned assets. You will find many different tax laws and many different ways to enjoy tax benefits.
Find out how to leave “tax-heavy” assets to charities such as the Byzantine Catholic Seminary so as to allow your heirs to avoid heavy income and death taxes.
Examine these ways to plan your estate:
Revocable Living Trusts – By naming the Byzantine Catholic Seminary as a beneficiary in your living trust, you can be assured that the Seminary you care about will continue after you fall asleep with the Lord. There are multiple estate and tax planning benefits to establishing a Revocable Living Trust
Charitable Gift Annuities – The Byzantine Catholic Seminary has been working with the Greek Catholic Union to help donors fund annuities. A Charitable Gift Annuity can provide a donor with lifetime income in exchange for a charitable gift that helps fund the Seminary. It is an extraordinary way to make a gift, increase your income and reduce your tax bill – all in one transaction.
Charitable Remainder Trust – You might choose a Charitable Remainder Trust wherein your family benefits initially and then the Seminary will receive the remainder of the assets after you have fallen asleep in the Lord
Gifts of Life Insurance – Insurance policies have value that we do not often think of. You can make the Seminary the owner and beneficiary of the policy and gain immediate tax savings.
Bequests – You may want to include the Seminary in your will. You can designate the Seminary to receive a general bequest, a percentage bequest, a residuary bequest or even a contingent bequest. Your lawyer or financial planner can counsel you on the differences and the best option for you.
Gifts of Property – You can make a gift of your property and receive tax benefits while continuing to use the property.
There are many ways to plan your estate so that you and your family benefit while helping the charitable organizations that you respect and trust. If you wish to discuss giving to the Seminary, please feel free to contact our Development Office at (412) 321-8383 x36.