Estate planning is generally thought of to only be about Wills and Trusts. But it is, and can be, about so much more. In fact, there are several estate planning tools that not only benefit you and your estate, but can likewise benefit one, or even several, charities.
There was an article recently published on Forbes’ website specifically about charitable estate planning, and in particular, how Presidential candidate Mitt Romney has used such techniques as part of his estate plan. Kelly Phillips Erb does a great job of explaining how these tools work and how effective they can be. Let me be clear that the purpose of this blog is to simply talk about charitable giving as a part of estate planning, and by no means am I attempting to make any political inferences from this blog post. I want to share a prime example of how these estate planning tools work, and to provide information for anyone out there wanting to provide for your family while also ultimately providing support for a charity of your choice.
I am not going to rehash all the details in the article as the author states it best! But what I can do is tell you about one particular charity that I am involved with and how these tools can truly benefit similar charities.
I am a volunteer Wish Granter for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona. We provide hope and joy to children who have experienced or are experiencing a life-threatening illness by granting their one true Wish, with typically very little restriction on what that Wish can be. Hundreds of Wishes are granted every year in Arizona alone, and thousands are granted nationwide. However, providing these wishes isn’t cheap. In fact, an average Wish typically costs around $7,500. The Make-A-Wish Foundation is completely funded through private and corporate donations, and using the tools outlined in the article is one way that supporters of the charity can help take care of their family while still providing financial support for a top-of-the-class charity.
As great as these tools are, they may not be best for everyone. So I’d encourage you to meet with us for free if this is something you’d like to learn more about.
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