Choose a Legacy Gift That Is Right for You
With a direct gift or pledge of $10,000 or more to the Laguna Beach Seniors Endowment, you become a member of the Susi Q Legacy Society and your name will be added to our donor wall. It’s the first thing we all see when we come to the Susi Q.
Gift of Cash
A direct gift of $10,000 or more to the Laguna Beach Seniors Endowment will give you an income tax deduction and strengthen our long-term sustainability.
Gift of Real Estate
Donating appreciated real estate — a home, vacation property, land, or commercial property — has many benefits:
- It avoids capital gains tax on the sale of the real estate.
- It generates an income tax deduction based on the current value of the gift.
- It creates a lasting legacy that will sustain our work.
How to make a gift of real estate
Your real property may be deeded in whole or in part by executing a deed transfer of ownership. Your tax deduction will be based on the property’s fair market value as established by an independent appraisal.
Gift of Stocks and Securities
With a gift of securities that have increased in value, you will avoid paying capital gains tax and receive a charitable tax deduction for their fair market value on the date of delivery.
Please contact us for instructions on how to transfer stocks, bonds, and mutual funds from your brokerage or investment account to Laguna Beach Seniors.
Gifts of Retirement Assets
If you are taking a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from your tax-deferred retirement accounts and do not need these funds, you can opt to make a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) to Laguna Beach Seniors. You also can designate Laguna Beach Seniors as a beneficiary of your retirement accounts after your death.
Benefits of gifts of retirement assets
- You avoid paying income taxes on your RMD.
- You receive a charitable tax deduction for the fair market value of your QCD .
- You may avoid potential estate tax on these retirement assets.
- Your heirs could avoid income tax on any retirement assets funded on a pre-tax basis.
How to make a gift of retirement assets
Notify your retirement plan custodian of your wish to make a QCD to “Laguna Beach Seniors, Inc.” To name us as a beneficiary of your retirement account upon your death, you will need to complete a beneficiary designation form provided by your retirement plan custodian.
Wills & Trusts
You may name Laguna Beach Seniors as a beneficiary of your will or living trust. Your bequest may be a specific sum of money, a percentage of your estate assets, specific personal property, or real estate.
Bequests of retirement assets, insurance policies, bank accounts and stocks and bonds, are typically made by asking your retirement plan administrator, life insurance company, bank or investment broker to send you the appropriate “beneficiary designation” or “payable on death” form.
Making a change to your will or trust can be as simple as adding a codicil or amendment. However, it is always wise to work an estate planning professional when making these changes.
Charitable Gift Annuity
A charitable gift annuity is an irrevocable contract between a donor and a charity. Laguna Beach Seniors works with the Orange County Community Foundation, which issues and administers annuities on our behalf, backs them with their assets, and further insures them to guarantee your rate of return. Rates are set by the American Council on Gift Annuities, based on one’s age, and current interest rates.
With a minimum gift of $10,000, you receive an immediate partial tax deduction, plus a fixed stream of income for the rest of your life. When you fund your annuity with appreciated assets, you also will avoid capital gains tax. At your death (or the surviving spouse if you are giving as a couple), the remaining funds pass to Laguna Beach Seniors.
Life Insurance
Donating a life insurance policy while you are alive will result in an immediate tax deduction for the current cash value of the policy. If you pay future premiums to keep the policy active, these payments are also tax deductible. You also may name Laguna Beach as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy, which reduces your estate by the amount of the death benefit.
Benefits of gifts of life insurance
- You receive a charitable deduction on your income tax.
- If Laguna Beach Seniors cashes in the policy, your gift goes to work immediately to support our mission.
- If Laguna Beach Seniors retains the policy to maturity, you can receive additional tax deductions by making annual gifts so that we can pay the premiums.
- If we retain the policy to maturity, or you name us as a beneficiary, the proceeds will be paid to our organization upon your death to support our work.
How to make a gift of life insurance
Request a beneficiary designation form from your insurer and include Laguna Beach Seniors as the beneficiary of your policy.
Charitable Remainder Trust
A Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) provides you and/or other beneficiaries with a stream of income for life or for a period of years. After the trust terminates, the principal, or “remainder interest,” goes to Laguna Beach Seniors. Unlike other life-income arrangements, CRTs are separately invested and managed trusts. Please note that Laguna Beach Seniors does not manage these trusts for donors.
Some versions of CRTs can be funded with closely held stock, partnership interests, real estate, and in some instances, tangible personal property such as works of art. You can choose to receive a variable or fixed income for life or a term of years. There is no limitation on the number of beneficiaries of a CRT.
CRT Benefits:
- You can receive a charitable income tax deduction in the year the gift is made, with an additional five years to carry over any unused deduction.
- You can add to certain types of CRTs at any time.
- Assets you contribute to a CRT are immediately removed from your estate, reducing your estate tax exposure.
- When appreciated assets are donated to the trust, they can be sold without incurring capital gains tax, allowing the entire proceeds from the sale to be reinvested.
We always recommend consulting with an estate planning professional before making a major charitable gift. For more information about the Susi Q Legacy Society, please call Executive Director Nadia Babayi at 949.715.8102 or email her at NadiaBabayi@thesusiq.org