August 23, 2013

As a supporter of Lutherans For Life you may be interested in making a gift to support the mission of Lutherans For Life that is not a cash gift. The following are samples of these types of gifts.

Charitable IRA Distribution
The IRA charitable rollover allows individuals age 70½ and older to make direct transfers of any amount up to $100,000 per year to Lutherans For Life, without having to count the transfers as income for federal income tax purposes.

Life Insurance
If you have a life insurance policy that has served its original purpose—providing for your children, protecting your mortgage, or securing your retirement funds—you may use this policy as a gift to Lutherans For Life. You can do this by naming Lutherans For Life as the owner or beneficiary, and possibly experience some tax benefits as well.

Payable on Death Accounts
Payable on death accounts designations are a simple way to designate who will receive funds upon your death. This designation can be done with banks, brokerage firms, retirement funds, and more. Since you are considered the owner of your account, you can cancel or change it as you wish. At your death, unlike wills, payable on death accounts do not involve probate, allowing for quicker distribution and privacy.

Real Estate
Any type of real estate you own can be donated to Lutherans For Life: house, farm, rental property, business property, land, vacation home, and more. Real estate donations, however, must be readily marketable and without environmental contaminants. You gain significant tax advantages and your charitable contribution deduction is for the appraised value of your property.

Retirement Assets
Retirement assets are tax-deferred retirement savings accounts, including profit-sharing, IRAs, 401(k), 403(b), and Keogh and pension plans. Gifts from these accounts while you are still living may have withdrawal penalties and will certainly have income tax liabilities. However, a gift from your retirement assets at your death to Lutherans For Life would help avoid income taxes for your heirs.

Securities
Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds are the most common types of securities in a person’s portfolio. By making a gift of securities to Lutherans For Life, you can claim the full appreciated value of the securities as a charitable contribution deduction and avoid the capital gains tax.

Wills
Consider Lutherans For Life in your will and estate planning. A will is a legal document that insures your estate is distributed and your family is cared for as you choose. In addition to caring for your family, you can also support the mission of Lutherans For Life.

If you would like more information about making a gift to LFL with non-cash assets, please contact me at jschroeder@lutheransforlife.org or 515.490.7371.