F.A.Q.
1) Why plan now?
Let's face it: many of us put off estate planning. Maybe we do because it seems very complicated. Or maybe we're afraid that it will make us think about death. But estate planning doesn't have to be complicated at all. And, far from being somber, it's really about taking control over your own life and legacy - and providing for who and what you love.
Not planning, of course, means letting someone else plan for you. And, in estate planning, that means the government's plan. If you are like most LGBT people, the government's plan is likely to be very different from what you would want. The state will not necessarily recognize your partner, your family or friends, or causes you care about - unless you take action. In fact, without the right planning, only the state or legal relatives - no matter how distant - would determine the disposition of your assets, or even make fundamental medical, legal, and financial decisions if you become incapacitated prior to your death.
Estate planning, in the end, is an opportunity. It's an opportunity to protect assets for you and those you love. It's an opportunity to give back to your community. It's an opportunity to ensure that your legacy reflects your life's work, your values, and your commitments. For LGBT people, it can be an opportunity to help create a world free of the discrimination and isolation that so many of us have experienced. Quite simply, with a plan in place, you write your own legacy.
Let's face it: many of us put off estate planning. Maybe we do because it seems very complicated. Or maybe we're afraid that it will make us think about death. But estate planning doesn't have to be complicated at all. And, far from being somber, it's really about taking control over your own life and legacy - and providing for who and what you love.
Not planning, of course, means letting someone else plan for you. And, in estate planning, that means the government's plan. If you are like most LGBT people, the government's plan is likely to be very different from what you would want. The state will not necessarily recognize your partner, your family or friends, or causes you care about - unless you take action. In fact, without the right planning, only the state or legal relatives - no matter how distant - would determine the disposition of your assets, or even make fundamental medical, legal, and financial decisions if you become incapacitated prior to your death.
Estate planning, in the end, is an opportunity. It's an opportunity to protect assets for you and those you love. It's an opportunity to give back to your community. It's an opportunity to ensure that your legacy reflects your life's work, your values, and your commitments. For LGBT people, it can be an opportunity to help create a world free of the discrimination and isolation that so many of us have experienced. Quite simply, with a plan in place, you write your own legacy.
2) How should I start?
For the great majority of us, estate planning doesn't need to be extremely complex. Here are the steps to take to create a basic estate plan that includes the people, causes, and organizations that mean the most to you:
- Make a preliminary plan
Think about what you would like your bequests to accomplish. You may find it helpful to write a brief statement of personal and charitable goals. Decide whom and what you would like to benefit from your estate. Also think about who you would like to make medical, financial, or other important decisions if you became incapacitated.
- Take stock
Make an inventory of your assets.
- Get an attorney
Identify an attorney who regularly drafts trusts, wills, and other estate plans for LGBT people. If you don't have an attorney, ask friends for references. You can also refer to the listings and information about estate planning attorneys in the Cream City Foundation Directory of Professional Advisors for the LGBT Community. Most attorneys will not charge for an initial discussion and can give you an estimate of the time and cost involved to draft your estate plan.
- Include the LGBT community in your plans
Many people are able to make their most generous gifts out of their estates - gifts that can have a tremendous impact on a cause or organization you care about. If being part of the LGBT community has been an important part of your life, consider making a gift to one or more organizations that serve and advocate for LGBT people. Or you can designate a gift to the Cream City Foundation, which ensures that your legacy will help provide for future generations of LGBT people.
- Let the charitable beneficiaries know about your gifts
Contact the charities you wish to include and ask them to provide you with sample bequest language, their legal names, and tax ID numbers to share with your attorney. Tell the charities about your plans to let them say thanks to you directly.
- Inspire others
If you are comfortable doing so, share with friends and family the gifts you are planning for the community. Your example may well inspire others to make gift provisions in their plans.
3) What are the most common ways to give through estate planning?
Cream City Foundation offers several ways for you to make planned gifts that provide for your loved ones - and your community. The following is a summary list of some of the most common and most useful ways.
- Living trusts and wills
You can leave a percentage of your estate, a fixed amount, or a residual bequest (the amount left after gifts to loved ones or charity have been made) to the Cream City Foundation or to an LGBT organization.
- Retirement plans and life insurance
Naming Cream City Foundation as the beneficiary of your life insurance, 401(k), 403(b), IRA, or other retirement plan is a highly tax-efficient and powerful way to provide for the LGBT community. Retirement plan assets left to an heir can be subject to taxes as high as 70%, yet a nonprofit organization can receive all of the assets without tax.
- Securities
A donation of appreciated stock, mutual funds, bonds, or other appreciated assets maximizes your charitable gift while minimizing the estate tax burden and eliminating capital gains tax.
- Real estate
Complete or partial gifts of real estate -can provide significant resources to Cream City Foundation and the LGBT community, while reducing multiple tax liabilities.
- Charitable trusts
Charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts can be highly effective vehicles for providing for yourself, your partner or other heirs, and the LGBT community.
4) I already have an estate plan. How can I include the LGBT community?
You can easily amend an existing estate plan. Any expense or professional fee involved will be minimal. Here are some very simple possibilities that can have great impact:
- Add a gift to your existing plans
Instruct your lawyer to prepare a simple, inexpensive 'Codicil' to your existing will or living trust, creating a bequest for the LGBT community through the Cream City Foundation or an LGBT organization you care about. This can be a specific amount of money or a percentage of your estate.
- Change your retirement plan or life insurance designation
Designate Cream City Foundation or a specific LGBT organization you care about as the remainder beneficiary for your retirement plan or insurance policy. All you have to do is change the designation and send the form to your plan administrator or insurance company. You can also designate a percentage of any remainder for charity.
- Name a contingent beneficiary
Consider naming the Cream City Foundation or a favorite LGBT organization as Contingent Beneficiary of your will or living trust, insurance, and retirement plans, to receive your estate in the event that you outlive all your heirs.
5) I care about the LGBT community, but I'm not sure what to support. How can my gift have the most impact?
Many people care deeply about their community, but may not know where their gift will do the most good. This is especially true if you are thinking about where your gift will be needed most in 25, 50, or 100 years. That's the main reason Cream City Foundation established the LGBT Equality Community Fund, which is a single, endowed fund dedicated in perpetuity to the freedom and well-being of our community. The LGBT Equality Community Fund will be there to meet the needs of future generations, including needs that none of us can possibly predict today. If you're interested in making a gift to an organization working on a particular issue or for a population about which you are passionate, you can contact Cream City Foundation for individual support in developing your giving plan (there is no charge for this service).
6) Can Cream City Foundation help me plan in other ways?
Since 1982 , Cream City Foundation has helped donors find ways to support causes they care about and to learn about giving opportunities. The foundation's staff also works with donors - without charge - to create meaningful legacies in their plans. Call us if you would like help in any of the following ways:
- Directory of Professional Advisors to the LGBT Community
This directory, published by Cream City Foundation, lists estate-planning attorneys and other professional advisors with experience working with LGBT people.
- Philanthropic Consulting
Cream City Foundation staff will gladly work with you or your advisor to help establish your charitable goals and plans.
- Donor-Advised Fund Program
Cream City Foundation's DAF program can allow for efficient, ongoing giving.
As mentioned above, the LGBT Equality Community Fund stewarded by Cream City Foundation will provide for the future needs of the LGBT community. With certain modest restrictions, gifts to this fund can be given in individuals' names, or for specific organizations and/or issues, in perpetuity.
7) Is there sample bequest language I can use?
We have collected some examples of language you can use for different types of bequests to be included in your will or trust. (Any LGBT organization, of course, may be substituted for 'Cream City Foundation.')
8) How can I get further information?
To learn more about how estate planning can make a critical difference for you, the people you love, and your community, please contact us at 414.225.0244.
Thank you for thinking of the LGBT community.
Think about what you would like your bequests to accomplish. You may find it helpful to write a brief statement of personal and charitable goals. Decide whom and what you would like to benefit from your estate. Also think about who you would like to make medical, financial, or other important decisions if you became incapacitated.
Make an inventory of your assets.
Identify an attorney who regularly drafts trusts, wills, and other estate plans for LGBT people. If you don't have an attorney, ask friends for references. You can also refer to the listings and information about estate planning attorneys in the Cream City Foundation Directory of Professional Advisors for the LGBT Community. Most attorneys will not charge for an initial discussion and can give you an estimate of the time and cost involved to draft your estate plan.
Many people are able to make their most generous gifts out of their estates - gifts that can have a tremendous impact on a cause or organization you care about. If being part of the LGBT community has been an important part of your life, consider making a gift to one or more organizations that serve and advocate for LGBT people. Or you can designate a gift to the Cream City Foundation, which ensures that your legacy will help provide for future generations of LGBT people.
Contact the charities you wish to include and ask them to provide you with sample bequest language, their legal names, and tax ID numbers to share with your attorney. Tell the charities about your plans to let them say thanks to you directly.
If you are comfortable doing so, share with friends and family the gifts you are planning for the community. Your example may well inspire others to make gift provisions in their plans.
You can leave a percentage of your estate, a fixed amount, or a residual bequest (the amount left after gifts to loved ones or charity have been made) to the Cream City Foundation or to an LGBT organization.
Naming Cream City Foundation as the beneficiary of your life insurance, 401(k), 403(b), IRA, or other retirement plan is a highly tax-efficient and powerful way to provide for the LGBT community. Retirement plan assets left to an heir can be subject to taxes as high as 70%, yet a nonprofit organization can receive all of the assets without tax.
A donation of appreciated stock, mutual funds, bonds, or other appreciated assets maximizes your charitable gift while minimizing the estate tax burden and eliminating capital gains tax.
Complete or partial gifts of real estate -can provide significant resources to Cream City Foundation and the LGBT community, while reducing multiple tax liabilities.
Charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts can be highly effective vehicles for providing for yourself, your partner or other heirs, and the LGBT community.
Instruct your lawyer to prepare a simple, inexpensive 'Codicil' to your existing will or living trust, creating a bequest for the LGBT community through the Cream City Foundation or an LGBT organization you care about. This can be a specific amount of money or a percentage of your estate.
Designate Cream City Foundation or a specific LGBT organization you care about as the remainder beneficiary for your retirement plan or insurance policy. All you have to do is change the designation and send the form to your plan administrator or insurance company. You can also designate a percentage of any remainder for charity.
Consider naming the Cream City Foundation or a favorite LGBT organization as Contingent Beneficiary of your will or living trust, insurance, and retirement plans, to receive your estate in the event that you outlive all your heirs.
This directory, published by Cream City Foundation, lists estate-planning attorneys and other professional advisors with experience working with LGBT people.
Cream City Foundation staff will gladly work with you or your advisor to help establish your charitable goals and plans.
Cream City Foundation's DAF program can allow for efficient, ongoing giving.
