One of the simplest ways to remember Living Unlimited in your estate plan is through your will. You may designate Living Unlimited to receive cash and/or other assets at the time of your death. Memorials can be established with bequests to honor a family member or someone else.
To make a bequest of cash or property to Living Unlimited, please ensure the following language is included in your will:
“I give and bequeath to Living Unlimited, a non-profit organized under the laws of the state of Delaware, and having its main office at 2625 Alcatraz Avenue #335 Berkeley, CA 94705 the sum of $ ________ or ________% of the residue, rest and remainder of my estate to be used for the general purpose and mission of the organization.”
Assets remaining in retirement plans at your death funded with pre-tax dollars are considered “income in respect of a decedent.” Not only are your assets diminished by estate taxes, your heirs must also pay income taxes on them.
If your family is otherwise well provided for, retirement plan assets are an extremely tax-efficient gift and allow your family to avoid all income and estate taxes when you name Living Unlimited as the primary beneficiary.
You can continue to withdraw from the retirement plan during your lifetime, but upon your death the assets can be transferred to Living Unlimited.
Life insurance is a good tool for planned giving to charity. Life insurance can be gifted by transferring the ownership of an existing policy to Living Unlimited, which usually results in a tax deduction for the policy’s fair market value or cost basis, if lower, on the date of the gift. If you name Living Unlimited as a beneficiary on a new policy or add the charity as a beneficiary on an existing policy, your estate will receive an estate tax deduction for the insurance proceeds.
With a charitable lead trust you transfer assets to a trust to provide income to Living Unlimited for a period of predetermined years. At the end of the designated period, the trust assets revert either to the donor or to someone else the donor designates.