What is Legacy Stewardship?

Legacy stewardship (planned giving) encompasses a variety of ways that gifts can be made to the church from accumulated resources.

It usually involves financial or estate planning; however, it is not reserved for the wealthy.  Legacy Stewardship is a means by which anyone concerned with the wise use of his or her personal resources makes a considered choice about their ultimate disposition.

In general planned gifts are made through:

A Bequest in a Will … Perhaps the easiest and the most common way of making a planned gift is through your will.  A bequest in a will can take the form of a set amount of money, a percentage of an estate, a specific asset, a trust, or the naming of the church as a contingent beneficiary.

A Life Income Gift … such as a pooled income fund, a charitable gift annuity, or a charitable remainder trust.  All provide income for life, an income tax deduction, relief from capital gains taxes (if funded through appreciated property), and a possible reduction in estate taxes.

Life Insurance … Life insurance is a popular and convenient way to make a sizeable gift to the church by 1) purchasing a new policy and making the church the owner and beneficiary of the policy.  This enables you to “leverage” your gift, ultimately making a much larger gift while the premiums become tax deductible; 2) making the church the owner and beneficiary of an existing policy with the current value of the policy tax deductible along with future premium payments; or 3) making the church a contingent beneficiary of an existing policy, by naming the church to receive the proceeds of the policy if the designated beneficiaries predecease the insured.

A Life Estate … such as a gift of a home, farm or ranch.  Through a charitable life estate contract you retain the right to live on the property and/or receive income from the property for as long as you or your beneficiary lives.

Appreciated Property … such as real estate or securities.  If transferred to the church you do not pay federal capital gains taxes; and normally, the value of the shares for gift and tax purposes is the fair market value, not the original purchase price.  (If securities or real estate have decreased in value, you should sell the assets before making the gift, thus establishing a capital loss and a potential tax deduction.)

Legacy stewardship establishes a way for a donor to provide for family members while remembering the church, as well.  It often enables the donor to provide more for his or her heirs and to make a larger gift than thought possible.  It often reduces taxes.

Planned gifts are either outright gifts (i.e., gifts of appreciated securities, real property, personal property, etc.) or deferred gifts (i.e., charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, pooled income funds, life insurance or bequests in a will).

For more detailed information on any of these gift opportunities contact Nancy Stinson at the Episcopal Church Foundation of West Texas at (210 or 888) 824-5387 or nancy.stinson@dwtx.org.