Planned Giving Opportunities at SCH Academy

Bequests

You can have your attorney insert a clause in your will or revocable trust that leaves a charitable bequest to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. You can leave a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your gross estate or your net estate after taxes and distributions to heirs, or even a specific asset, such as real estate or valuable artwork. 
 

SAMPLE BEQUEST LANGUAGE

Unrestricted
“I give and devise to The Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, located in Philadelphia, PA, the sum of $________ (or __ % of the rest and residue of my estate) for its general unrestricted purposes.”

General Endowment
“I give and devise to The Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, located in Philadelphia, PA, the sum of $________ (or ___% of the rest and residue of my estate) to be added to its general endowment.” 

Specific Endowment
“I give and devise to The Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, located in Philadelphia, PA, the sum of $________ (or ___% of the rest and residue of my estate) to be added to its tuition aid endowment (or specify another purpose).

HINT: Younger donors should consider leaving a percentage of your gross or residual estate (5%-10% is common) rather than a specific dollar amount. That way you don’t have to worry about changing the amount over time. 
 

One of the easiest ways to leave a legacy is to name Springside Chestnut Hill Academy as a primary beneficiary of a qualified retirement plan, such as an IRA or 401K, or a life insurance policy by simply filling out a Change of Beneficiary Form available from your plan or policy provider. It just takes a few minutes and you can almost always do it online. Any remaining assets in your plan will go to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy tax-free upon your death. You can also name the School as a percentage beneficiary along with your spouse (a spousal waiver of benefits may be required). 

PLEASE NOTE: IRAs and other retirement plans are the most tax-burdened assets you can leave to your heirs. This makes them a great asset to leave to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. Current tax law requires that qualified plan assets be distributed to individuals within 10 years, leaving your heirs to pay income tax on the distributions at their current bracket. Qualified plan assets are also subject to federal estate tax.

In exchange for your gift of cash or stock, SCH Academy contractually agrees to make fixed (annuity) payments to you, and up to one other person you name, for life. You can take a deduction for your gift and part of each annuity payment will be treated as tax-free income. When the last annuitant dies, the balance remaining in your fund is added to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy’s endowment or used for the purpose you specify. The older the beneficiary, the higher the annuity rate paid. Annuitants who are 65 or older can begin payments immediately. Younger annuitants must defer payments until age 65 or older. Flexible deferred options with a range of possible beginning dates are available. Not available in all states. Minimum gift: $10,000. 

PLEASE NOTE: Younger donors can receive guaranteed annuity payments at rates of 10% or more by deferring the start date to age 65 or older—a great supplemental retirement plan. A great way to help Springside Chestnut Hill Academy and yourself at the same time!

One of the most flexible and powerful life-income plans available, a Charitable Remainder Unitrust provides you and/or other beneficiaries you name with income for life or a term of years. When the last beneficiary dies or the term expires, the remaining principal in your trust goes to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy for the purpose or purposes you specify. As the donor, you receive a charitable deduction for any gifts you make to the Trust and you pay zero capital gains tax on any appreciated assets you donate. The income from the trust is tax-advantaged. You can fund your trust with almost any kind of asset, including cash, appreciated securities, even real estate or business interests. You can make additional gifts to the trust whenever you like (Unitrust only), and you can name the trustee you prefer (including yourself, or your registered advisor). SCH Academy will serve as trustee without charge if we are at least 51% remainder beneficiary. Minimum gift: $100,000. Click to download the PDF on Charitable Remainder Trusts.

Helpful Hints

• If you have multiple charitable interests, you can name two or more charities as percentage beneficiaries of your Trust.
• If you don’t need the income from the trust right away, you can defer the start of income payments until later when a special triggering event occurs, such as the sale of an asset such as real estate used to fund the trust or reaching retirement age.
• If you are worried about “disinheriting” your children, you can use the first few years of income payments from your trust to purchase a paid up second-to-die life insurance policy in an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust for your children to replace your charitable gift. 

Just like an IRA or other qualified retirement plan, you can name Springside Chestnut Hill Academy as the primary beneficiary of a life insurance policy by filling out a Change of Beneficiary form available from your policy provider. It just takes a few minutes. No immediate tax deduction or gift credit is available for this gift because it is revocable, but you will have the satisfaction of knowing that SCH Academy will eventually benefit and your estate will receive an estate tax deduction if your policy remains in force. If you no longer need your policy for coverage, you can make Springside Chestnut Hill Academy the owner AND beneficiary of your policy and receive a charitable income tax deduction now for the lesser of your cost basis in the policy or its cash surrender value (technically, the “interpolated terminal reserve value”) on the date of transfer. In certain cases, you may arrange to give a partially paid-up policy to SCH Academy, receive a deduction, and deduct any premiums you continue to pay. 

PLEASE NOTE: Donate a paid-up policy you no longer need and receive a charitable deduction and gift credit now.

Qualified retirement plan assets are the most tax-burdened assets you can own. Many people do not realize that if they die with no surviving spouse, any balance remaining in their qualified plan could be subject to multiple levels of taxation before distribution—including federal estate tax (if applicable), income tax, state inheritance tax, and even generation skipping tax—that can claim much of its value. It is often advantageous, therefore, to donate such assets to charity. This can be done by simply naming Springside Chestnut Hill Academy the primary beneficiary of all or a portion of your retirement plan, by gifting any remaining plan assets through your will, or by directing remaining plan assets into a testamentary Charitable Remainder Trust that provides income to your heirs for life or a term of years, after which the principal reverts to SCH Academy. 

PLEASE NOTE: Consider naming Springside Chestnut Hill Academy a primary beneficiary with your spouse (spousal waiver of benefits may be required) and 100% secondary beneficiary in the event your spouse predeceases you. 

There are many creative ways to donate real estate—including homes, commercial buildings, farms, parcels of land, and mineral rights—that can be very beneficial to you and to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. You may donate your whole property or a percentage of your property (called an “undivided fractional interest”) and take an income tax deduction for the appraised value of your gift. You can donate your property now and take an income tax deduction for your gift based on IRS rules, but retain the right to live in it for the rest of your life (called a “Retained Life Estate”). You can use all or a portion of your property to fund a life-income arrangement (a FLIP Charitable Remainder Unitrust is best for this). In some cases, you can even sell your property to SCH Academy at a discount and take a charitable deduction for the difference between the sale price and the appraised value of the property (called a “Charitable Bargain Sale”). Of course, estate-related gifts of real estate through your will or revocable trust are always welcome. 

PLEASE NOTE: Donate a percentage interest (called an “undivided fractional interest”) in your home to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy before you put it on the market for sale and receive a charitable deduction for the appraised value of your gift to SCH Academy. Your charitable deduction will offset any capital gains tax you may owe and SCH Academy can collect its share of the proceeds when you complete the sale. 

Gifts of business interests—such as stock in a closely held corporation, S-corporation stock, shares in a professional corporation, or partnership interests—can make a charitable gift that benefits both you and Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. When you make a gift of business interests, you will receive a charitable deduction and may be able to use the assets to fund certain types of life-income gifts, such as a charitable remainder unitrust. Alternately, you may use your business interests to create a charitable lead trust that provides SCH Academy with income now and returns any remainder to your heirs. In most cases, a gift of business interests will require a qualified independent appraisal. Your interest must be transferrable, not encumbered by debt, and cannot require SCH Academy to make future contributions to or for the enterprise. 

Gifts of valuable personal property—such as books, works of art, jewelry, and coin collections—can benefit both you and Springside Chestnut Hill Academy. Such gifts, if they qualify under IRS related use rules, can result in an income tax deduction for their full appraised value. 

If you have a large estate and are worried about federal estate taxes, a charitable lead annuity trust (CLAT) is a powerful way to transfer assets to your heirs at a significantly reduced gift and estate tax cost while supporting Springside Chestnut Hill Academy with income payments for a period of years. A CLAT makes fixed (annuity) income payments to one or more charities for a fixed period of years. When the trust terminates, the remaining assets in the trust pass to your heirs. CLATs qualify for a gift and estate tax deduction equal to the income payments made to charity, and when combined with your gift and estate tax exemptions are a great way to reduce the cost of intergenerational wealth transfers.  In fact, the size and duration of the annuity payments to charity can be adjusted to completely eliminate the gift and estate tax due on a transfer to your heirs. Because of historically low IRS discount rates and other factors, this is the most advantageous time in decades to establish a lead trust. Click to download the PDF on Charitable Lead Trusts.

PLEASE NOTE: Fund your trust with cash or closely-held assets you expect to grow. In addition to your transfer tax savings, all of the appreciation that occurs in your trust during the term goes tax-free to your heirs!