Simply Perfect Ways to Give to Charity

When doing your estate planning, you have the chance to benefit those individuals and institutions that benefited you in your lifetime. Many charitable donors have appreciated the conscientious care received by themselves or another family member from a health care facility in their community. They have chosen to show their appreciation, and at the same time help others, by making provisions for the facility in their wills or trusts.

Whether you have a large or small estate, it is very easy to make a simple charitable donation to Dixie Regional Medical Center in your will or trust. Dixie Regional Medical Center has created a charitable foundation dedicated to assisting members of the community with charitable bequests.

First, when doing your estate planning, you can inform your estate planning attorney that you want a certain percentage, or a specific amount, of your estate to be distributed to The Foundation of Dixie Regional Medical Center. Your gift does not have to be large. Small amounts add up. All gifts are needed and put to good use. Even gifts of one percent of an estate, or less, are greatly appreciated by Dixie Regional Medical Center. Generally, the children and grandchildren of financial donors are proud that their parents and grandparents cared enough about the community and the level of health care available to their heirs that they desired to benefit such an important part of the community. Your example of generosity and civic-mindedness, evidenced by a provision in your will or trust to provide for The Foundation of Dixie Regional Medical Center, may be of more lasting value to your loved ones than the assets you actually leave them.

The simple process of leaving a certain percentage of your estate to the foundation can be accomplished through a will or trust. The procedure should not increase the cost of your estate plan nor the estate administration.

Another very simple method to provide for The Foundation of Dixie Regional Medical Center upon your death is to add the foundation as a beneficiary of your IRA. The process would require you to visit with your IRA provider and request that a new IRA account established with whatever amount you want from your existing IRA account. This new account (or existing account if you want to use the entire amount of your existing account) would name The Foundation of Dixie Regional Medical Center as the beneficiary.

Giving the foundation a portion of your IRA has many tax advantages. Upon your death, the proceeds in the IRA would be paid directly to the foundation. Significantly, no income taxes would have to be paid. If the IRA proceeds were distributed to your children or grandchildren, they would have to pay income tax on the distribution. Using an IRA to make a simple bequest to the foundation greatly benefits the hospital, and saves income taxes for your heirs. Additionally, if your estate is in excess of a million dollars in the year 2002, it can save estate taxes as well.

A hospital is one of the key central pillars of the community. This article gives a few simple techniques to help those that have been helped by the community hospital give something in turn to the institution that helped them. I hope these techniques can be of assistance to you.

Jeffery J. McKenna is a local attorney licensed in three states and serving clients in Utah, Nevada, and Arizona. He is a partner at the law firm of Barney, McKenna and Olmstead, with offices in St. George and Mesquite. He is a founding member of the Southern Utah Estate Planning Council. If you have questions or topics that you would like addressed in these Wednesday articles please email him at jmckenna@www.barney-mckenna.com or call 628-1711.