Wills, Bequests or Trust Designations
You can't take it with you, but with a legacy gift you can ensure that your vision to help continues beyond your lifetime. You can continue to support the meaningful programs at Miller-Dwan Medical Center, Polinsky Medical Rehabilitation Center, or numerous other community organizations working to improve the health of our region.

A portion of your estate can be given through a simple charitable bequest or a designation in your trust. It’s quite easy and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you are providing for the future of health care service in our area with no impact on your present circumstances. Your gift will become a part of the Miller-Dwan Foundation at the time your will is probated, and your estate will qualify for a federal estate-tax charitable deduction.

Your legacy gift can be funded with virtually any asset: cash, stock, property, real estate or a gift of the residue and remainder of your estate after other bequests have been fulfilled. A bequest can also be as simple as adding a codicil to your will. You can specify the preferred use of your gift and direct it to a program, service, institution or group of people in need.

Bequests can be easily accomplished with language in your will or the addition of a codicil, which is an amendment to an existing will. Your bequest may be unrestricted or directed to a specific institution, purpose or population you wish to help.

Life Income Gifts
In return for the irrevocable transfer of assets to the Foundation, you and your specified beneficiaries receive income for life. Upon the death of the beneficiary, the assets are used by the Foundation for the charitable purpose you defined. Donors receive an immediate income-tax deduction for the charitable portion of the gift and can often benefit from an increased revenue stream during their lifetime. Life income gifts include Charitable Gift Annuities and Charitable Remainder Trusts.

Charitable Gift Annuity
A charitable gift annuity is a very popular way to make a planned gift; it’s easy to see why. Gift annuities have been in existence for more than 100 years and represent one of the safest income plans available. The full faith and assets of the Foundation stand behind all gift annuity payments. A charitable gift annuity can be established for one or two people in exchange for a charitable contribution.

In return, it provides:

• Guaranteed income for the life of the one or two people named as income recipients in the gift annuity contract. You are assured of receiving the same annual income no matter what happens to the stock market or interest rates.
• A charitable deduction which translates into a current income-tax savings for the donor.
• Partial avoidance of capital-gains taxes if the annuity is funded with appreciated assets.
• A part of each income-tax payment may be a tax-free return of principal.
• Future support for the Miller-Dwan Foundation’s mission and an easy way to create a significant legacy gift for health-related projects in our region.

A charitable gift annuity is a simple contract between the donor and the Miller-Dwan Foundation. The contract specifies the amount of income to be paid annually, the name of the income recipients who will receive the income and the charitable purpose of the gift after the death of the last income recipient.

The amount of the annuity paid is based upon the age of the income beneficiaries. The older you are, the higher the rate of return. Annuity rates for a one-life contract and a two-life contract are different, e.g., annuity rates are lower for two-life gift annuity agreements. Deferred gift annuities are also available for those who don’t need the income right away, those who want to realize a higher rate of return at some future time and those who receive a current charitable tax deduction.

Charitable Remainder Trust
The assets in a Charitable Remainder Trust are separately invested and managed by a trustee designated by the donor. Donors can transfer cash or property to a trust, which will pay the designated beneficiary an income stream for his or her lifetime or a term of years. Upon the death of the beneficiary, the Miller-Dwan Foundation receives the remaining assets to use for the health-related purposes specified by the donor.

You may find this type of gift attractive if:

• You want to diversify assets and increase your income from the assets without paying capital-gains tax.
• You want a current income-tax deduction for a future gift and want to remove the appreciated asset from your estate. The higher the income payment you receive, the lower the charitable deduction allowed at the time the trust is established.
• You want either a variable annuity (Unitrust) or a fixed annuity (Annuity Trust).
• You wish to make a substantial future gift to the Miller-Dwan Foundation and retain higher income on the gift assets during your lifetime.

Two types of charitable remainder trusts exist: a Unitrust and an Annuity Trust. Both types of trusts may be funded with cash, appreciated securities and real estate. Upon termination of the trust, the remaining assets will be used to support the mission of the Miller-Dwan Foundation.

The Charitable Remainder Unitrust pays the income beneficiary a fixed percentage of the net fair market value of the trust’s assets as determined each year. The payments are made for the life or lives of the income beneficiaries or for a fixed period not to exceed twenty years.

A Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust is similar to a unitrust except it pays the income beneficiaries a fixed dollar amount annually. The annuity never varies during the life of the trust, regardless of the trust's assets.

Charitable Lead Trusts
A Charitable Lead Trust provides for payments to the Miller-Dwan Foundation during the term of the trust, and at the end of the trust, distributes trust assets to family members or other trust beneficiaries.

People with large estates who want to preserve assets for family members, minimize the gift or estate tax, and/or make a charitable gift often use a Charitable Lead Trust. It is also used by owners of family businesses or farms to enable the family to keep the family business intact. It is a strategic way to transfer large blocks of assets while leveraging taxable gifts.

A Charitable Lead Trust can:

• Make a legacy gift to the Miller-Dwan Foundation and continue your investment in the health issues you care about. The Foundation could receive income for the life of the trust (term of years), with the principal reverting to you or your family at the termination of the trust.
• Be created at the death of an individual through a will or revocable trust.
• Be set up as annuity trusts (percentage of initial value) or as unitrusts (percentage of the trust based upon a trust value that is recalculated every year).
• (When the principal reverts to the family) Provide your estate with a gift-tax deduction which, when combined with any remaining unified credit, will offset the gift tax.
• (When the principal reverts to the donor) Provide the donor with an income- tax deduction in the year the plan is created.
• Allow your family to receive a gift that is much larger than the original value of the trust assets. Any growth in value of a well-managed trust passes to the family with no additional gift tax at the termination of the trust. Charitable Lead Trusts are not tax-exempt, but they receive a charitable deduction for charitable distributions, so the trust pays less income tax.

Retirement Plan Assets
You may have accumulated significant assets in a retirement plan such as a 401(K), 403(B), IRA or other qualified retirement program. Death benefits payable from retirement plan assets to your beneficiary may have tax consequences between 50 and 80 percent. Using retirement-plan assets to fund a gift can be a wise estate-planning strategy and provide a meaningful gift to the Miller-Dwan Foundation. It can make sense to name the Foundation as the beneficiary and bequeath other assets not burdened with this high level of tax to other beneficiaries. This strategy can allow some individuals to leave more to their family while giving more to charities they care about.

Real Estate—Retained Life Estate
You can contribute a private residence, vacation home or farm while retaining the right to live in and use the property. This could provide you with a current and potentially substantial income-tax deduction for the full fair market value, avoiding any applicable capital-gains taxes. You can retain the right to use or live in the property for the rest of your life or the joint lives of you and your spouse.

Life Insurance
Life insurance policies can be given in several different ways. Donors may designate the Foundation as beneficiary or owner of the policy. There are special tax advantages for the gifting of an existing policy, a paid-up policy or a newly purchased policy.