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North Texas Community Foundation
The most significant gift a person will ever make to their loved ones or charity often occurs through their estate. A thorough and fully executed estate plan can serve as a source of family comfort and pride, not of stress and strife. Your plan helps you protect those you hold dear and provide for the charitable causes you care about most through tools that ensure legal oversight and protection. To ensure those gifts are received in the manner in which you intend, it is essential to take the time to create a thorough and meaningful estate plan.
An estate plan details who receives your assets and provides instructions if you cannot make financial or medical decisions for yourself. The plan should include legal documents that clarify details about asset transfer, medical directives, financial decisions, and if you have minor children, who will care for them.
North Texas Community Foundation
Amanda Lewis - Director of Charitable Gift Planning at North Texas Community Foundation
Amanda Lewis - Director of Charitable Gift Planning at North Texas Community Foundation
Amanda works hand-in-hand with professional advisors to develop and manage custom charitable giving plans for their clients.
What are the benefits of an estate plan?
- Peace: Your plan should give you and your family peace of mind, knowing that important decisions have been made during your lifetime to care for you and your loved ones when you can’t.
- Protection: A thoughtful plan may increase your financial security and achieve your goals for family and charity.
- Provision: A well-designed estate plan makes provision for both you and your family. You can transfer property to the right people in the right way, at the right time, at minimal cost, and for maximum tax efficiency.
- Privacy: A comprehensive estate plan can maintain your privacy by avoiding probate proceedings and shielding your financial affairs from the public record.
Many people think an estate plan is solely about the tangible things we have and where we want them to go, when actually, it can provide much more. Many clients who have established estate plans have shared that the process was less about what they owned and more about what impact they wanted to have on others' lives.
Creating a Charitable Estate Plan
Too often, charitable giving is left out of estate planning. Including a legacy gift to a nonprofit or community foundation, like North Texas Community Foundation, can be a tax-smart strategy that brings personal meaning to your plan. An estate gift can take many forms and is an impactful way to prompt a discussion about your values and the legacy you wish to leave behind. It is helpful to involve your heirs as early as possible in the details and execution of your philanthropic intentions.
North Texas Community Foundation
Daniel McCarthy, JD - Partner at Wick Phillips Gould & Martin LLP.
Daniel McCarthy, JD - Partner at Wick Phillips Gould & Martin LLP.
Dan focuses his practice on federal income and estate and gift taxation matters with a particular focus on pass through entities such as partnerships, limited liability companies, and Subchapter S corporations.
When incorporating charitable giving into your estate plan, consider the following questions:
- How did you begin your philanthropic journey?
- What experiences shaped your charitable giving?
- What gifts have brought you the most joy?
- Which organizations have you been most enthusiastic about?
- How would you like people to remember your philanthropy?
You can provide for the people and causes important to you by taking simple steps now. A well-thought-out plan enables you to leave a legacy for your family, friends, and your community that lasts beyond your lifetime.
