Leon County Humane Society Planned Giving Program
A planned gift is a lasting investment in the Leon County Humane Society (LCHS), advancing our mission and ensuring our ability to rescue and rehabilitate animals in need, as we have done for more than 60 years. The LCHS Legacy Society honors those patrons who share our commitment to providing care to animals that need it most.
You can become a patron of the LCHS Legacy Society through any of the following commitments:
- Including LCHS with a gift in your will, trust, or charitable trust
- A life income gift that names LCHS as a remainder beneficiary
- A gift or assignment of qualified retirement plan assets such as an IRA, 401(k) or 403(b)
- A gift of life insurance
- Identifying LCHS as a beneficiary of a bank account
Benefits of becoming an LCHS Legacy Society Patron include:
- Certificate of appreciation
- Recognition in the LCHS annual report (let us know if you prefer to remain anonymous)
- An opportunity to be part of our LCHS Legacy Legends stories about how and why dedicated patrons choose to support LCHS
More on the Ways to Leave a Legacy
Gifts from your will or trust. You can preserve your assets during your lifetime and plan a gift to LCHS that will take effect only after your other obligations have ceased. You can include a bequest to LCHS in your will or trust. The bequest can be unrestricted or directed to a specific purpose. The bequest can be indicated as a specific amount or percentage of the balance remaining in your will or trust. This way, the assets remain in your control during your lifetime, and under current tax law, there is no upper limit on the estate tax deduction for your charitable bequests.
Gifts from a retirement plan. Give LCHS assets subject to taxation. You can designate LCHS as a beneficiary of a portion or all your IRA, 401(k) or another qualified plan through your plan administrator, as well as maintain flexibility to change beneficiaries if your family’s needs change during your lifetime. If you are age 72 or older, IRS rules require you to take required minimum distributions (RMDs) each year from your tax-deferred retirement accounts. A QCD is a direct transfer of funds from your qualified plan, payable directly to a qualified charity (LCHS), as described in the qualified charitable distribution (QCD) provision in the Internal Revenue Code. Amounts distributed as a QCD can be counted toward satisfying your RMD for the year, up to $100,000. The QCD is excluded from your taxable income.
Gifts of stock or appreciated assets. A gift of stock or appreciated assets allows you to take advantage of appreciated securities without incurring capital gains tax. With this plan, you transfer appreciated stocks, bonds, or mutual fund shares you have owned for more than one year to LCHS. LCHS then sells your securities and uses the proceeds for its programs. The benefits are that you receive an immediate income tax deduction for the fair market value of the securities on the date of transfer, no matter what you originally paid for them.
Gifts of life insurance. With a gift of your life insurance, you do not need a large estate to make a significant gift to LCHS. Here is how you can leverage your dollars for a larger gift: You can name LCHS as a beneficiary of a life insurance policy. Another option is to transfer ownership of a paid-up life insurance policy to LCHS. LCHS can then elect to cash in the policy now or hold it. The benefit is you can make a gift using an asset that you and your family no longer need and receive an income tax deduction. In some cases, you can use the cash value in your policy to fund a life-income gift, such as a deferred gift annuity.
Joe and Tanya’s Story
Like many people, Joe and Tanya Patton have executed a full complement of estate planning documents in the event they die or become too ill to work. Perhaps the most flexible asset document they developed is their pet trust to ensure a donation is made to LCHS upon their deaths, and for the ongoing care of their pets, including several pets adopted from LCHS. Here is a short summary of what they have set up and how it impacts LCHS:
The first step was to create a plan that would take care of their own pets. Several years ago, Joe and Tanya Patton built an addition to their home, specifically to house high-medical needs cats from LCHS. Many of these cats were adopted out to other permanent homes, while Joe and Tanya adopted others as lifelong Patton “children.” To ensure that these very special cats and their other pets would be taken care of in the event something should happen to them, Joe and Tanya developed an estate plan. Upon Joe’s and Tanya’s death, assets would be moved into a pet trust to provide both money and instructions for the trustee and a chosen caregiver to provide ongoing love and care for the life of these animals.
The second step was to provide a donation for LCHS to continue its great work! Upon the final passing of the last Patton pet, the trust then directs their remaining assets to be divided among loved ones, with a 50% remainder of assets donated to LCHS.
Through the estate planning process, Joe and Tanya came to understand that while the documents themselves can sometimes be intimidating, it really is a straightforward process. It is quite possible to create a planned giving approach that is flexible to meet each person’s needs. With that understanding, they were able to create a plan that brought LCHS into the estate planning process for both the care of pets. Further, they designated a donation to LCHS left in their name to help continue the organization’s great work in providing resources to find homes for abandoned and homeless animals for generations to come.
Fotena’s Story
As a single person whose children are of the four-legged variety, Fotena wanted to protect her cats and leave a bequest to the two organizations that matter most to her: her church and LCHS. Working with her attorney, they found ways to make the planned giving process simple and direct, providing her peace of mind that her cats would be protected, and her bequests made. This was done through a simple will. It was a painless and reasonable approach bringing Fotena great comfort.
What You Can Do Next
Your ongoing legacy is important to you and your loved ones, and it is important to LCHS. You can make a planned gift that lives on into the future and at the same time is immediately beneficial to LCHS and its important mission. If you are interested in becoming an LCHS Legacy Society Patron, please act today in one of the following ways:
- Contact LCHS Executive, Director Lisa Glunt, at (850) 224-9193 or by email at lglunt@leoncountyhumane.org. Lisa can provide you with more information about LCHS and how the organization helps our community. She can share with you the tremendous value of your planned gift.
- Discuss planned gift ideas with a current Legacy Society Patron to better understand how they created and set up their own gifts. They will be happy to talk with you! Contact Lisa Glunt to arrange a meeting or phone call with a current Legacy Society member.
- If you are ready to make a gift and need assistance in planning and setting it up, we encourage you to contact your own attorney and / or financial planner today. We are available to work with your legal and financial team to implement your Legacy Society gift.
- If you are ready to make a gift and do not have an attorney or financial planner, please contact us and we will provide a list of community partners.
If you have already included LCHS in a planned gift – we hope you will let us know. Your willingness to be a patron of the LCHS Legacy Society encourages others to follow your example. We acknowledge and respect those who wish to remain anonymous, but we urge you to let us know confidentially, as it helps our organization secure our fiscal stability.
Thanks for helping us do the valuable work of protecting animals and strengthening the pet-person bond!
The information provided in this document and any accompanying materials provided by LCHS are for informational purposes only and should not be considered legal or financial advice. You should consult with an attorney and / or financial professional if you have questions, and to determine what may be best for your individual needs.
Why Do YOU Give?