Legacy Gift
Your planned legacy gift can help us to continue to provide services for many years to come regardless of any future Medicaid funding cuts. Planned Gifts can also benefit you and your family as well as a charity such as your church or Civitan Services. You can actually better plan for your financial security while helping make a significant contribution to Civitan Services. By taking advantage of the IRS incentives, you can create a giving plan that protects your family and avoids unnecessary taxation on your estate.
You do NOT have to be rich to benefit from an estate plan. A current will is the only way to choose a legal guardian for your family members or to make sure your legacy benefits those of your choosing.
For those with developmentally delayed family members, estate planning is crucial. A Special Needs Trust is often the only way to guarantee continuation of medical benefits regardless of any inheritance.
You can make a gift of stock, bonds, life insurance, retirement plans, real estate, etc. Please contact our office today to learn more about Planned Giving. We will be happy to meet with you, provide literature or introduce you to our financial planning consultants atPear Tree Wealth Management, LLC.
Special Needs Trust
Insuring financial security for a dependent family member with a developmental disability is often a struggle for our families. In most cases, a Special Needs Trust is the answer to protecting both SSI and Medicaid benefits while providing a comfortable life.
A Special Needs Trust is established for the benefit of a person with a disability. The Trust can be created during the donor's lifetime (A Living Trust) or it may be created through the donor's will (A Testamentary Trust).
A trust is simply a legal arrangement where property is held by a trustee (one person, a group or a company like a bank) for the benefit of another. The trustee's job is to manage this account on behalf of the beneficiary.
The Social Security Administration has set guidelines that say these Special Needs Trusts cannot be considered a resource when determining eligibility for SSI or Medicaid benefits. The funds within a Special Needs Trust can be used for medical or personal needs not covered by benefits.
Parents or other family members can then leave inheritance directly to the trust instead of the beneficiary to avoid losing any benefits. Assets (cash, real estate, stocks, bond, life insurance, vehicles, etc) can be transferred to the trust at any time. The funds are immediately available for use after the trust is created.
Always seek the advice of legal council when creating either a Living or Testamentary Trust as there are very specific steps that must be completed to make a trust official.
Legal Registry
Civitan Services has a Legal Registry available to our donors upon request of professionals in the Saline County area that have certified that:
- At least 25% of their practice is related to wills and estate planning
- They are knowledgeable of the use of charitable giving tools in estate planning
- They are willing to accommodate the client's desire for a reasonable turnaround time in the preparation of documents
- They are willing to share a basic schedule of fees a client might anticipate paying for my services, and
- Carry professional liability insurance in a minimum amount of $100,000, per occurrence, and $300,000, in the aggregate
- They have worked with a Special Needs Trust in the last year
Obtain a copy of our Legal Registry by contacting our office.
