Resourceful and Creative Donations

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center is helping families and individuals for over 25 years.  They have a compassionate mission to assist people involved in domestic violence.  It began as a compassionate mission where a few St. Paul’s volunteer parishioners grew into a local organization nationally recognized to serve the people of Groveland, West Newbury, Salisbury, Rowley, Newburyport, Newbury, Georgetown, Merrimac, and Amesbury.

The mission of this crisis center has been to empower community members and live free from violence, intimidation, fear, or threat of abuse by providing education, advocacy, and support.  The major goal is to create safe communities and end domestic violence for its members.

It’s very obvious that individuals and businesses would want to continually support nonprofits in their communities.  The public is invited to donate through these resourceful and creative ways:

• *Honor a friend or family member during special occasions, such as birthdays, or honor new graduates by donating through their name.
• *Donate a portion of your eBay auction for the Crisis Center.
• *Give through the matching gifts programs of employers.
• *Create your own planned giving program.

During these tough economic times, individuals and area businesses have stepped up efforts in order to support the individuals impacted by domestic violence and families in crisis.

Tags: domestic violence, donate, Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center, mission, nonprofits, parishioners, Planned Giving, St. Paul, violence, volunteer
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John Wooden Builds Retirement Nest Egg

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

UCLA basketball coach, John Wooden, admitted that he made a wrong decision when he accepted a post in Westwood.  He revealed that he didn’t ask questions and he didn’t know that the coaches were not considered as members of the faculty - they were only paid by Associated Students, the activities arm of the student body.

This means that he was not on the retirement plan of the University, and his situation persisted for 12 years.  Therefore, when he retired even after 10 national titles on record and 27 straight winning seasons, he was not given 12 years of credit for his pension.

The lesson here is to check things out before you continue a long-term career.  When he decided to retire in 1975, he was not certain of his future.  “I know my income after retirement will not be good,” Coach Wooden said.  All he wants is to ensure enough care for his ailing wife, maintain his standard of living, and still have something left for the children

Fortunately, his retirement had opened a new world of possibilities.  He has a steady book output that bears basketball coaching tips as well as life lessons and a steady income from several speaking engagements.  In fact, his last engagement has just been finished recently.

Now, he has a handwritten will and an old family trust.  These documents need to be updated because his estate had grown sharply due to book royalties and speaking fees.

Tags: basketball coach, estate, Family Trust, John Wooden, retirement, UCLA, University, Westwood, will
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Possible Legal Struggle in Jackson’s Will

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

The value of Michael Jackson’s estate, mostly in holdings aside from cash, has been estimated over $500 million. However, Jackson also carried a huge debt when his career foundered recently, mostly due to accusations of child molestation.  Even if he was acquitted in 2005, his career struggled although he had just planned a comeback through a series of concerts supposed to begin this summer.

Mrs. Katherine Jackson, mother of Michael, requested to have control of her son’s real estate holdings, financial accounts, and stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalog (including works of Beatles).  The will named John McClain (longtime friend) and John Branca (lawyer) as executors.  Another person, Barry Siegel, was named as co-executor; however, according to the court papers recently filed, Mr. Siegel already resigned from his position in 2003.

Michael Jackson gave full power over financial matters to the executors - this include mortgaging, leasing, or selling his property, continuation of any business enterprise, and selling or buying of assets.  It was reported that before he died, Jackson wanted to raise money coming from his belongings.  He moved costumes, jewelry, artwork, luxury cars, and other property from Neverland last year to host an auction.  However, it never took place.

Tags: auction, Barry Siegel, estate, John Branca, John McClain, Katherine Jackson, Michael Jackson, Neverland, will
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Avoid Inheritance Tax on Proceeds of Life Insurance

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

Generally, life insurance proceeds aren’t subject to Indiana Inheritance Tax.  An exception to this rule occurs when proceeds are payable to the estate of the descendant, either because the estate was named as beneficiary or the deceased failed to name any beneficiary.

A few months ago, however, the list server of Indiana Probate Bar was actively discussing this fact - Indiana’s DOR (Department of Revenue) was taking expanded interoperation of the section in the code authorizing an inheritance tax on the proceeds of life insurance.

Apparently, DOR decided that if the life insurance proceeds are payable to one’s trust, then this trust is authorized to pay debts or administrative expenses of the decedent, and the proceeds would be subject to Inheritance Tax.

However, the code should not be interpreted that way.  The schedule B of Indiana Inheritance Tax Return - the only place that lists life insurance proceeds which says that “life insurance is payable to estate.”  Armed with this, many attorneys take the position that life insurance are not required to be filed on Inheritance Tax return and be subjected to Inheritance tax unless the proceeds are payable to one’s estate.

Tags: attorneys, DOR, estate, Indiana, inheritance tax, life insurance, proceeds
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Ally of Small Non-profits

Friday, July 3rd, 2009

A small non-profit foundation needs to have a program for planned giving.  Here are some steps that you need to take for this program:

• *Draft a board meeting agenda.
• *Request for a meeting with the bank president.
• *Meet with the finance committee and sign thank-you letters.
• *Write, edit, or proofread the newsletter and send it to the post office.

You can do all these or you can just call a community foundation.  These community foundations need to strengthen philanthropy inside their own geographic areas.  They also provide a range of services to other partner non-profits including endowment management, technical assistance, grants, and consultation of planned management.

Oftentimes, a relationship would begin when your non-profit places an endowment.  Community foundations would pool the funds and invest it in various investments.  Non-profit endowments would range from $5,000-$25,000.

There are many variables and possibilities with planned giving.  Since small non-profits don’t even know where they would begin to seek for donors, these community foundations have numerous staff with legal expertise to help them.  And when they have identified a donor who’s interested to support their endowment, the community foundation would be more than willing to work with them and find the best vehicle to grow their funds.

Tags: community foundation, donor, endowment, non-profit foundation, Planned Giving
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Plane Crash Victim’s Family Fund Set-up

Friday, July 3rd, 2009

A trust fund was set up for the family of a woman in Ottawa who’s believed to be one of the passengers on a plane that recently crashed in the Indian Ocean.  Donations are being collected in order to help the husband and three children of Ensumata Abdoulghani for their funeral, travel, and living costs.

Abdoulghani had a Yemenia Airbus ticket for a trip coming from Paris and Marseille to Comoros passing through Yemen.  This plane had 153 people when it plunged in the water on Tuesday while approaching Grande Comore airport.  Only a 12-year-old girl survived.

Her husband, a Muslim teacher named Youssouf Mahamoud, traveled to Comoros after hearing the crash.  Some of his emergency money for the trip was raised by neighbors and friends in his low-income apartment.  He would still need a plane ride back and the family will extremely appreciate any help they can receive.

Before the crash, Mahamoud had been sending his earnings back to his family.  Donations for the family trust fund can be made at any branch of TD Canada Trust.  The bank will accept any cash or check that’s made out to Mohamed Mahaoud in trust.

Tags: donations, Ensumata Abdoulghani, Indian Ocean, plane, plane crash, TD Canada Trust, trust fund, Yemenia, Youssouf Mahamoud
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Common Answers about Trusts and Wills

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

There are no additional filings or fees in setting up a trust.  However, it’s likely more complicated and more expensive compared to drawing up a will.  The costs vary widely - it would depend on the complexity and size of the estate - attorneys could charge several thousands of dollars on these documents.  But for most basic estates, wills could cost about $500 each, according to Steve Akers, a managing director of a New York wealth-management firm named Bessemer Trust Co.

Anybody having possession of your will (usually your attorney) is obligated to file it in the courts upon your death.  Therefore, Akers stressed that you should leave copies of your trusts with your designated trustees or attorneys.

A common reason for choosing to set up a trust instead of a will is to avoid the court proceedings.  These wills need to be filed in probate court in order to be executed, which means that they become public documents.  Costs could be between 1-3% and administrative court fees would come out of the estate.  Use of wills are more common in states that have simpler court procedures and hearings are quick (sometimes even for 15 minutes).  While with trust, your assets will be simply transferred to designated trustees (or trustee) upon your death.

Tags: attorney, attorneys, Bessemer Trust Co., court, Steve Akers, trust, trustee, trusteees, will, Wills
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Estate Planning Aided by Key Documents

Thursday, July 2nd, 2009

Tenise Owens, Troy Bank’s trust officer was a keynote speaker at Healthy Woman seminar.  She said, “Everyone over 19 years old should have a will.  Advanced medical directives, a will with instruction letter, and a strong power of attorney are the key documents needed by each person before the need arises.”

She further revealed that, “The state will be very happy to distribute the money for you if you don’t have a will.”  She calls estate planning as the people’s “financial health” and outlined the pros and cons of having a durable power of attorney.  “We highly recommend that people go to their own attorneys and draw up their will.  You would definitely want someone standing behind you if people will challenge your will.  Therefore, downloading a will from the internet just won’t do,” she revealed.

Powers of attorney may be changed.  She urged the group in keeping the financial institution informed of the revisions.  She shared “We keep the copies of powers of attorney on file - we consider it a binding document unless we’re otherwise notified.”

When someone dies, many people typically go to financial institutions and expect to transact their business with a power of attorney.  However, she said, “A power of attorney would become null and void after a person’s death.  That’s when a ‘will’ would come into play.”

Tags: attorneys, Estate Planning, Healthy Woman seminar, power of attorney, Tenise Owens, Troy Bank, trust officer, will
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Celebrity Estate Planning

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

With so many celebrities passing away recently - Karl Malden, David Carradine, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson - there’s been a lot of talk about lack of proper estate planning.  Some celebrities who passed away without even planning their estate are Elvis, Anna Nicole Smith, Jerry Garcia, and Heath Ledger.

Apparently, Michael Jackson did some planning; however, his documents were not updated for more than 7 (seven) years.  So it goes to show that when celebrities neglect this very important step, then there are dreadful consequences.

You might be thinking that you don’t have an estate to protect like them and you probably don’t need estate planning.  But be informed that whatever size your estate is, it does not excuse you from executing an estate plan.  Simply put, it’s a plan that will ensure your family’s financial needs are met after you die.

So if you own a home (whether mortgaged or not), a business, or any other asset (such as insurance policies), you need an estate plan.  Certainly if you have children, you would want to ensure a bright future for them even after you’re gone.  The only way to do this is to dust off your documents and review them to see and decide on the beneficiaries of your assets.  It would be better if you speak to an estate planning attorney to seek help in taking care of this.

Tags: beneficiaries, celebrities, estate, estate plan, Estate Planning, estate planning attorney, Michael Jackson
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Holocaust Centre Launched $20M Endowment Campaign

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

MHMC (Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre) launched a recent “legacy campaign” that will secure the future of the museum and preserve the memory for six million generations to come.  It’s called Legacy Society, an initiative that will establish $20-million endowment fund perpetually to continue the centre’s work.

“Activities include anti-Semitism and intolerance through educational outreach, discrimination, furthering human rights as well as fight against hate, honoring family, commemorating Holocaust, and Holocaust resistance,” as revealed by Julia Reitman, centre president, during the campaign’s launch.

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s George Hellman, the director of planned giving in Washington D.C. said that “creating an endowment fund surely is the best way to secure the future of any institution.”  Since 2002, Washington Museum already raised over $56 million through planned giving.

Hellman said, “Our donors are taking this commitment seriously.  They learned that it will give you peace of mind to leave a planned gift.  It’s critical to the great success of any legacy society.”

Meanwhile, Alice Herscovitch, centre executive director, said no overtures or individual approaches will be made although the term “campaign” was used.  Those who are considering making a “planned gift” voluntarily may approach the centre to meet with a representative on a confidential and individual basis.  He further said that the donor can decide whether the “planned gift” will be kept confidential or not.

Tags: Alice Herscovitch, donors, endowment, George Hellman, legacy campaign, Legacy Society, MHMC, planned gift, Washington Museum
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