Tax season – a time of year when many of us are putting more thought toward our financial futures. Since you may already be meeting with a financial advisor, it’s also a great time to think about estate planning and the benefits of leaving a charitable gift in your will.
It’s never too early or too late to start estate planning, and while it may seem complicated, leaving a gift in your will is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to make a difference. You can choose to leave a percentage or an amount of any size and even a small amount can help make lives better. For decades, gifts in wills to UHN have supported medical breakthroughs that have transformed health care here and around the globe.
You might be surprised to learn that there are generous tax incentives for this kind of gift. You can also take care of your loved ones AND make an impact on health care for future generations – you don’t have to choose one or the other!
Are you interested in speaking to your financial advisor about a gift in your will? Not sure where to start? Thanks to our partners at Will Power, here’s a handy guide for navigating the conversation.
1. Share your intentions
To create a rock-solid strategy for charitable giving in your estate, start by sharing your intentions with your advisor. Why do you want to leave a gift in your will? What kind of impact do you want it to have? What would you like the approximate size of your gift to be? You can use the Will Power legacy calculator to help.
2. Narrow in on numbers
Work with your advisor to better estimate the future value of your estate and how much of that you would like to leave to your loved ones, then how much to the charities you wish to support.
3. Explore different ways to leave an estate gift
Your estate is likely to receive a significant income tax bill when you pass. A charitable gift in your will results in a donation receipt that can significantly reduce taxes owed. Discuss with your advisor which of your estate’s assets might be most efficient to give.
Here is a short list of gift types to consider:
- A gift of cash. You may choose to designate a specific dollar amount, or percentage of the net residue of your estate to give to UHN Foundation.
- A gift of securities. If you own publicly listed securities, transferring them to UHN Foundation can have significant tax advantages.
- Registered funds like RRSPs, RRIFs or TFSAs. You may choose to name UHN Foundation as a beneficiary for whatever is left over from your RRSP, RRIF or TFSA.
- A gift of life insurance. You can name UHN Foundation as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy.
These are just some of the opportunities – but there are many other gift planning options available and your advisor can help with how best to maximize your giving.
With Will Power’s help, we’ve compiled all of these tips and more into a free downloadable guide. A small thing you do now could be the start of something big. Reach out to your advisor today.
UHN Foundation is a proud partner in the Will Power movement. Will Power is a national effort to educate Canadians on the power they have to make a difference with their wills.