Tax Incentives

" It is better to leave your children with an education than with money."

Your Will: A Plan for Your Survivors

If you are between 42 and 60 years of age, you are a member of the National Association of Baby Boomers and by their estimates, $41 to $136 trillion will be passed down to you from the estates of your parents.

Assess What You Own and How You Own It

Your will must be written, signed by you and witnessed according to the laws of your state. (Exception: Some states permit a holographic will, handwritten, signed and dated by its author.)

Select an attorney skilled in preparing wills in your state. Listen to suggestions about what you need to do to make your wishes clear and your will valid.

Assess any assets that will pass through probate, the legal process of authenticating your will. Only property or assets in your name alone, such as a checking account or a house, will pass to others under your will, making it important to know which assets pass under your will and which assets are distributed by other means. If you own property with someone jointly with rights of survivorship, your share may be part of your probate estate. If you own property in "joint ownership" with someone, however, that property will pass "by law" outside of your will, and not be included in probate.

Most life insurance proceeds and retirement plans won' t become part of your probate estate, but instead pass to your account' s named beneficiary outside your will. These assets will also need to be coordinated as you prepare your estate plan.

Bequests of All Kinds

Who will receive your assets and your personal possessions? And why? Will your bequests help or hinder those you intend to benefit? For example, certain types of inheritance carry adverse tax consequences.

Traditional and blended families alike have unique needs. Careful planning ensures that everyone is considered and appropriately cared for by your will.

You may also wish to make bequests to favorite charitable organizations, such as Northwest Kansas Technical College. There are many ways to do that; some can benefit your family as well as the organizations you consider worthy of support. We will be pleased to discuss with you how you can make a bequest while also ensuring that your family will have the financial security they need for their lives.

Reasons to Review

Once you complete your estate plan, it will need an annual evaluation. As your life changes, you will need to review the plans you have in place.

    You may move to another state.

    Your relationships with individual family members may change.

    Your executor may die or the management of your trust company may change.

    You or a family member may become incapacitated.

    You may need to recognize the special needs of individuals.

Your plans for charitable giving may be altered. You may find ways to benefit yourself and a charitable organization. All of your wishes are possible.

Remember

When you have made or revised your will or trust, it may only be temporary. Time and events compel change.

Be certain that someone knows where you keep your will and or trust. Leave a copy with your attorney, executor, trustee, or tell a family member where it can be found.

Your will, once probated, becomes a matter of public record. Follow the basics. Let no error frustrate your ultimate intention to be considerate, generous and fair.

Ways to Give Bequests

Leave your legacy by making a gift in your will to friends, family and charitable organizations. A bequest is one of the simplest ways to remember those you care about most.

Retained Life Estate

One of your valued possessions, your home, can become a valued gift to us even while you are still living in it, and even if you want your spouse or other survivor to live there for life. This arrangement is called a retained life estate.

Charitable Gift Annuity

The concept of the charitable gift annuity in America dates back to 1843, when a merchant in Boston first donated a gift of money to the American Bible Society in exchange for a flow of income. Today, the concept includes valuable tax benefits for donors. But perhaps more valuable than the financial advantages is the satisfaction donors gain by helping to continue our mission and good works.

Wealth Replacement Trust

Perhaps you would like to make a sizable contribution to us now to help meet our current needs, but you don't want to reduce the estate you will pass to your family. The solution? Purchase life insurance.

Charitable Remainder Trust

What are your plans for the future? While there is no single way to achieve all of your personal and financial goals, there is one strategy that can meet many of your needs. It's called a charitable remainder trust. In the right circumstances, this plan can increase your income, reduce your taxes, unlock appreciated investments, rid you of investment worries and ultimately provide very important support.

Charitable Lead Trust

If your goal is to provide an inheritance for your children, but you would also like to make a significant charitable gift through your estate, find out how a charitable lead trust can help you satisfy both objectives. It's a charitable lead trust that can provide a significant charitable gift through your estate and provide an inheritance to your children.

Setting up a charitable gift annuity allows you to receive an income for life, generates income tax benefits and you can direct the proceeds from your gift to endow a scholarship at Northwest Kansas Technical College.

If you would like to make a gift to Northwest Kansas Technical College, but need to protect your future income source, consider the Charitable Remainder Trusts.

For real estate or closely held business assets that are valuable but not readily marketable, a flip charitable remainder unitrust (flip CRUT) works well.

What is a unitrust?

Regardless of the income earned by the trust, a standard unitrust pays the donor a percentage of the trust assets after they are valued each year.

A net income CRUT (Charitable Remainder Unitrust) pays the donor the lesser of the payout percentage specified in the trust or the actual annual income earned by the trust. Therefore, if the trust isn' t earning any income, no distributions are made.

A flip CRUT is a crossbreed between a standard unitrust and another variation of unitrust called a net income CRUT.

A flip CRUT starts as a net income CRUT and "flips" to a standard CRUT upon a triggering event, such as the sale of the unmarketable asset. It flips its payout structure to a standard unitrust when the trustee sells the real estate or other unmarketable asset. The trustee distributes a regular payment stream the calendar year following the asset' s sale.

Under the right circumstances, a flip CRUT can be a useful strategy.