We are fortunate to live in a charity-minded community. We can count on our community leaders to donate much needed time and money to nonprofit organizations that have made our local area such a nice place to live.

As a result, charitable gifts play a significant role in the estate-planning process of our community and beyond. Gifts can be made outright or as a planned gift through an estate. Either way, both the donor and the charitable organization benefit financially. The charity receives an asset, and the donor receives a tax deduction.

Planned gifts are unique in that they do not affect the current financial situation of the donor since the gift is made at the time of a death. Even though there is no immediate benefit of an outright gift, planned gifts are critical to the existence of many nonprofit organizations.

A specific charitable bequest provision in a will or living trust is one way to make a planned gift. Another is to list a charity as a beneficiary on a retirement account or life insurance policy. These gifts are designated during the life of the donor but are not received by the charity until the donor’s death.