Estate Planning
Ways to Protect the Animals you love.
Your planned gift makes it possible.
By including Tiger Haven in your estate plan you will be able to continue providing for the great cats of Tiger Haven
There are many financial options available to donors who want to ensure the continuity of services to Tiger Haven. There are many ways to make a planned gift that can offer substantial tax savings, supplement retirement income and enable donors to leave a legacy that will help to secure a safe permanent home for the cats of Tiger Haven.
Your gift to Tiger Haven is a legacy to the animals you love. Your charitable donation will help maintain a home for the great cats of Tiger Haven.
Listed below are a number of various gift methods and vehicles that are available. Contact your attorney or financial advisor for specific state regulations.
Charitable Bequests
Your will is an important element in your estate plan that enables you to protect the people you love, create a lasting partnership with Tiger Haven and help to ensure a permanent home for the cats of Tiger Haven.
Charitable Trusts
Help ensure the future of the cats at Tiger Haven. Receive income for life or transfer property to your family in a tax-advantaged manner. There are several different types of trusts and each has specific benefits to the donor and charity. In general, assets are deposited into a trust. The trust pays a stream of income either to the donor, someone the donor designates or to the charity. At the end of the trust, the assets that remain will go either to the charity or revert to the donor s family. The amount of the income stream is either a set amount per year or a percentage of the value of the assets.
Charitable Gift Annuity
Balance your individual/retirement needs with your philanthropic interests. A charitable gift annuity can help you support the sanctuary and provide you (or you and your spouse jointly, or someone you designate) with an income stream for life. There are several real benefits you will receive. Annuity rates are established at the date the annuity is created and the resulting payment remains fixed for the life of the annuitant(s). You are eligible to receive an income tax deduction (typically 40-60 % of the contribution) for a portion of your gift and if the gift portion of your annuity exceeds the IRS contribution limit, you may carry forward the excess deduction for as many as five additional years. A portion of each payment you receive from your annuity is generally considered tax free and not reportable on your income tax return. If you fund your annuity with appreciated stocks, bonds or other assets, you may postpone reporting the capital gains: most often, this gain can be prorated over your life expectancy.
Gifts of Stock
Gifts of stock or bonds are an excellent way to ensure that Tiger Haven can continue to provide a safe and loving haven for big cats. The best way for both you and the cats to benefit is to have your broker transfer your stocks directly to Tiger Haven. That way, you can realize the best tax savings. Donors enjoy a two-fold advantage in donating long term appreciated assets: a charitable tax deduction for the full present fair market value of the asset and absolutely no tax on the appreciation.
Life Insurance Policy
Using a life insurance policy to support Tiger Haven can be very cost effective, especially for the younger donor. A donor may apply for a new policy or make a gift of an existing policy which has cash value. A new life insurance policy can enable someone with many current family obligations to turn a relatively small contribution into a dramatically larger gift. For the older donor, a paid-up life insurance policy that is no longer needed makes an excellent gift. Another option is to simply name Tiger Haven as a primary or contingent beneficiary of a new or existing policy, without transferring ownership of the policy. During your lifetime, you retain ownership and have access to the policy s cash value, but realize no tax benefits. After your passing, if the proceeds of the policy are paid to Tiger Haven, your estate is entitled to an estate tax charitable deduction.
Real Estate and Investment Properties
Outright gifts or bequests of real property have many advantages including bypassing capital gains reducing estate taxes and more. Gifts of real estate can include a house, apartment building, farm, vacation house, commercial building and non income-producing land. A donor can make an outright gift of real estate now or through the estate- or use it to fund a charitable remainder trust that provides income to the donor or the donor s children. A gift of real estate typically requires certain procedural steps, including a site visit to the property, a qualified appraisal, a preliminary title report and an environmental assessment. There are even ways to make such a gift- and achieve tax advantages now- while continuing to receive lifetime income from an income-producing property or retaining lifetime use of your property.
Retirement Plans
These can be powerful tools for endowing a charitable legacy to Tiger Haven while avoiding heavy estate and income taxes. Many individuals have accumulated substantial sums in tax-deferred retirement accounts, which include profit-sharing plans, IRAs, 401(k) and 403(b)s. These accounts are popular because the contributions are made with pre-tax dollars and the assets in the accounts grow tax-deferred. However, funds withdrawn from these accounts are usually taxed at both high income and estate tax rates. It is possible at death, less than 30% in a retirement account will reach non-spouse beneficiaries. Therefore, individuals planning to make charitable gifts at death should consider using retirement accounts to fulfill their wishes. By giving retirement account assets, donors avoid substantial taxes that otherwise be due. Other less heavily taxed assets are then available to fulfill bequests to loved ones.
Endow Your Annual Campaign Gift
Donors make numerous contributions over the course of a year or make one contribution annually to Tiger Haven. Tradition teaches us that we are just one link in a long chain, and we must work to maintain continuity for those who come after us. To reinforce your connection to the future and provide a sound financial base upon which Tiger Haven can build, many donors are endowing their gift or gifts to Tiger Haven. This gift can be funded by a variety of methods: life insurance, trust, or gift of cash or property.
Charitable Bequests
Protect the animals you love.
Your will makes it possible.
By including Tiger Haven in your will you will be able to continue providing a permanent home for the big cats. You can make your bequest for a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate or specific assets from your estate. Bequests, like other gifts, can be designated for many purposes or given without restriction.
Your first step, once you decide to leave a gift, is to contact your attorney to help you draw up your will. Your attorney will need to know our legal name is Tiger Haven Inc. We are a non-profit charitable organization (I.D. #62-1536897). Our 501(c)3 status under the Internal Revenue Code provides a tax saving for you and your estate.
There are three main types of bequests: percentage, residual and specific.
The Percentage Bequest
A percentage bequest is a bequest of a certain percentage of your estate or of another asset. An example of a percentage bequests might be providing that, upon your death, your house be sold and that each of your three children receive one-third of the net proceeds. You designate that a specific percentage, anywhere from 1-100% of your estate, is left to Tiger Haven. The greatest advantage of this structure is that, as your estate increases in value over time, your gift will keep pace and your support for Tiger Haven will grow.
I give, bequeath, and devise (state percentage amount) to Tiger Haven, a qualified 501(c)3 charitable institution, located in Kingston, Tennessee to be used to provide lifetime care for abused, neglected, confiscated and unwanted Big Cats.
The Residual Bequest
A residual bequest is a bequest of all or a portion of the remainder or residue of your estate after specific and other bequests have been distributed. An example of this type of bequest might be providing that everything that remains after all previous bequests have been satisfied should be given to the Charity of your choice. By naming Tiger Haven as the beneficiary of this residue, you simplify the probate process and ensure that the government does allocate the remainder of your estate as you see fit.
I give, bequeath, and devise (all, or state percentage or shares) of the rest, residue, and remainder of property, both real and personal, wherever situated, which I may own or be entitled to at my death, to Tiger Haven a qualified 501(c) c 3 charitable institution, located in Kingston, Tennessee, to be used to provide lifetime care for the Great Cats.
The Specific Bequest
A specific bequest is a bequest for a specific item of dollar amount. An example of a specific bequest might be providing that your best china be given to your niece Sara upon your death.
I give, bequeath, and devise (state amount or item) to Tiger Haven, a qualified 501(c)3 charitable institution, located in Kingston, Tennessee to be used to provide lifetime care for great cats in need.