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The Importance of Estate Planning and the Need for a Will
On prior occasions, I have submitted articles to be presented to the membership of the Humane
Society of Central Illinois for the importance of donations, contributions and wills, which
include the Humane Society of Central Illinois. The purpose of a will is to allow a person
to distribute to those intended to be the beneficiaries of the estate to benefit from that
estate once they pass away. While discussions about a will often present the most
uncomfortable of situations, because it contemplates the passing of the person authoring the
will, it is something which can easily place people with comfort and ease of mind, knowing
that their estates will not be subject to interpretation by other individuals and will be
distributed in accordance with their own wishes.
The way a person composes the will and plans an estate says a lot about that person. It
confirms to the world that this person was thinking about the beneficiaries who were named in
that will or estate plan, and it also confirms that there were individuals and/or
organizations which were important to the testator.
The Humane Society of Central Illinois, as you all know, promotes a policy, tradition and
philosophy which is solely intended to promote shelter, protection and a safe haven for
abused, neglected and abandoned animals. It has been my pleasure over the numerous years in
working with the Humane Society to see the unending devotion by its volunteers and the result
of saving the countless numbers of animals who would have otherwise continued to suffer
and/or met with untimely death.
When you identify the Humane Society of Central Illinois in your will or estate plan, you are
telling the world that you share the opinions and beliefs as expressed above. You are also
telling the world that you have a genuine concern and care for not only the work done by the
Humane Society of Central Illinois, but also for the animals which benefit from the Humane
Society.
On numerous prior occasions, I have volunteered my services and time to work with people who
want to set up their estate plans or wills to include the Humane Society of Central Illinois.
There are a number of ways for people to provide generous donations and bequests to the
Humane Society of Central Illinois, sometimes without bearing a significant expense and, very
often, having the same associated with tax benefits to the individuals providing the gift.
One of the simplest ways is to provide a portion of the estate to be given to the Humane
Society of Central Illinois, either through a will or estate plan, but there are also other
items of which a person can take advantage.
One example is life insurance. For people between the ages of thirty-five (35) and fifty (50),
a donation to the Humane Society of Central Illinois, in the amount of a $10,000.00 life
insurance policy, can be provided for only about $200.00 for payment of the premiums over the
course of a year. While this may not show an immediate gift, it will certainly provide a
substantial gift to the Humane Society of Central Illinois and provide benefits to the Humane
Society of Central Illinois when a person can no longer do so. Another advantage to this
scenario would be that not only would the Humane Society receive the full value of the
insurance policy, but the donor would be allowed the deduction of the premium payments on a
tax return as a charitable donation.
Other items of concern which make very valuable gifts are associated with appreciated
property. For example, if an individual purchased stock a number of years ago for $400.00 and
the stock is now worth $4,000.00, instead of paying taxes on the $3,600.00 increase (capital
gains), the stock could instead be conveyed, without liquidation of same, to the Humane
Society of Central Illinois, who would thereby realize the benefits of the appreciated value,
and the individual donating the stock can take advantage of a taxable donation to a
charitable organization.
I would strongly suggest to anyone who is interested to contact an attorney, accountant,
insurance agent or financial planner to explore these opportunities. Once again, if I could
personally be of any service or answer any questions as to the direction of a bequest or
donations, I would be more than happy to provide any information available. Please feel free
to call me at (309)862-4047. When you call, please state that you are calling me in regards
to the Humane Society of Central Illinois.
Thank you,
Maurice J. Barry
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Copyright © 2008 Humane Society of Central Illinois. All rights reserved.