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Deferred Gifts

Gifts Through Your Will
A bequest to the West Texas A&M University Foundation, can be especially beneficial if you wish to make a gift to benefit the University without diminishing the assets available to you during your lifetime. If you want to secure estate tax savings by reducing the size of your taxable estate, bequests to the WTAMU Foundation may be deducted from your taxable estate in determining estate taxes.

With your attorney's assistance, you can make a bequest simply by including bequest language in your will that describes your wishes regarding a gift to the WTAMU Foundation.

Charitable Remainder Trusts
A charitable trust is a good way to make a substantial gift to West Texas A&M University while providing lifetime income for you or your beneficiaries. You may choose from many forms of charitable trusts to suit your own needs, but the basic charitable trust begins with the transfer of assets to a trustee. You then receive income from these assets for a predetermined length of time. Upon termination of the trust, the assets are transferred to WTAMU and distributed according to your wishes.

Charitable trusts can be especially beneficial if you:

  • Wish to make a charitable gift to benefit the WTAMU Foundation and at the same time retain the income from the assets you give
  • Have highly appreciated assets which you hesitate to sell because of taxes
  • Need more income than the assets are currently providing

Life Insurance
A gift of life insurance is an attractive, but sometimes overlooked, method of giving.

A life insurance gift is a good option if you:
  • Wish to make a substantial gift through relatively modest annual payments
  • Have an existing policy that is no longer needed for its original purpose
  • Can utilize the resulting tax or estate planning benefits

With your insurance agent's help, you can make a life insurance gift by simply designating the WTAMU Foundation as your policy's irrevocable beneficiary and owner and then sending the policy to the Foundation.

Retained Life Estate
You can transfer ownership of a personal residence or farm to the WTAMU Foundation while retaining the right to use the property during your lifetime. This is an excellent way to support West Texas A&M University, receive income tax deductions, and retain the enjoyment of the property for life.

Because you transfer ownership of the property to the Foundation, you receive an immediate charitable income tax deduction, with the usual 30 percent limitation and five-year carry-over. The amount of your deduction is based on the value of the Foundation's future interest in the property. Though you benefit from the charitable deduction, in most cases you continue to be responsible for maintenance and property taxes.

As with any gift, removing this property from your estate can also lower your estate taxes and probate costs.

Retirement Benefits
Retirement plan vehicles, such as IRAs and other traditional plans, offer extraordinary savings for many Americans. These plans can also be an excellent source for funding charitable gifts. If you are at the point in life where you are beginning to take distributions from such plans, it can be a taxwise alternative to take additional amounts in some years to fund your charitable gifts.

Amounts left to loved ones from retirement plans can give rise to very high tax burdens. For this reason, many choose to designate one or more charitable organizations as the last beneficiary to receive anything left in an account when they no longer need it.

IF YOU HAVE MADE THE WTAMU FOUNDATION A BENEFICIARY OF YOUR ESTATE OR TRUST, PLEASE NOTIFY US SO WE CAN PROPERLY ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR GENEROSITY.