Leave a Legacy for Nature
“More than monies, I want to leave my grandchildren, and all grandchildren, an earth that is livable and still beautiful. So I have left the Land Trust in my estate plans as it has done commendable work in this regard. I am thinking globally, and acting locally!”
– Connie Wolfe, Legacy Circle Member
When you include the Whidbey Camano Land Trust in your estate plans, you make a lasting contribution to the preservation of vital forests, farmlands, prairies and shorelines on Whidbey and Camano Islands.
In return, your planned gift offers you several important benefits:
- Planned gifts are easy to arrange and can also be changed at any time.
- Your intentions are honored by the Land Trust in the use of your planned gift.
- You help the causes you care about without burdening friends and family.
Ways of Giving – Create your Legacy
Bequests allow you to choose whether the Land Trust will receive a specific dollar amount, an asset, a percentage of your estate, a contingent bequest in the event you outlive your heirs, or a portion of the remainder of your estate after provisions for family and friends have been made.
Under current tax law, all bequests to the Land Trust are exempt from federal estate tax. Consult with your attorney or estate planning professional to help you determine if a bequest is right for you. You can find an example of bequest language here.
You can designate the Land Trust as a beneficiary and insurance policy. When the time comes, the Land Trust receives proceeds from the policy. This allows you to provide a large gift to benefit land preservation — often more than you’d be able to donate outright. The donor’s heirs benefit as well, because policy proceeds distributed to a nonprofit organization are exempt from estate tax.
Most Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) are income tax–deferred, meaning that income tax is not paid until the funds are distributed to you in life or upon your death. This taxation makes retirement assets among the most costly assets to distribute to your loved ones. The naming of a nonprofit, such as the Land Trust, as the beneficiary of retirement assets upon death generates no income taxes. The Whidbey Camano Land Trust is tax-exempt and eligible to receive the full amount of an IRA, allowing you to bypass any income taxes. Just a few simple steps can help you make a tax-wise planned gift from your IRA.
Reduce your taxes, ease the demands of owning property, and provide you and your lifetime income. The Land Trust accepts two types of real estate gifts, both of which support our work to protect land in Island County. Conservation lands and properties intended for sale. You may make an outright gift of the property, give the Land Trust a remainder interest or life estate (which allows you or your family to occupy the property during your lifetime) or establish a charitable remainder trust with the real estate.
Dugualla Bay by Jann Ledbetter.
If you are considering a planned gift to the Land Trust, or have already included us in your will, we welcome the opportunity to recognize your generosity. To learn more, please contact Ryan Elting at ryan@wclt.org.
The Whidbey Camano Land Trust is a non-profit, tax-exempt charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law. The federal tax identification number of the Land Trust is 91-1261928.
