The most common and flexible type of planned gifts, a bequest through your will or living trust can be made in any amount. A bequest may allow you to make a significant gift to Bishop Museum without affecting your current finances. You may designate Bishop Museum as the recipient of a specific amount or a percentage.

Amending your will or living trust to include Bishop Museum in your estate plan is as easy as adding simple bequest language. [link to view sample language]

Making Bishop Museum a beneficiary of your retirement account is an easy, flexible, and tax-wise way to make a planned gift, and does not require changing your will or trust.  It can be as easy as having your retirement plan office send a beneficiary form which you can fill out and return to that office.  The charitable gift is not effective during your lifetime, making the assets in the account fully accessible for your use during your lifetime.  You can make a full or partial gift.  The gift can also be a primary or secondary gift, making this technique a flexible and easy way to fulfill your family and charitable desires.

If you are age 70½ or older, you may also qualify for an opportunity to transfer assets annually from your IRA to a charity, tax-free.

Naming Bishop Museum as a beneficiary of your life insurance is a simple way to leverage your policy into a meaningful gift. Alternatively, if you have reached a point where your life insurance is no longer needed as part of your estate plan, you can also choose to make the Museum the owner of your policy.

Beneficiary designations are among the easiest and most flexible ways to support Bishop Museum through your long-term plans, and typically do not require changing your will, trust, or other existing estate plan. In addition to your retirement or deferred compensation plan, many other types of financial accounts such as commercial annuities, and certificates of deposit, will allow you to name a beneficiary or to change the account structure to “payable on death” or “for the benefit of.”

Charitable gift annuities are as popular as they are easy to set up, and provide a safe, generous income as well as meaningful tax benefits. In exchange for your gift of cash or appreciated securities, the Museum will pay you and/or another beneficiary a guaranteed fixed income for life.  Usually, the older you are, the higher the guaranteed annual fixed income payment will be.

A charitable remainder trust is independently managed by you or your advisor, and pays you and/or another beneficiary income for life in exchange for your commitment to make a charitable gift. It can also provide a substantial income tax deduction, and can serve as an effective means of avoiding capital gains and estate taxes.

When you make a gift of appreciated securities, you could receive a double tax benefit—a charitable deduction and avoidance of capital gains tax.

A gift of a highly appreciated residence, vacation home, or investment property can be arranged to produce maximum tax benefits for you while providing meaningful support for Bishop Museum. The Museum can work with you and your advisor on a variety of gift structures, whether in your lifetime or as a bequest.  It’s also possible to continue living in your real estate after making the gift.

A charitable lead trust provides Bishop Museum with a reliable gift for a set number of years but retains the principal for you or your heirs. A lead trust is especially beneficial if you have a large estate and are concerned about gift and estate taxes. Removed from your estate, assets placed in a lead trust can be passed to loved ones untouched by these taxes.

Donor advised funds often provide the opportunity to make recommendations regarding the distribution of any remaining fund balance in the event of one’s death. You may be able to name Bishop Museum as beneficiary or to recommend future distributions to the Museum. Your fund administrator can provide more information.