Testamentary Life-Income Gifts
(Complete gift description)

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Here is a giving tool that adds extra flexibility to your estate planning. You can provide that a life-income gift — a charitable gift annuity, unitrust or annuity trust — be created and funded by your estate. You make the provisions in your will or revocable trust, and they are carried out by your executor or trustee and Defenders of Wildlife after your death.

Your estate will receive a charitable estate tax deduction for the gift, based on the value of the transfer minus the value of the beneficiaries' income interest.

The result? You help Defenders of Wildlife while also benefiting children or other heirs, making one asset do the work of two. You lower the estate tax burden on your estate. You also get help in making special provisions for your heirs, either by providing additional resources for an individual or by limiting that individual to a life income rather than a large outright bequest.

Important considerations

  • As with any bequest, a testamentary life-income gift is a revocable, future transfer.  You receive no income tax deduction for the gift you are planning now.
  • You can provide for a specific dollar amount to fund the gift, or a percentage of the residue of your estate.
  • Testamentary unitrusts and annuity trusts can run for the beneficiaries' lifetimes or for a term of years.

For more information

Email us, complete the personal illustration form, or call us at 1-800-915-6789 so that we can assist you through every step of the process.





The material presented on this web site is not offered as legal or tax advice. Please review calculations of tax benefits with planned giving staff to ensure that they reflect current interest rates and other assumptions. And, seek the counsel of your tax advisor, attorney and/or financial planner to review tax calculations and ensure that a contemplated gift is appropriate for your situation.