Evaluating Your Assets

When you first bought life insurance, you felt the coverage was necessary. Perhaps your situation changed, yet you still have the same policy. Just as life insurance can provide future sums to family members, it can also be used to benefit Texas A&M.

You can easily make a legacy gift using a life insurance policy by simply naming the Texas A&M Foundation as beneficiary of your policy. You retain ownership during your lifetime, and the asset is revocable, so your gift can change if your circumstances do.

IRAs and other tax-deferred retirement accounts are great ways to accumulate assets to provide for retirement. However, they are not ideal for transferring wealth to the next generation, because they carry a tax burden to beneficiaries (except spouses) when inherited.

Many individuals leave less-taxed assets to their heirs and give IRAs or other tax-deferred accounts to the Texas A&M Foundation by naming the Foundation as the account beneficiary. As a charitable organization, the Foundation receives these retirement assets tax-free to benefit Texas A&M as you wish.

SPECIAL YEAR-END TAX TIP!
If you are 70½, you can use a qualified charitable distribution from your IRA to support your Aggieland passions while also satisfying your yearly required minimum distribution. This means greater giving and tax deductions in 2020!

Property you no longer use—a vacation home or an investment property that has become a hassle, or a highly appreciated property you are hesitant to sell due to substantial capital gains taxes—can be a beneficial asset to leave to the Foundation to fund a planned gift.

By donating property to the Foundation, you avoid marketing the property and the capital gains taxes triggered by its sale. Leaving property to heirs can create an estate-tax liability and could force the sale of other assets that might otherwise appreciate. Depending on the gift method you choose, you could also receive a significant charitable income-tax deduction and/or an increase in income.

The Texas A&M Foundation evaluates all potential gifts of real estate for marketability and potential environmental concerns. We ask donors to supply detailed information on the property before accepting the gift.

Securities such as publicly held stocks, closely held stocks, bonds and mutual funds are also ideal assets to consider in funding a planned gift.

Like retirement assets, securities can prove to be a costly inheritance for your loved ones. If they sell the investment, they will be subject to an approximately 25% capital gains tax. If you transfer the stock to a charity instead, you avoid capital gains taxes on the appreciation and pocket a tax deduction based on the fair market value of the investment on the date of the donation.