Planned Gifts

Through the genersosity of loyal friends of the Academy, Planned Gifts provide additional resources in the form of bequests or other testamentary arrangement.  These gifts help to preserve the excellence of Woodstock Academy for future generations of students and provide numerous benefits to you. Planned Gifts can help you make a meaningful gift as a component of your estate planning without having to part with assets you may need in the future.

Friends of the Academy who have made planned gifts become members of the prestigious Ely Ransom Hall Legacy Society.  To learn more about this society, please click here.

If you are considering making a planned gift to Woodstock Academy, please contact Kristen Willis at 860-963-4926 for confidential advice.

Here are just a few of the Planned Gifts you may consider and the benefits they can provide you:

Estate Tax Benefits
Giving Programs that Benefit You, Loved Ones and Woodstock Academy: Your bequest to Woodstock Academy will reduce the size of your estate, saving considerable taxes if your net worth is above the estate tax exemption limit allowed by law. A bequest is the most effective means of avoiding estate taxes and through a bequest, you can direct your wealth to Woodstock Academy rather than the government.

Through your will or living trust, you can create charitable gift plans that offer tangible benefits to your heirs, and then to the Academy. These plans can be modified or rescinded by you anytime prior to your death. Your estate may be eligible for significant tax savings through the use of these plans.

Income to Beneficiaries, Principal to Woodstock Academy: A Charitable Trust or Charitable Gift Annuity can be created today or through your estate plans to provide the beneficiary(ies) you name with an income over time rather than a lump sum distribution. Once the beneficiary’s income interest in the agreement ends, the remaining principal comes to the Academy.

Give What Is Left in Your Pension Plan: One of the most tax advantageous gifts you can make to Woodstock Academy may be through your Individual Retirement Account (IRA), 401 (k) plan, Keogh plan, or other qualified retirement savings plan. This is because assets remaining in these plans will be taxed more heavily than the rest of your estate. Income taxes must first be paid, then any estate taxes due will be collected before remaining funds are distributed to heirs. In some instances, 70% of the assets in a retirement plan can be consumed by taxes.
You can avoid the income and estate tax simply by changing your beneficiary designation to name Woodstock Academy as the recipient of any assets remaining in your plan. The amount that could go to the Academy is sometimes far more than would otherwise go to your heirs, and you avoid sending a substantial portion of your savings to the government.

You can also make a testamentary transfer of remaining pension plan assets to a charitable trust. Your estate receives a tax deduction for the remainder interest coming to the Academy, and your heirs are taxed only on the annual income flowing through the trust.

The Outright Bequest
The outright bequest is the most common means of  remembering the Academy. A bequest is a provision in your will or living trust that directs that a portion of your estate should be transferred to the Academy at a time subsequent to your death. There are many types of outright bequests, to learn more please contact Kristen Willis at 860-928-6575 x152.

Charitable Gift Annuity
A Charitable Gift Annuity is an easy way to give yourself - and the Academy - greater security in the future.  Charitable Gift Annuities provide a long term annual income to you (and/or another person you choose), while easing your income tax burden. In addition, if you fund the annuity with appreciated long-term assets, you may reduce a portion of capital gains taxes. Gift Annuity rates are determined by the age of the person receiving the income payments.

Charitable Remainder Trust
Through a charitable remainder trust you can make a significant gift to the Academy while providing income to yourself and/or another beneficiary for life or for a specified number of years. Assets are irrevocably transferred to a trustee of your choice, who manages and invests the trust assets. Regular payments are then made to you, or to other beneficiary(ies) you choose, for life or a specified number of years. After the lifetime of the income beneficiary, the trust assets are left to the Academy.

Life Insurance
You can name the Academy as the death beneficiary of a life insurance policy, while keeping the lifetime ownership rights (the right to borrow against it or cash it in). Your estate will be entitled to a charitable deduction for any amount passing to Woodstock Academy from these arrangements.