Part 3 - A smarter say to donate

This is it – the final post of our mini-series on different ways to donate. In this final post we’re going to discuss a dirty topic: life insurance. Life insurance has developed a sub-par (at best) reputation and this is one of the reasons for its under-utilization

, however, when used in the proper scenarios life insurance can provide substantial value. Let’s explore this below with two “did you knows”:

1. Did you know that if you make a charity the irrevocable beneficiary of your life insurance policy the premiums you pay are treated as a donation from a tax perspective

2. Did you know that donating the proceeds from a life insurance policy can be a great way to offset estate tax?

The reason I am pointing these items out is because we typically find that while many individuals want to receive the tax benefits of donating in the short term, they also want to ensure that their donation leaves a legacy in the long term. In this type of situation life insurance can work very well.

To wrap up this post, and this series for that matter, I want to note that we have simply discussed a few ideas to spur your imagination on different ways to donate, however, we have not delved into the mechanics of implementation. If you are interested in pursuing one of these strategies or are simply wondering if there is a strategy that may suit your situation well feel free to reach out and we will do our best to assist you!