Estate Planning With Bequests 

You have several smart choices to direct the maximum inheritance to loved ones after you are gone.  Depending on the value of your estate, a bequest may reduce its taxable assessment for your heirs.  A simple outright bequest includes Congregation Shaare Emeth in your estate distribution.  You can specify an amount or a percentage of assets to be transferred to the Congregation.  Assets may include cash, real estate, appreciated securities or tangible property. 

Unrestricted Bequest:  This is a gift for our general purpose, to be used at the discretion of our governing board.  A gift like this—without conditions attached—is frequently the most useful, as it allows Shaare Emeth to determine the wisest and most pressing need for the funds at the time of receipt. 

Restricted Bequest:  This type of gift allows you to specify how the funds are to be used.  It is best however, to consult Shaare Emeth when you make your will to be certain your intent can be fulfilled.

Consider a Charitable Remainder Trust

By making bequests of particular assets to Congregation Shaare Emeth, which are exempt from federal estate taxes, you can actually preserve more of your estate for the benefit of loved ones.  For example, IRAs and other retirement plan assets are taxed twice at death, first as part of your taxable estate and second as income to the beneficiary. Rather than leaving IRA or retirement plan assets to family members, consider the following alternative.

Example:  Sarah plans to leave $250,000 to her niece Rachel and $250,000 to Shaare Emeth.  Among her assets, Sarah owns a $250,000 IRA.  If she leaves the IRA to Rachel, it will be subject to estate taxes (up to a maximum rate of 45% in 2007) and income taxes at Rachel’s rate of 25%.  Instead, Sarah plans to leave the IRA to Shaare Emeth providing less tax-burdened assets to Rachel.  Thanks to the unlimited estate tax charitable deduction, no estate tax will be levied on the IRA.  And because Shaare Emeth is tax-exempt, we will not owe income tax either.

Life Insurance, IRA or Pension

You may designate Congregation Shaare Emeth as a beneficiary of one of these assets.  Most often, all that is required is to name our Congregation on the beneficiary line when you sign up for your retirement plan, or to modify your current election, by notifying your plan administrator or broker.  

Please contact Rosalie Stein at 314.569.0010 or rstein@shaare-emeth.org for more information.