Help Us Reach Our Goal to Increase Membership in the Heritage Society by 25% by 2016

Transcription

1 We are delighted to offer you our first issue of DRIFinancial Focus: online! DRIFinancial Focus: online is your source for estate-planning tips to secure your own financial future as well as the Diabetes Research Institute s. This publication will be distributed semiannually and is helpful in organizing your estate plan to address your needs, reflect your values, and provide for your loved ones and the causes that are meaningful to you like the DRI. If you have any questions as you review the content, please contact Jill Shapiro Miller, Vice President of Gift Planning, at or at (800) Contact Us Today! or call us at (800) or (954) In This Issue Spring 2015 Help Us Reach Our Goal First Comes Understanding, Then Planning Join the Heritage Society Help Us Reach Our Goal to Increase Membership in the Heritage Society by 25% by 2016 Over the years, the long-range and thoughtful planning of the DRI Heritage Society members has provided a pipeline of essential funding for the Diabetes Research Institute. This year we are starting a new initiative to ensure continuous support for the DRI's research into the future. With your help we can achieve our goal of increasing our Heritage Society membership by 25% by the end of this year.

2 By participating in this initiative when you make a planned gift - such as a gift through your will or by making the DRIF a beneficiary of part of your retirement plan - you will help to dramatically impact the future for the DRI, and you will become a member of the DRI Heritage Society. Please visit dri.giftplans.org/join to join the Heritage Society by letting us know that the DRI is in your long-term plans through your will, trust, life insurance, or retirement plan. Sincerely, Harold G. Doran, Jr. Chairman of the Board Your Estate Plan First Comes Understanding, Then Comes Planning Someone once said: "Give me an hour with a person's checkbook, and I'll tell you what that person believes in." Similarly, an estate plan reflects one's enduring values. You may find that your financial affairs are a fairly accurate barometer of your hopes and dreams and that, just as your hopes and dreams are modified by your daily experiences, your estate planning is also a dynamic process. Any number of life's major experiences - marriage, the birth of a child, a career change, an inheritance, or even stock market fluctuations - should cause you to take another look at where you are headed with your estate planning. When you find yourself facing such events, you need to reassess your plans. Each time you do so, it is important to review your overall objectives. A comprehensive look starts with returning to some basic questions: Where am I in life? Where do I want to go? How do I get there? Do all the pieces fit? The truth is, anyone who desires financial security needs an estate plan. A well-designed plan will take into account the accumulation, preservation, and distribution of assets.

3 Estate planning under age 50 "In the mid-1980s, I met with Dr. Daniel Mintz, who was head of the Institute at that time," said Juan Calles. "He was so informative, outlining his vision of research needed for a cure. His dedication was inspiring. One of the ways we provided support was by making the DRI the beneficiary of our insurance policies. "With the DRI's current scientific director, Dr. Camillo Ricordi, the evolution toward a cure has gained momentum, and I feel very positive about the progress that has been made. After all these years, we remain deeply committed to the DRI." - Juan & Ivette Calles, life insurance The years between ages 18 and 50 are the center of life, when we complete our formal education, launch a career, marry, have children, purchase a home, and probably assume maximum financial responsibility. Beginning in our 30s, we are also more likely to become involved in the community and begin to serve on boards. Because our net worth is still probably quite modest, and we may have not yet exited from our immortality complex, we tend to postpone estate planning during these years. That is a mistake, for we need to provide for the care of dependents, plan to properly dispose of the property we do own, and arrange for management of our affairs in the event of a disability resulting from an accident or illness. At the very least, we should have a simple will, power of attorney, a medical directive, and adequate insurance with proper beneficiary designations. Estate planning between ages 50 and 60 "We talk a lot about the DRI family, and I truly believe in it," said Rick Tonkinson. "I am willing to give not only for analytical reasons but for the emotional connection I have with everyone at the DRI, including the magnificent staff whose attentive care has helped me immensely over the years." - Rick & Margarita Tonkinson, bequest During this decade, educational expenses for children may be continuing and elderly parents may require a financial subsidy. These tend to be our peak earning years, when we significantly increase our estate value. It is also the time when we achieve recognition in our profession and assume leadership roles in community organizations. The simple will that may have sufficed at a younger age is no longer adequate, for there may be adult children in different circumstances, grandchildren, and perhaps a divorce

4 and remarriage. It is now necessary to have a more complex estate plan that may include one or more trusts as well as a will. Also, steps to minimize estate and gift taxes will likely be part of that plan. Estate planning between ages 61 and 75 "We are proud to have followed in my parents' footsteps by becoming members of the DRI Heritage Society. Having type 1 diabetes from childhood, my father wanted to help future generations of children, and hoped to make a difference by establishing a charitable remainder trust to benefit the DRI," said Susan Weiss. "Since being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 50, I have received wonderful care at the DRI. Gary and I contributed a charitable gift annuity that provides us with annual income while supporting the DRI." - Susan & Gary Weiss, charitable gift annuity Most of us will retire during this period, and retirement planning will start intensifying at about age 60. Our net worth has likely continued to grow, and we may own real estate in different places, significant investment portfolios, and valuable items of tangible personal property. This is the stage of life when we should be prepared to spend considerable time developing a comprehensive estate plan that will include a succession plan if we own a business. Estate planning over age 75 "There were two reasons I decided to make this gift through a charitable remainder trust. One, there were a lot of tax advantages, and two, I could draw 8% of the value of the trust each year for my wife, Ann, and me for the rest of our lives," said Ken Harple. "I am glad that I set up this trust. It's a good cause, and I think there will be a cure one day." - Ken Harple, charitable remainder trust Normally, a comprehensive estate plan will have been developed by this stage of life, but the will and other estate planning documents should be periodically reviewed and updated. Some beneficiaries may no longer be living, tax laws may have changed, family circumstances may be different, or we simply may have changed our minds about people and organizations we want to benefit. Usually, though not always, the accumulation period of life will have ended, and investment/retirement assets will be gradually depleted. Selling the family home and moving to a retirement home often occurs during this period. Providing for long-term

5 care, if needed, also becomes a concern. It is a time of letting go of many cherished activities, but it can be an extremely satisfying stage of life: enriched by wisdom, a growing family, and life-long relationships. Gerontologist Leonard Hayflick observed in his book How and Why We Age that "time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening at once." Each stage of adult life, like each season, has its own beauty and opportunities, and at every stage there is a need for estate planning. No adult is too young to create a plan nor too old to review a plan. Invitation to Join the Heritage Society The Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) Heritage Society honors donors who generously make provisions in their estate plans to ensure that critical funding of research continues into the future. Many of our supporters have made substantial gifts to the DRI Foundation in ways that complement their financial objectives by designating the Diabetes Research Institute as a beneficiary of their will, living trust, charitable remainder or lead trust, insurance policy, or other deferred type of gift. Join the Heritage Society today! Find out more and/or let us know if you have provided for the DRI Foundation in your estate plan at dri.giftplans.org/join.

6 Most Popular Gifts for Joining the Heritage Society Copyright Pentera, Inc. All rights reserved.