There are several options to consider when considering a planned gift:

Gift Cash or Transfer Apprecated Assets:
Besides making a gift of cash, you can transfer appreciated securities (stocks, bonds and mutual fund shares), tangible property (such as real estate) that you have owned more than one year to the USCA. Upon the sale of the appreciated asset:

• Gain an income tax deduction.
• Avoid the capital gains tax upon the sale of the appreciated asset.
• Remove the asset from your taxable estate

Qualified Retirement Plan or IRA: Designate the USCA the primary or contingent beneficiary upon the death of the named beneficiary of your qualified retirement plan or IRA. The USCA will not have to pay taxes on the plan’s value, so you may give other assets to non-exempt beneficiaries and thus minimize the total amount of your estate that gets paid in taxes.

Life Inurance Policy: Contribute a new or existing policy that is no longer needed. You can also name the USCA  the primary or contingent beneficiary upon the death of the named beneficiary. If the USCA is named the irrevocable owner and beneficiary of a life insurance policy, you will:

• Receive an income tax deduction for the premiums paid each year to maintain the policy or its cash surrender value or replacement cost, whichever is less, if the policy is paid-up.
• Avoid including proceeds from the policy in your estate.

Living Trust: Create a living trust that will pay income to you or a relative for life. When it terminates, part or all of the trust assests would pass to the USCA Alumni Scholarship Fund. Your estate will receive a deduction for the interest passing to the USCA Alumni Scholarship Fund.

House or Vacation Property: Transfer your house or vacation property to the USCA and continue to use it for the rest of your life. This way, you receive an income tax deduction for your gift based on your life expectancy and continue living in your home or using your vacation property.

Will: Execute a Will naming the USCA beneficiary of money, property, or a share of your estate. A bequest can be either outright or contingent upon the death of the named beneficiary. Your estate receives an estate tax deduction for this gift.

Bequests:

• You may designate a percentage of your total estate (or a percentage of the remainder of your estate after your specific gifts to loved ones have been made) to go to one or more charitable organizations.
• A gift of a specific amount: You specify a dollar amount to be given to one or more charitable organizations. With this kind of gift, it is especially important to keep your will or trust up-to-date.
• Sample bequest language for your attorney:
  "I give [________% of my estate] [the residue of my estate] [___% of the residue of my estate] [$________] to the University Students’ Cooperative Association, a California nonprofit corporation, to where it is needed most. The USCA is currently located at 2424 Ridge Road, Berkeley, CA."
  

For more information please contact

Alumni Coordinator Jordan Pelot-Whitcomb

jordan@usca.org, 510 848-1936