Ways to Donate through Life Insurance
Once a life insurance policy has served its original objective, you might consider giving it a new life with a charitable purpose. One easy option for planning a gift is to name the Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association as the primary beneficiary. Note that naming MVCMA as beneficiary while you retain ownership of the policy, however, will not qualify you for an income tax deduction.
Another option is to name MVCMA as the beneficiary and also assign ownership of the policy to MVCMA as a current charitable gift. Doing so will provide you with tax benefits* as outlined below.
* You should always check with a tax expert when a goal is tax benefits, as the laws change regularly.
LIFE INSURANCE DEATH BENEFITS
Your need for life insurance changes as time passes, making way for a new opportunity for its use. If you no longer need the coverage to protect your loved ones, consider changing your policy's beneficiary to support our work.
Naming the MVCMA as beneficiary while retaining ownership of the policy is actually the easiest way to use life insurance to make a future gift. Here are your two main options:
Did you know?
The benefits of life insurance left to an individual can be subject to estate taxes, but when you change the beneficiary to a charitable entity such as ours, the benefits are tax-free.
How We All Benefit
Naming MVCMA the beneficiary of your life insurance policy provides you the satisfaction of making a very generous donation and leveraging the full value of your policy. Alternatively, when a life insurance beneficiary is not a qualified charity, the amount your loved ones receive in the end could be less due to estate taxes. But when you name the MVCMA as beneficiary, we receive the full amount and estate taxes are eliminated. (With this arrangement, you will not receive a charitable income tax benefit during your lifetime because you are not giving away the policy ownership. Your estate, however, will receive an estate tax charitable deduction.)
What About Term Insurance?
As the name implies, term life insurance is usually purchased with a particular time frame in mind. When a policy outlives its useful time frame, rather than let it lapse, you could simply name us as the beneficiary. If you keep up the payments, we will receive the full face value of your policy at your death. When term insurance is provided by your employer, it could be to your benefit to donate any coverage over $50,000, the amount above which you are required to pay income tax. You get all the benefits of giving while avoiding the tax.
Another option is to name MVCMA as the beneficiary and also assign ownership of the policy to MVCMA as a current charitable gift. Doing so will provide you with tax benefits* as outlined below.
* You should always check with a tax expert when a goal is tax benefits, as the laws change regularly.
LIFE INSURANCE DEATH BENEFITS
Your need for life insurance changes as time passes, making way for a new opportunity for its use. If you no longer need the coverage to protect your loved ones, consider changing your policy's beneficiary to support our work.
Naming the MVCMA as beneficiary while retaining ownership of the policy is actually the easiest way to use life insurance to make a future gift. Here are your two main options:
- Name the MVCMA either as the sole beneficiary or a partial beneficiary of your policy.
- Name MVCMA as the contingent beneficiary, in which case we receive the death benefits only if your primary beneficiary dies before you do.
Did you know?
The benefits of life insurance left to an individual can be subject to estate taxes, but when you change the beneficiary to a charitable entity such as ours, the benefits are tax-free.
How We All Benefit
Naming MVCMA the beneficiary of your life insurance policy provides you the satisfaction of making a very generous donation and leveraging the full value of your policy. Alternatively, when a life insurance beneficiary is not a qualified charity, the amount your loved ones receive in the end could be less due to estate taxes. But when you name the MVCMA as beneficiary, we receive the full amount and estate taxes are eliminated. (With this arrangement, you will not receive a charitable income tax benefit during your lifetime because you are not giving away the policy ownership. Your estate, however, will receive an estate tax charitable deduction.)
What About Term Insurance?
As the name implies, term life insurance is usually purchased with a particular time frame in mind. When a policy outlives its useful time frame, rather than let it lapse, you could simply name us as the beneficiary. If you keep up the payments, we will receive the full face value of your policy at your death. When term insurance is provided by your employer, it could be to your benefit to donate any coverage over $50,000, the amount above which you are required to pay income tax. You get all the benefits of giving while avoiding the tax.