Planned Giving to Farmington United Methodist Church
THANK YOU for your support of Farmington United Methodist Church . Without you, our ministry would not be able to grow spiritually through our discipleship programs, we would not be able to reach out to our community in mission and love, and we would not be able to provide a place for our community to gather each week to worship God. Your financial commitments help us to fulfill our mission to make disciples for the transformation of individuals, our community, and the world.
Many worry about what will happen to the ministries they support once their regular gifts cease at end of life. There are several ways that you can ensure your legacy and passion continues working in the FUMC ministries. This can be accomplished with a Planned Gift, also known as a Legacy Gift or Estate Planning. If those words are unfamiliar to you, don’t worry, you are not alone. Those words are used by professionals who assist people in spelling out what they wish to happen to their assets at end of life. It is actually quite simple and for now, we will use the term “Planned Giving” to describe the many ways you can include FUMC in final plans for your assets. This may be the most impactful gift you will ever make as Planned Gifts are often much larger than typical giving throughout one’s lifetime.
Farmington United Methodist Church staff, board, or conference does not handle creation or amendment of your estate planning documents. We can suggest ways your Planned Gift can be put into action and want the opportunity to recognize and honor you appropriately. Below are some examples of different ways you can make a Planned Gift to FUMC. To carry out any of these, you will need to contact your attorney or financial planner to ensure your desire is included appropriately in your estate plans.
BENEFITS OF MAKING A PLANNED GIFT?
- You leave a lasting legacy to be remembered
- You lessen the burden of taxes on your family
- You may receive estate tax savings
A gift through your will or trust
A gift through your will or revocable trust is a simple and deeply meaningful way of remembering and supporting Farmington United Methodist Church. With the help of an advisor, you can include language in your will or trust specifying a gift you wish to make. Some options include:
- You can gift a specific cash dollar amount or asset.
- You can gift a percentage of your estate.
- You can gift from the balance or residue of your estate.
- You can make a beneficiary designation of certain assets.
- You can gift appreciated securities, including stocks or bonds.
Charitable Gift Annuity or Remainder Trust
A charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust enables you to make a contribution to Farmington United Methodist Church in exchange for payments each year for a specified term or for life. This payment can be made to you or others you choose. Your gift is invested for the specified term or life and then the remaining assets are transferred to FUMC to be used as you have directed. These types of gifts can also provide significant income, capital gains and estate tax savings for you.
Life Insurance
A gift of your life insurance policy is an excellent way to make a gift. If you have a life insurance policy that has outlasted its original purpose, consider making a gift of your insurance policy. For example, you may have purchased a policy to provide for minor children and they are now financially independent adults, or for a spouse who has pre-deceased you. Life insurance that you no longer need for your family security may be donated to Farmington United Methodist Church by transferring ownership of the policy or naming the FUMC as a beneficiary. Your estate may be entitled to a charitable deduction for the proceeds passing to FUMC.
Retirement Plan Assets
Designating Farmington United Methodist Church as a beneficiary of retirement plan benefits may be a smart tax-wise gift strategy. Donating part or all of your unused retirement assets such as a gift from your IRA, 401(k), 403(b), pension or other tax-deferred plan is an excellent way to support FUMC. The church’s charitable tax status exempts retirement benefits from estate and income taxes that your individual heirs could incur if you were to give retirement plan assets to them.
Gifts of Real Estate
Donating appreciated real estate, such as a home, vacation property, undeveloped land, farmland, ranch or commercial property can make a meaningful gift. Please notify FUMC if you are planning to make a gift of real estate.
PLEASE LET US CELEBRATE YOUR GIFT!
As mentioned previously, no representative of the church will be involved in the creation of your estate documents. But once you have made the decision to do so and your wishes have been documented, we would love to know about your decision! It is not necessary to disclose amounts or specifics of the Planed Gift. However, we would love to discuss the way in which you would like to be honored for your gift. This will ensure we are carrying out your wishes and it will be clear to your family what to expect in the form of recognition. Also, knowing that YOU have taken this step may very well be just the thing to encourage others to do the same. If you have named FUMC in any of your estate plans, please contact Susan Neyman, susan.e.neyman@gmail.com or Pastor Annie Lankford, annie.lankford@arumc.org, to discuss.
For more resources visit https://www.methodistfoundationar.org/