A bequest is a gift from your estate—a transfer of cash, securities, or other property made through your estate plans. You can make a bequest to St. Francis Catholic High School by including language in your will or living trust leaving a portion of your estate to the school, or by designating St. Francis Catholic High School as a beneficiary of your retirement account or life insurance policy.

Remembering St. Francis with a bequest from your estate will help sustain and strengthen the school in years to come. Some of the advantages of creating a bequest include:

• A bequest costs nothing now, yet gives you the satisfaction of knowing you have provided for St. Francis in the future
• You retain control of and use of your assets during your lifetime
• You may modify your bequest if your circumstances change
• Gifts to St. Francis from your estate are exempt from federal estate taxes
• If you let St. Francis know of your plans, we will be able to thank you now and recognize you as a member of our Founding St. Clare Legacy Society
• To make a bequest for SFHS, you may include the following language in your will:
  • Percentage of estate for unrestricted purposes:
    “I give to St. Francis Catholic High School, a not-for-profit organization located in Sacramento, CA, ________ percent (%) of the remainder of my estate for its endowment fund.”
  • Specific amount for unrestricted purposes:
    “I give to St. Francis Catholic High School, a not-for-profit organization located in Sacramento, CA, the sum of $________ in cash or ___ shares of ________ stock to be used for its endowment fund.”
  • Restricted purpose:
    Please contact MaryAnne Kelly, Director of Advancement, to discuss suggested bequest language for a restricted purpose to ensure that your intentions are followed properly.

Donor owns substantial assets, and would like to pass them to the next generation at low tax cost. A charitable lead trust pays income to FCDS for a period of years, then the remainder to family members. By paying to a charity, a much lower imputed value is passed to the family members, avoiding tax on the marginal difference in value. Not for the faint of heart, since the assets pass from control of both the donor and the other family members for the period of payment to the charities.

Donor owns appreciated assets. The assets are low growth, low dividend, or both. Donor does not wish to pay capital gains tax, but would like to create more current income from assets. A gift to a CRT or CGA avoids capital gains taxes and estate taxes, provides income to designated beneficiaries, and the remainder to St. Francis Catholic High School.

A great item to own during one’s life, but not ideal to try and pass to family members. The IRA Charitable Rollover provision allows living individuals who have reached age 70½ to donate up to $100,000 to St. Francis Catholic High School directly from their Individual Retirement Account (IRA), without treating the distribution as taxable income. However, an entire IRA can be transferred to SFHS after a donor’s passing thereby avoiding significant tax loss for the family.

Donor owns a large policy or several policies, not all of which is needed to fund estate requirements. Make a gift of the policy and allow St. Francis Catholic High School to choose cash value or death benefit, or designate SFHS as the beneficiary.

Many donors accrue substantial assets in collections of artwork, antiques, or other personal property. Gifts of personal property can provide tax deductions while not substantially reducing the value of an estate.

Real estate can be a difficult item to resolve within an estate, or by family members after it leaves the estate. A gift to St. Francis Catholic High School avoids estate, gift and capital gains taxes, and provides an income tax deduction. If some cash is needed, then a bargain sale can be used to provide cash in part, and a gift in part.