Planned Giving

For many individuals, a planned gift is the perfect way to express support for ensuring that all children receive a Kingdom Education.  Planned gifts can provide financial benefits for the donor in the form of tax savings, current cash payments and supplemental support for family and friends.  These and other benefits are available depending on a donor's circumstances and objectives.

AN INTRODUCTION TO PLANNED GIVING
A planned gift results from the donor's careful consideration of a number of important factors, including the purpose of the gift, the assets to be used to fund the gift, the gift's timing, its effect on income-tax and estate-tax planning, and its impact on the donor's family members and friends. A planned gift is best made with the counsel of one's financial advisors, such as your attorney, accountant, banker, financial planner or insurance professional.

Prestonwood Christian Academy helps our donors choose the approach that works best for them.  Please consider this site as an information resource to help you in meeting your philanthropic goals.  The information provided here is for illustration purposes only and should not be considered investment, legal, accounting, tax or other professional advice.

Prestonwood Christian Academy is pleased to help donors evaluate their giving options and consider their opportunities to have significant impact on the lives of children facing hunger, abuse and poor health.

To speak with a planned giving officer confidentially or to request a gift illustration, please complete the contact form or call us at  (972) 820-5300.

GIFTS THAT PAY INCOME FOR LIFE
Donors can provide generous support for Prestonwood Christian Academy and enjoy lifetime income and significant tax benefits by establishing charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts.

A charitable gift annuity is a simple contract between you and Prestonwood Christian Academy.  In exchange for your irrevocable gift of cash, securities or other assets, Prestonwood Christian Academy agrees to make fixed cash payments (in quarterly installments) for the life of one annuitant, usually the donor, or the lives of two annuitants, typically the donor and the donor's spouse. Payments begin immediately after the gift is made.  Annuitants must be 65 years of age or older.

With a deferred gift annuity, your income payments begin at a future date that you specify. Because payments are deferred, you receive a higher annual income, which may be used as a source of guaranteed retirement income.  Annuitants must be 35 years of age or older at the time the gift is made.

Financial benefits of gift annuities may include a federal income tax charitable deduction, reduced and deferred capital gains tax on appreciated property, reduction of one's taxable estate, and enhanced cash flow.

The minimum contribution required to establish a gift annuity is $10,000.  Cash, stock, mutual fund shares, real estate or other property may be used to fund an annuity.  Your annuity is administered by Bank of America at no cost to you.  Bank of America follows the American Council on Gift Annuities' suggested rates.

A charitable remainder annuity trust (CRAT), an irrevocable trust, typically provides income to one or two beneficiaries, the remainder going to charity.  The donor specifies in the trust document how income is to be determined, to whom it is to go and for how long, and to which charity or charities the remainder will be distributed.  You may add funds to your trust whenever you like.  Each year, a fixed percentage of the trust's current value is paid to your income beneficiaries.

With a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT), a fixed amount of the fair-market value of the trust, determined annually, is paid out.  The amount paid will vary with the investment performance of the trust.

Financial benefits of charitable trusts may include a federal income tax charitable deduction, reduced and deferred capital gains tax on appreciated property, reduction of one's taxable estate, and enhanced cash flow.

The minimum contribution required to establish a charitable trust is $25,000.  Cash, stock, mutual fund shares, real estate or other property may be used to fund a charitable trust. Your trust is administered by Bank of America at no cost to you.

To speak with a planned giving officer confidentially or to request a gift illustration, please complete the contact form or call us at  (972) 820-5300.

GIFTS OF SECURITIES, LIFE INSURANCE OR RETIREMENT PLANS AND REAL ESTATE
Each year, many of Americans support charitable organizations with gifts of stock or mutual fund shares, life insurance and retirement plan assets.  These gifts may enable you to realize tax benefits while giving you the satisfaction of helping children in your community.

If you own appreciated securities (stocks, bonds or mutual funds held by you for more than one year), donating them to Prestonwood Christian Academy may allow you to reduce or avoid more capital gains taxes and receive a federal income tax charitable deduction.  This type of gift can be especially appealing if you are holding shares that have appreciated significantly in value but yield a low dividend.  Please contact the Office of Development for more information.

Similarly, if you have excess life insurance, you may enjoy tax benefits by designating Prestonwood Christian Academy as the beneficiary of an existing life insurance policy.  In order to deduct premium payments as charitable deductions, the donor must name Prestonwood Christian Academy as both owner and beneficiary of the policy.

At a person's demise, qualified retirement plan assets may be subjected to both estate tax and deferred income tax, which combined can exceed 80 percent.  You can designate Prestonwood Christian Academy as a beneficiary of the remainder of your IRA, Keogh, tax-sheltered annuity, qualified pension or profit-sharing plan.

A charitable gift of insurance proceeds or the remainder of retirement plan assets is normally deductible from a donor's estate.

To speak with a planned giving officer confidentially or to request a gift illustration, please complete the contact form or call us at  (972) 820-5300.

ENDOWMENT GIFTS
You can pay lasting tribute to loved ones through gifts made in their names to the Prestonwood Christian Academy endowment fund.  Unrestricted gifts to our endowment fund will sustain our core programs and be listed in our annual report.  Cash, stock, mutual fund shares, life insurance, real estate or other property may be used to fund endowment gifts.

Please complete the contact form or call us at (972) 820-5300 for more information about endowment gifts.

BEQUESTS MADE THROUGH WILLS OR REVOCABLE LIVING TRUSTS
A bequest is often the most realistic way for many donors to make a significant contribution to Prestonwood Christian Academy.  We are pleased to provide the following information to help you and your attorney establish your estate plans.

If you have remembered Prestonwood Christian Academy in your Will or Revocable Living Trust, or are planning to, we would like to thank you for having the caring and foresight to help us continue our work with children.

To speak with a planned giving officer confidentially or to request a gift illustration, please complete the contact form or call us at  (972) 820-5300.

FAQ

Why create a will or revocable living trust?
Wills and Revocable Living Trusts are very important estate planning tools.  Either allows you to name guardians for your minor children and to determine who will receive your property upon and after your death, in what amounts and proportions and under what circumstances.  Tax considerations also may impact the provisions of your Will or Trust.

If you do not have an estate plan of your own, the law creates one for you.  Assets owned by you and another person as joint tenants with right of survivorship will belong to the survivor.  Life insurance and retirement plan benefits will be paid to your designated beneficiary or, if none, usually to your spouse or your estate, depending on what the life insurance policy or retirement plan documents say.  Everything you own in your name alone will be left automatically to your "heirs" in specified proportions which depend on the law of the state in which you reside.  It is very important, therefore, to consult an experienced estate-planning attorney to help you document your intentions properly.

You have an opportunity in your estate plan to provide not only for your family and friends, but also for charity.  Besides cash, you may also leave stocks, bonds and other types of property to charity.  Below are several alternate sample provisions for you to discuss with your attorney to help you make such a gift in your Will or Trust to Prestonwood Christian Academy.

Engage Legal Counsel
Most experts agree that hiring an attorney with experience in estate planning will save you and your beneficiary's time and money in the long run. While you determine what goes into your Will or Trust, your attorney will make sure it is a proper legal statement of how you wish your possessions to be distributed.  Your attorney can also suggest ways to save you and your beneficiary's estate taxes, probate costs, and other legal expenses.

You should gather and organize the information your attorney will need to draw up or update your Will or Trust.  The kinds of information will include: the names of your family members, an inventory of assets including life insurance and retirement plans or benefits, bequests, the name of an executor and the name of a guardian for minor children.

Consider Whom You Want to Receive Your Estate
Even if you have no spouse, children or close-surviving relatives, it is important to leave your estate to someone or to a favorite charitable organization.  If you do not, the state could keep your entire estate if distant relatives cannot be found, which means your lifetime of work will not be used as you might have wished.

The Importance of Bequests
A bequest in your Will or Trust is a caring way to provide for the future of a charitable organization you support.  In addition to being an important legacy, a bequest offers generous tax advantages and can even help your estate pass tax free when it's settled.  Besides cash gifts, you may also bequeath stocks and bonds and other property.  Please consult with your attorney for details.

The alternative you select will, of course, depend on whether the gift is intended to be (Alternative 1) cash in a specific amount, (Alternative 2) cash in an amount equal to a specific percentage of adjusted gross estate, (Alternative 3) all or a percentage of the residue of the estate or (Alternative 4) a gift of securities (stock).

Many of our donors find that bequeathing all or a percentage of the residue of their estate (alternative 3) to be a convenient way to support charity.

Altenative 1 - "I give the sum of $ ____ dollars to Prestonwood Christian Academy, Inc., a Texas not-for-profit corporation, 6801 W. Park Blvd., Plano, Texas 75093, or its lawful successor, if such organization or its lawful successor is in existence at my death."

Alternative 2 - "I give that amount of cash which equals ____ percent of my adjusted gross estate {and for purposes hereof, the term "adjusted gross estate" means the value of my gross estate reduced by the total amount of deductions allowed to my estate under Sections 2053 and 2054 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as from time to time amended}, as finally determined for federal estate tax purposes, to Prestonwood Christian Academy, Inc., a Texas not-for-profit corporation, 6801 W. Park Blvd., Plano, Texas 75093, or its lawful successor, if such organization or its lawful successor is in existence at my death."

Alternative 3 - "I give ____ percent of the residue of my estate to Prestonwood Christian Academy, Inc., a Texas not-for-profit corporation, 6801 W. Park Blvd., Plano, Texas 75093, or its lawful successor, if such organization or its lawful successor is in existence at my death."

Alternative 4 - "I give all shares of stock which I own at my death in ____ [name stock], or its legal successor in interest to Prestonwood Christian Academy, Inc., a Texas not-for-profit corporation, 6801 W. Park Blvd., Plano, Texas 75093, or its lawful successor, if such organization or its lawful successor is in existence at my death."

Update Your Will or Trust Regularly
Changes in your life like births, deaths and marital changes can quickly make your Will or Trust obsolete.  So can alterations in the nature of your estate.  In addition, recent tax changes may make the provisions of your Will or Trust unnecessarily costly to your beneficiaries.  To guard against having an out-of-date Will or Trust, review your plans every one to two years.