6 Strategies to a More Generous Life
Updated: Jul 14, 2020
You have assets or extra income AND you have something charitable that you are passionate about. Something that brings you JOY! How do you convert some of the personal assets that you own to charitable assets in the most cost effective and tax efficient way without negatively affecting your family? We can help you take your JOY TO THE WORLD!
Charitable estate planning used to be primarily about what happens when you die. Now, with the estate tax credit at over $11M per person, it has become more about how to give while you live, in other words, how to live a more generous life. As Gandhi put it, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in service to others.”
Here are 6 strategies that can help you become more engaged and effective with your giving, so that you can live a more generous life. These strategies can turn a DONOR into a PHILANTHROPIST! As Larry Burkett used to say, “do your givin while you’re livin so your’a knowin where it’s goin.”
1. HOW TO LIVE A MORE GENEROUS LIFE
generous life involves more than just giving your money away, 7 things you can give: thoughts, words, money, influence, time, attention and sharing stuff.
The role of older men and women is to support young men and women and help them live out their visions and to encourage sons and daughters (grandchildren) with planning for the future.
A Personal Ministry can give you identity, benefits and tax deductions for your charitable service
2. HELPING CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN LEARN TO SERVE.
Adventure is a current theme of the younger generation, help your children and grandchildren have a “faith adventure”.
In my 40 years of work with charitable families I have found that all people who serve give, but not all people who give serve. Service to others and for charitable causes gives children and young adults a more comprehensive world view and helps make service to others a personal as well as a family value.
While teaching children to give is important, giving away parents or other people’s money may not be the best way to learn giving, because there is no cost for it. It may however, prepare them to be good politicians!
Serving engages the heart and, where your heart is, there your treasure will be also. Matt 6:21.
Many young people today need to belong before they believe – help them belong to something that they can believe in.
Give capital assets to children and not operational subsidies. Capital assets or investments are investments that improve the person or his circumstances. They are things like education, a loan to start a business, medical benefits, wedding fund, a down payment on a home, etc. They are not an annual subsidy to their regular income or allowance that causes them to live above their normal standard of living.
3. A BETTER WAY TO SELL APPRECIATED ASSETS.
Use a Charitable LLC and/or a Charitable Trust to sell appreciated assets. If you are going to pay taxes on the sale of an asset or business, would you allow charity to complete for the government’s share of your sale? (see Advanced Charitable Planning)
Splitting the baby – unlike in Solomon’s situation it is not all or nothing, you can give part of an asset away before a sale and save on taxes.
Dealing with debt – A Charitable LLC can give you a manageable way to handle debt on property going into a sale.
Maximizing your charitable deduction – Using a Charitable Remainder Trust as a part of your sale/giving plan can allow you to take your charitable tax deduction over time or for all time so that it is used against ordinary income
Control the flow of income – The Charitable LLC and Charitable Trust combination allow you to control your flow of income, so that you receive only what you need and the rest grows in a tax free environment.
The Benefit of a tax- free holding tank – The Charitable Remainder Trust can be a tax-free holding tank for assets which allows them to grow until you need them.
How to give charitable deductions instead of assets to high income children – Your high income children may not need more income, but they could probably use some of your tax deduction that you are not able to use.
4. A BETTER WAY TO CONTROL INCOME PRODUCING ASSETS.
Using a Charitable LLC and/or a Charitable Trust to control income-producing assets. If you are paying taxes on income that you are not using now for living expenses, would you allow charity to complete for the government’s share of your income? (See Advanced Charitable Planning)
Control when and how much income you receive each year – The Charitable LLC and Charitable Trust combination can allow you to control how much income you receive from an asset each year, allowing the remainder not to held in a tax-free environment.
Double the value of your charitable tax deduction – By having income go to your Charitable LLC, instead of you personally, you avoid tax on the income and then when you release money from the LLC to charity you can get a charitable tax deduction without receiving money first. Your tax deduction can be used against other ordinary income.
Become an Independent Contractor and save taxes – There are many deductions that are available to independent contractors that are not available to employees.
Convert ordinary income to capital gain income – Through the use of a Charitable Trust there is a way to convert ordinary income into capital gain income, reducing taxes.
Direct income to family taxpayers in lower tax brackets – The Charitable LLC and Charitable Trust allow you to distribute income to other family taxpayers in lower tax brackets reducing the tax on income.
5. GIVING RETIREMENT ASSETS TO CHARITY.
Over 70? You have a new giving advantage – the IRA Rollover
The Charitable IRA Trust is a way to give the assets in your IRA away twice, once to your children and then to charity after the trust terminates.
6. IMPACT INVESTING
A way to do good and do well at the same time.
Passive Impact Investments are “feel good” investments - investors feel good about their investment in a company because they are doing some good and so they feel good about the investment even if the investment return is a little less than market rate.
Active Impact Investments are “doing good” investments – investors are more concerned with the actual social impact of the business receiving the investment more than ROI, even if it never makes a profit.
Impact investing is a great way to use both sides of your brain – the passionate side and the pragmatic side.
