Planned Giving

Give a gift to ensure better health for tomorrow: Planned Giving at Baltimore Medical System

Planned giving is a method of supporting BMS future through estate planning. Make a commitment to BMS and sustain the vision of providing healthcare to the underserved with a bequest, life income gift, or transfer of appreciated property or tax-deferred retirement benefits.

Types of Planned Giving

Bequests

Bequests are often the main source of endowment for non-profits. The continuation of remembrance ensures that Baltimore Medical System will be financially viable for many years to come. Estate taxes are reduced by the value of the gift to BMS.

Types of Bequests

A bequest in your will or provision in your living trust can take any of the following forms:

• Residuary, a percentage of your residuary estate;
• Contingent, if your beneficiaries do not survive you;
• Pecuniary, a particular amount;
• Specific, a specific amount.

Careful planning will ensure the promise of excellence for future patients while providing tax benefits for you and your family.

Charitable Gift Annuity

A Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) is a simple contract between you and BMS. A donor gift is not placed in trust but immediately becomes the property of the nonprofit organization. In exchange, BMS promises to pay a fixed income to the donor for the rest of his/her life. A portion of the income is not taxable, but considered a return of principal. An income tax deduction is allowed for the difference between the gift value and the amount required to fund the annuity. The payments are guaranteed for the life of the donor and are backed by a segregated reserve account.

Outright Gifts

Cash, securities, real estate, and personal property are all considered outright gifts to BMS. In most cases, you will receive an income tax-deduction for the full market value. Capital gains taxes are avoided too, which limits the cost of the gift to the donor.

Life Insurance Policies

This is a relatively inexpensive way to show your support of BMS. A new policy may be taken out on the life of a younger donor to "create" a major, deferred gift to a charity with the cost of the premium being a small fraction of the face value of the policy. Donors also may have existing policies that are no longer needed for their original purposes (college education.) When policies have ownership changes, the donor can contribute the premium amount to the charity and the policy face value can be maintained. If the donor doesn't want to continue making payments, the face value can be large. Donors tax deductions are equal to their cash/replacement value or premiums paid, depending on the type of policy.

Charitable Lead Trust

A Charitable Lead Trust (CLT) is a powerful way to donate money to BMS. BMS receives income payments from the trust for a given number of years. At the end of the trust term, the assets of the trust are returned to the owner or his/her designee. This allows the transfer of assets to children while greatly reducing gift taxes.

You can fund a CLT with publicly traded securities, closely held stock, income producing real estate, partnership interests or combinations of these. One can be established in your will.

Life Estate

A donor deeds his/her personal residential property to BMS. While the donor is alive, he or she has a legal interest in the estate with full rights to live in the property or use it as a rental space. The donor receives an immediate income deduction for the remainder interest value of the estate.