Follow in the footsteps of Theodate Pope Riddle and join other esteemed supporters by including Hill-Stead in your estate plans. Doing so will ensure that the museum endures.

Download Hill-Stead's Leave a Legacy form (PDF)

Charitable Gift Annuity
Pooled Income Fund
Charitable Remainder Trust
Charitable Lead Trust
Retained Life Estate
Life Insurance

Charitable Gift Annuity

A gift with an income that never changes

When you arrange a charitable gift annuity, you make a gift to Hill-Stead and then receive fixed payments on a regular basis for the rest of your and/or another's life.

In the year when you take out a gift annuity, you are entitled to a charitable income tax deduction on part of your gift. Since your annuity is determined when you make the gift, this annual amount never changes, regardless of fluctuations in economic conditions and interest rates. A portion of each payment is considered a return of your investment, so you receive this portion tax-free.

The annuity rate is determined by the age(s) of the annuitant(s), with the older annuitants receiving the higher rates. The minimum gift size is $5000. Payments are backed by the museum, so you can count on regular, timely installments.

EXAMPLE:
Mrs. Thomas, a retired Hartford school teacher, would like to support Hill-Stead in a way that will supplement her retirement income. She has found that she can achieve these goals with a Charitable Gift Annuity.

She is funding her gift annuity with $10,000. At her age of 79, she will receive an annuity of 8.5%, providing annual payments of $850 for the rest of her life. $485 of each payment will be tax-free for her expected life span. In addition, her income tax deduction in the year of the gift is about $5,200.

In view of these benefits, Mrs. Thomas is finding this plan to be a cost-effective way to provide for Hill-Stead's future and her own.

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Pooled Income Fund

A gift with an income that fluctuates and can grow

Hill-Stead's Pooled Income Fund is a giving plan that provides a lifetime income with the possibility of growth. When you join the Fund, your gift is combined with the gifts of others so that the principal can be invested together for the benefit of each giver and the future good of the museum.

You may join the Pooled Income Fund with an initial gift of $5,000 or more, subsequently adding to your participation at any time in amounts of $1,000 or more. Each time you contribute, you can take a charitable income tax deduction on a portion of your gift.

The lifetime income can be directed to you and/or another person important to you. At the demise of the income recipients, your gifts pass to the museum for general support or a purpose of your choice.

EXAMPLE:
Drs. R. and I. Stern, who met and married in the course of their research careers, are now aged 63 and 64, and they would like to include a future gift to Hill-Stead as part of their retirement planning. They have decided to join the museum's Pooled Income Fund.

The Sterns are making their gift with $41,000 in appreciated stocks that have been yielding 2%. Given their ages and the earnings of the Pooled Income Fund, they can take an income tax deduction of about $13,800. Because of the future gift to the museum, they will incur no capital gains tax when the Fund sells the stock to reinvest for higher income at about 5.5%.

They are also pleased that the Fund pays earned income only and is invested partly for growth, with the potential for gradual increases in both their lifetime income and their future gift to Hill-Stead.

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Charitable Remainder Trust

Give assets and retain an income

A Charitable Remainder Trust is a way to make a gift and retain an income from your assets. Your funds are held separately and invested to earn income for you or others you choose.

According to your needs, the trust can be arranged to produce either a fluctuating or a fixed income, for either a set term of years or for the life of those receiving the income. At the end of that time, the trust assets go to the museum. This flexibility makes Charitable Remainder trusts especially useful for financial and estate planning.

A Charitable Remainder Trust can be funded with cash, appreciated securities, real estate, or even tangible property. Because of the charitable gift, you incur no capital gains tax when the trust sells the assets to reinvest for higher income. You are also allowed an income tax deduction when you create the trust.

EXAMPLE:
Mr. and Mrs. Gordon, now aged 73 and 75, who have loved Hill-Stead for many years, have decided to use a Charitable Remainder Trust to provide generously for the art collection at the museum.

They are using $150,000 in appreciated securities, which have been yielding only 2.5%, to fund a trust that will provide income at 6% for the rest of their lives. At the end of that time their gift wil pass to Hill-Stead for an endowed fund in their names to maintain the art collection. Through the trust, they more than double their income from the assets and avoid capital gains tax that would be due had they sold the stock themselves the reinvest. Based on their ages, the trust payout rate and current economic conditions, they can also claim an immediate income tax deduction of about $66,420.

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Charitable Lead Trust

Give income temporarily and save on estate taxes

Hill-Stead members and friends who wish to make a substantial gift to the museum over a period of years, who own an income-producing asset that is appreciating, and who want to ensure that their property wil ultimately pass to loved ones will be interested in the Charitable Lead Trust.

Income-producing assets and/or cash are placed in a lead trust for a term of years, with the income directed to the museum. At the end of that time, the trust terminates and the property is given back to persons you name. The lead trust can be a way to significantly reduce or even eliminate gift and estate taxes on property that your family otherwise might have to sell to pay these taxes.

EXAMPLE:
Mrs. Roberts has two concerns in mind: she would like to make a generous gift to Hill-Stead in memory of her late husband; she also wants to minimize gift and estate taxes as she plans the transfer of family real estate interest to her sons.

In conferring with her advisors, Mrs. Roberts has realized that a Charitable Lead Trust can help achieve both objectives. She is transferring a building valued at $1.5 million with rental income of 5% into the trust for 25 years, with the income going to Hill-Stead. Because of the generous charitable gift, the gift and estate taxes will be reduced so that, at the end of the 25-year trust term, Mrs. Roberts' sons will be able to keep the property.

Mrs. Roberts will also have the satisfaction of seeing the trust income build up an endowment in memory of her husband to provide funding for Hill-Stead's ongoing sustainability.

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Retained Life Estate

Give your home, but continue to live there

You can make a gift of your primary residence or vacation home to Hill-Stead, and retain the security of knowing you may live there for life. With a Retained Life Estate, the satisfaction of giving, as well as an income tax deduction, are enjoyed now rather than later.

You continue to take care of the property, pay the taxes, and even receive any income it generates. But, because you have already made a gift of the property by deed, it will not be included in your probate estate, possibly saving unnecessary expenses and delays.

EXAMPLE:
Now in their late sixties, Mr. and Mrs. Rosen are making future plans to provide for their son and daughter and also make a generous gift to Hill-Stead. Since both children have moved to other parts of the country and could not use their vacation home by the shore, the Rosens decided to give this second home to the museum now, retaining the right to enjoy the property for the rest of their lives. They are pleased to be able to make this meaningful give to the museum while also saving on income taxes now and on estate taxes in the future.

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Life Insurance

A large gift at little cost

Life insurance needs change over time. Children become self-sufficient, and investments may provide unexpected income and security. As a result, not all life insurance coverage may be needed for the reason it was initially purchased.

One of the simplest ways to make a significant gift in the future is to name a charitable beneficiary to receive all or a portion of the proceeds of a policy no longer needed for its original purpose.

In addition, if the donor also gives irrevocable ownership of the policy to Hill-Stead, he or she can claim a charitable income tax deduction for the premiums paid or the policy's fair market value, whichever is less.

EXAMPLE:
Mr. and Mrs. Wilson have a $100,000 life insurance policy that they took out 25 years ago for their family's protection. Reviewing their long-range financial plans, they realize that they have accumulated other assets to provide for their children's future. Therefore, they have decided to use this policy to enrich the lives of children for many years to come at Hill-Stead.

The future insurance benefit will be used to establish the Wilson Family Endowed Directorship Chair, providing ongoing funding for salary for the museum director. By donating the policy to the museum now, they are also able to claim a substantial income tax deduction.

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