Life Estate
The Life Estate Agreement is an excellent way to give a significant gift to your favorite
United Methodist ministry. A Life Estate Agreement allows you to give your home, farm
or vacation home while retaining the full use and rights to the property during your lifetime.
The deed for the property is transferred to the United Methodist Foundation of WV, Inc.
and reserves a life estate for the life of the donor(s). The donors then are able to live in and/or use the property for their lifetime. The donors are responsible for maintaining the
property, including taxes and insurance. The property needs to be unencumbered (debt free).
This lifetime transfer avoids any tax on the value of the property (including the capital gain),
generates a current income-tax charitable deduction and removes the property from your estate,
thereby reducing estate tax. After the donors lifetime, all rights in the property (the remainder
interest) are automatically transferred to the United Methodist Foundation of WV, Inc.
Life Estate gifts can be measured by the life of one or more individuals, by a fixed term of years, or by a combination of
the two. They are, however, most frequently established to operate for the life or lives of the residents of the contributed
property.
Benefits
- You are able to live in and/or use the property for your lifetime.
- Elimination of tax on capital gain for contributed property.
- You will receive current income-tax charitable deduction.
- Improvements made to the property after the gift is made may qualify for additional income-tax charitable deduction.
- Opportunity to make a significant gift without affecting your current way of life.
As you can see, your gift of property can be of great benefit. We will
be please to discuss your gift plans with you and/or your financial advisor as you plan gifts of this type. Contact us via email at info@umfwv.org or call toll free 1-800-788-3746 ext. 45.
The Foundation does not give legal advise or tax advice.
Always consult with your own advisors before deciding which gift works best for your circumstances.