Life Insurance

Your Intention: Make a large gift to Roanoke College with little cost to yourself

Your Gift to Roanoke: An insurance policy with the College named as beneficiary

Your Benefit May Include: Current income tax deduction; possible future deductions

Life insurance is a good example of a revocable arrangement for future gifts because death benefits for charity reduce a taxable estate, pass contractually outside of probate and are less subject to contest than bequests.

Aside from the outright gift of a policy with cash value, life insurance is a versatile tool for both revocable and irrevocable gift plans. Advantages include:

• Death benefits for charity reduce a taxable estate and pass contractually outside of probate, in confidence, and are less subject to contest than a bequest.
• The gift involves no administrative expense or settlement costs.

The simplest way to use life insurance is to name Roanoke College as the beneficiary of a new or existing policy. If the College is made policy owner, annual unrestricted cash gifts to cover premium costs are tax deductible. Insurance can also effectively replace for heirs the value of philanthropic estate distributions.

Donors who determine that they no longer need death benefits can support the College with the assets in their paid-up life insurance policies. By donating the policy to Roanoke College, the insured donor receives an income tax deduction for the surrender value, avoids the need for any subsequent premium payments and removes death benefits from a possibly taxable estate. The deduction is limited, however, to the lower of cost basis or fair market value.

For more information regarding gifts to Roanoke College through your estate plan please call George Seals ’70, Roanoke College Director of Planned Giving, at 540-375-2487, E-mail seals@roanoke.edu or call toll free 1-866-RCGive1.

These descriptions are not intended as legal, tax or investment advice. Please consult an attorney, tax professional or investment professional when preparing your estate plan.