Ways to give:

Gift of Cash

The simplest way to give is with a gift of cash. For income tax purposes, your cash gifts are deductible up to 50% of your adjusted gross income for the taxable year, but any excess is deductible over the next five years.

Gift of Securities

If you contribute long-term appreciated securities to the Adventist Church, you get a twofold income tax benefit – you can deduct the full present fair market value, and you owe no tax on the increase in value.

The limit on deductibility in any tax year is 30% of your adjusted gross income, but any excess is deductible over the next five years.

If you want to give securities on which you have a loss, consider selling them instead and then donating the proceeds. That way, you’ll have a loss deduction to offset any gains on sales, plus you’ll still get your charitable deduction.

Gift of Tangible Personal Property

This category includes items like an art object, prized collections, or antiques. You can donate such property and take a deduction for its full fair market value if the items’ use is related to our exempt purpose. But if you’re unable to establish that we can use the gift property for a purpose related to ministry, you can deduct only the amount it cost.

Find Out More

A gift of any type of asset to the Seventh-day Adventist Church results in an income tax deduction. However, there may be other tax benefits for your gift, as well.

Singles:

Here and Now Plans for Young Adults . . .

Set an example for faith while you’re young.1 Timothy 4:12

“Flying solo” means having your own car, bank account and apartment — and taking full responsibility for your life and your faith. And even though family and friends are just a phone call away, when the bills come to your address, you’re really on your own.

But you don’t have to go it alone. Trust Services can show you how careful planning pays off in a growing estate that provides for you and for the Lord — and how the right documents can protect you if illness or injury prevent you from making decisions. Trust Services provides information about:

Budgeting that promotes saving and fulfills your covenant with the Lord.
Wills that pass your assets to people and causes
you love.
Powers of attorney that express your wishes and name people you trust to handle your personal business or make health care decisions if you cannot.
Strategies that combine investments and philanthropy to save taxes, provide retirement income and invest in God’s Kingdom.

Once you establish a Trust Services relationship, we’ll always be there for you — with services that meet your changing needs as you move through the cycle of life.

Couples:

Togetherness . . .
Building a Future for Two . . .

Two are better than one. Eccl. 4:9

Being single meant growing up. Life as a couple means growing together — depending on each other for emotional and financial support, in good times and bad. With two people working, you can have more, save more and do more for yourself, your loved ones and your church. You can begin to build the resources that will sustain a family. But a lifestyle that depends on two incomes is easily jeopardized, and if one of you fall victim to illness or accident, the survivor may be left without the means to live comfortably.

Trust Services can help, with information about:

Wills that pass your assets on to your spouse and others you care about.
Trusts that protect your estate from unnecessary taxes.
Documents that enable your spouse to make decisions if you cannot.
Sensible retirement options that diversify your assets and reduce taxes now and in the future.

Careful estate planning is important throughout your life cycle — and marriage is one of the critical landmarks. Trust Services can be there for you as your love for each other deepens, as your family and your faith grow — with strategies that create a legacy for your spouse and for the work of the Lord who brought the two of you together.

Plans For Families . . .

Be careful that you do not forget the Lord. Deut. 6:12

Family Whether you’re married or on your own, parenting raises some troubling questions: If you can’t be there for your children, who will raise them to love the Lord? Who will see to their Christian education and launch them as productive adults?

That’s why legal instruments are so critical for parents with minor children. Without documents that clearly express your wishes, your children’s future could rest with a probate judge who neither knows your religious beliefs nor has the legal authority to honor them. Trust Services can help. A unique ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Trust Services provides information about:

Attorneys and other professionals who can help you realize your dreams for your children — in this life and eternity.
Wills that protect your property for family and charity.
Naming guardians to care for your children in the event of your death.
Trusts that can fund your children’s education and living expenses.
Strategies to provide your children with an inheritance, while remembering Gods larger family.

We all want to watch our children grow. But if accident or illness intervenes, Trust Services can help you protect your family and keep the faith.

For the Smiths, Trust Services

Plans for Mature Lives
and later years . . .

Empty The Lord’s counsel will stand. Proverbs 19:21

The joys and worries of child rearing are behind you. Without academy or college tuition to pay and with your income at its peak, you may have the opportunity and the resources to plan for retirement and for sharing the Lord’s blessings with your family and God’s.

Trust Services is ready to help. We can share information about various estate and charitable gift planning strategies — such as the gift annuity we helped arrange for the Gaynors — that enhance retirement income, maximize the legacy you leave to loved ones and to the Lord’s work, and minimize taxes that could erode that legacy. Trust Services can be there as you and your advisors:

Assess anticipated retirement income and identify ways to diversify or stabilize that income.
Consider early retirement, so you can enjoy grandchildren,
participate more in your local church or volunteer to join overseas missions.
Address the needs of elderly parents, disabled children or young grandchildren who depend on your support.
Review existing estate plans and establish new wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and other critical documents that protect your future financial security, transfer valuable assets to family, and express your love of the Lord.

The nest is empty, but you have many years ahead to enjoy God’s blessings and advance His work. Trust Services can help you make the most of this special time in the cycle of life.