Through your will or living trust, you can designate a specific dollar amount, percentage or item to be donated to LEAF. You can also designate that after other specific bequests have been made, the remainder be directed to LEAF. You may wish to consider naming LEAF as a “contingent beneficiary” in the event of your named beneficiaries do not survive you.

You can name LEAF as a beneficiary, or owner and beneficiary of a life insurance policy. You can change the owner and/or beneficiary designation of an existing policy
or purchase a new policy with such designations.

Retirement plan assets are subject to income taxes during your lifetime and upon your death. If you leave retirement assets to a non-spouse beneficiary, they may be subject to both income and estate taxes. Many people prefer to avoid this double taxation by directing retirement plan assets as a gift to charity, in which case the gift is fully tax deductible from the estate as a charitable gift. Other assets can be left to family members that are not subject to income taxes when received.

A less known giving option is the retained life estate. You can deed property, such as your home or farm, to the foundation now and receive a sizable income tax deduction. This is particularly attractive if your property is debt-free. One of the benefits of this option is you make the gift now, but continue to live on your property and retain all rights to collect rents or make improvements during your lifetime. This option may also be attractive if you own more than one home which you occupy only during certain times of the year.