Take Charge! Plan Your Estate

When you create an estate plan, you ensure that your wishes will be respected and your values put into action should you pass away. Through your estate plan, you have the opportunity to leave the legacy that best reflects your beliefs.

Four good reasons to make a plan:

1. Avoid a Mess

Family fights and costly probate proceedings may occur if you do not make your wishes known.

2. Protect Your Heirs

Want to ensure that young beneficiaries don’t inherit until they’re 30? Or make sure their inheritance is protected from lawsuits, divorce or creditors? There’s an estate plan for that.

3. Reduce Taxes

Washington is one of a handful of states that collect estate taxes. There are tax-wise ways to plan your estate to reduce or eliminate the bill.

4. Make a Difference

Including one or more bequests to charitable organizations you believe in makes a powerful statement of your values and creates a legacy that benefits future generations.

The importance of bequests

Across the U.S., $39 billion in estate gifts flowed to charitable organizations last year. Nonprofits depend on those funds to do their work. At the Overlake Foundation, 14% of the charitable gifts received last year came from bequests. The funds are helping provide innovative, leading-edge care for the Eastside. Those generous supporters planned ahead to have a lasting impact on the patients of the future.

Your gift to the community

There are many ways to support Overlake or another charitable organization in your estate plan. You can make the charity a beneficiary of your individual retirement account (IRA) or life insurance policy. You can designate a specific dollar amount or a percentage of your estate to go to a charity of your choosing. You can even divvy up your assets among your heirs and designate a charitable organization to receive whatever is left. Your estate planning attorney can help you create a plan that meets all of your objectives.

Want to learn more about tax-smart ways to support great healthcare for our community into the future? Contact the Overlake Medical Center Foundation at foundation@overlakehospital.org or (425) 688-5525.