Your clients can take advantage of several estate planning strategies designed to help them make charitable gifts while enjoying tax benefits and preserving economic security for themselves and their loved ones. Some examples are:

• Bequests, which enable clients to reduce their estate taxes while supporting their community.
  
  
• Charitable Remainder Trusts, which enable them to increase their income (or provide income for another person) with the knowledge that the funds remaining when the trust terminates will be used to support their charitable interests.
  
  
• Charitable Lead Trusts, which enable clients to make significant charitable gifts in the near term while transferring substantial assets to beneficiaries and potentially benefiting from significantly lowered gift and estate taxes.
  
  
• Retained Life Estates, which are vehicles that ensure that as a donor, a client has lifetime security in a home he or she has given to the Foundation as a charitable contribution.
  
  
• Life Insurance, which can be used as a charitable asset, thereby enabling someone to be eligible for a charitable tax deduction based on the current value of a paid-up policy.
  
  
• Retirement Fund Plans, which can be used to support charitable interests while achieving significant tax advantages for one’s heirs.
  
  

For more information about how MCF can partner with you to serve your clients, contact Elizabeth Marlowe, vice president for Philanthropic Services, at 415.464.2517 or by e-mail; or Aviva Shiff Boedecker, director of gift planning, at 415.464.2516 or by e-mail. Or request a copy of You Have a Partner: An Introduction to the Marin Community Foundation for Professional Advisors. This guide provides an overview of the many ways we work with advisors to help them meet their clients' charitable needs.