Life Insurance – The Hidden Gift Asset

Our supporters often overlook the benefits of giving a life insurance policy to the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation. If you are carrying more insurance coverage than your family obligations now require, you may want to consider gifting an unneeded, paid-up policy. If you transfer all rights and incidents of ownership of your policy to the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, you will be eligible for a charitable income tax deduction equal to the policy’s cash surrender value or cost basis, whichever is less. The insurance policy must be whole life, not term insurance. The value of your gift for gift crediting purposes will be the cash surrender value of your policy on the date of transfer.

In certain cases, the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation will accept gifts of insurance policies for which continuing premiums are due. If you irrevocably transfer all rights and incidents of ownership of such a policy to the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation may elect to continue to pay the premiums. You may take an initial deduction for the cash value of the policy, and you may deduct any additional gifts you make to the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation in lieu of premiums.

The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation reserves the right to cash in any policy it owns at any time at its sole discretion. Of course, you may designate the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation as the revocable beneficiary of a life insurance policy at any time. Such a designation will not, however, provide you with any immediate tax benefits.

WARNING: Consult your legal and tax advisors before making any material decisions based on this information.

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