Planned Gifts

You can support The John Marshall Law School by arranging for a gift through a planned giving option. Each type of planned gift offers a distinct set of advantages. Some plans provide income for life for a donor or loved one. Others result in an immediate tax deduction or a reduction in capital gains tax. Click on any of the giving options listed below to learn more about the various types of planned gifts and how they can benefit you as well as the law school.

Bequests
Bequests provide the donor with the opportunity to have an impact on the lives of our students. Examples include establishing a scholarship, supporting a particular program, or creating an endowed chair in a particular area of juris prudence. Many of our bequests are made to honor the memory of a colleague or family member. -Read More

Charitable IRA Rollovers
Through the end of 2009 and possibly through 2010 if extended by Congress, individuals 70 1/2 years of age and older who have a traditional or Roth IRA are able to:

• Make a direct transfer from their IRA to a qualifying entity, like John Marshall;
• Up to $100,000 per year in 2009;
• Exclude this amount from your taxable income while satisfying your required minimum    distribution by making such a direct distribution;
• Use the Rollover gift to help maximize the chartiable deductions in a tax year.
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Charitable Remainder Trusts
Charitable Remainder Trusts provide an annual income for a lifetime or a term of years to the donor by the irrevocable transfer of cash or other property into the Trust.
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Charitable Lead Trusts
Charitable Lead Trusts allow donors to support John Marshall for a period of years, then transfer those assets to their heirs as a part of their estate. -Read More 

Gifts of Life Insurance or Retirement Assets
You can donate to John Marshall through your life insurance plan, by transferring ownership of the policy to the law school, or through your retirement plan, where you name the law school as a beneficiary. In either method, your gift will demonstrate how the law school has made a lasting impact on your life as an attorney, and as a graduate of The John Marshall Law School. -Read More 

Bequests
Bequests provide the donor with the opportunity to have an impact on the lives of our students. Examples include establishing a scholarship, supporting a particular program, or creating an endowed chair in a particular area of juris prudence. Many of our bequests are made to honor the memory of a colleague or family member.

There are three types of bequests:

Specific:
A specific bequest in your will can designate a particular parcel of land, dollar amount, or other valued asset to the law school.

Residuary:
A residuary bequest allows you to designate the law school as the recipient of all or a portion of the residue of your estate, once all bequests, taxes, and other fees are administered.

Contingent:
A contingent bequest is the least common, as it takes effect if your beneficiaries do not survive you. 

For any questions about planned giving, please contact a John Marshall Law School Foundation staff member by calling 312.360.2663, or email foundation@jmls.edu.

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Charitable IRA Rollovers
Through the end of 2009, and potentially extended by Congress into 2010, individuals 70 1/2 years of age and older who have a traditional or Roth IRA are able to:

• Make a direct transfer from their IRA to a qualifying entity, lik John Marshall;
• Up to $100,000 per year in 2008 and 2009;
• Exclude this amount from your taxable income while satisfying your                          required minimum distribution by making such a direct distribution;
• Use the Rollover gift to help maximize the chartiable deductions in a tax year.

Why Give through a Charitable IRA Rollover?

Fellow John Marshall alumni have identified the following reasons for their own donations:

• They have more assets in their IRA than they need to support their lifestyle and they need to execute their required minimum distribution for the year; a transfer from your IRA Rollovers will count towards satisfying your required minimum distributions;
• They take the standard deduction and do not itemize which allows the direct Chartiable IRA Rollover to reduce their income tax;
• They itemize their deductions but other charitable gifts for the year have already reached the annual duduction limitations; a direct Charitable IRA Rollover allows you to give up to an additional $100,000.
• They are a high income earner and lose itemized deductions and exemptions as their adjusted gross income increases;
• Direct Charitable IRA Rollovers are not included in taxable income, so you may be able to reduce taxes by directly transferring your required IRA minimum distribution to John Marshall.

For any questions about planned giving, please contact a John Marshall Law School Foundation staff member by calling 312.360.2663, or email foundation@jmls.edu.

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Charitable Remainder Trusts
Charitable Remainder Trusts provide an annual income for a lifetime or a term of years to the donor by the irrevocable transfer of cash or other property into the Trust. The Trust pays out income to the donor or possibly another designated beneficiary, and the donor gets an immediate income tax deduction for the present value of the charity's remainder interest when the Trust is established. Upon the death of the beneficiary or the expiration of the term of income payout years, the remaining value of the Trust goes to John Marshall.

There are two types of Charitable Remainder Trusts:

• Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust which pays out the same amount of income each year; additional contributions are not permitted into the annuity trust after it is established.
• Charitable Remainder Unitrust which pays out a fixed percentage of the annual valuation of the trust; additional contributions are permitted into the Unitrust after it is established.

There are two beneficiaries involved with the Charitable Remainder Trusts --one is the "income beneficiary" which can be the donor or another person the donor names and the other beneficiary is the "remainder beneficiary" which is John Marshall.

While both the formation of the Trust and its funding is irrevocable, the donor can change the beneficiaries, with some limitations on the income beneficiaries but no limitations as to the remainder beneficiaries, as long as they are charities. After the donor dies, the beneficiary designations are irrevocable and the trustee is bound by the terms of the Trust.

For any questions about planned giving, please contact a John Marshall Law School Foundation staff member by calling 312.360.2663, or email foundation@jmls.edu.

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Charitable Lead Trusts
Charitable Lead Trusts allow donors to support John Marshall for a period of years, then transfer those assets to their heirs as a part of their estate. These Trusts are used by alumni and other donors to reduce gift taxes when wealth and property are transferred to their children or grandchildren. The impact to the law school is immediate and significant, and the savings secured for the donor and their heirs provides them significant benefits as well.

Charitable lead trusts are more appropriate for donors who are facing a large estate tax. Although the minimum needed to establish a charitable lead trust with the law school is $100,000, such a trust generally is established and works best when funded with amounts larger than this.

For any questions about planned giving, please contact a John Marshall Law School Foundation staff member by calling 312.360.2663, or email foundation@jmls.edu.

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Gifts of Life Insurance or Retirement Assets

Life Insurance:
The amount of your gift will be based on the value of the policy on the date of transfer. A gift of life insurance can also be made at the time of your death by naming the law school as the beneficiary of the policy. For such a gift, your estate will be entitled to an estate tax deduction based on the value of the proceeds paid to the law school.

Retirement Assets:
You can also donate assets from your retirement plan by naming the law school as the beneficiary of all or a portion of those assets. John Marshall alumni who have given through this method enjoy the income tax benefits for using retirement plan assets for a gift to the law school.

For any questions about planned giving, please contact a John Marshall Law School Foundation staff member by calling 312.360.2663, or email foundation@jmls.edu.

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