Estate Planning — The MAZON Legacy Society
“When you are asked in the world to come,
What was your work?” and you answer,
“I fed the hungry,” you will be told,
“This is the gate of the Lord, enter into it,
you who have fed the hungry.”
Midrash Psalms 118:17
As you consider your legacy, we invite you to join the MAZON Legacy Society and designate MAZON as a beneficiary of your estate plan. It’s a meaningful way to help sustain the hungry among us while providing your estate with significant tax advantages.
MAZON will use these funds to make grants to organizations that provide food for immediate needs while working to achieve long-term solutions to hunger in the United States, Israel and in developing countries.
Planned gifts can take many forms depending upon your specific goals. Ultimately, these decisions are made by you in consultation with your estate planner/accountant to be certain that you achieve the purpose of your gift.
MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger is an IRS-qualified 501(c)(3). Download a copy of our tax-exempt status letter. MAZON’s federal identification number is 22-2624532.
Bequests
You may decide to name MAZON in your will. There are many different kinds of bequests and you and your attorney will determine which kind best expresses your wishes. There are generally eight ways that bequests can be made. They include:
- Specific Bequests
- General Bequests
- Contingent Bequests
- Residuary Bequests
- Unrestricted Bequests
- Restricted Bequests
- Honorary or memorial Bequests
- Endowed Bequests
A bequest to MAZON ensures that the gift will be used for the good work you believe in. The suggested wording is:
Outright Bequest
“I give, devise and bequeath to MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, at 10495 Santa Monica Blvd, Suite 100, Los Angeles, CA 90025, the sum of $_______________ in support of MAZON’s efforts at hunger alleviation.”
Residual Bequest
“I give, devise, and bequeath to MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger, ___ % of the residue of my estate to be used for its general purposes.”
Contingent Bequest
“In the event that ________ predeceases me, I give, devise, and bequeath his/her bequest or share to MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger to be used for its general purposes.”
Other Estate Planning Options
There are other estate planning options you may wish to consider. They include naming MAZON the beneficiary of your insurance policy or retirement plan as well as the following:
Charitable Lead Trust
If your goal is to provide an inheritance for your children, but you would also like to make a charitable gift through your estate, a charitable lead trust may satisfy both objectives. A charitable lead trust is a trust that the estate owner establishes either during life or at death. The income from the trust would flow to MAZON for a stated number of years. After that period, the assets inside the trust are then distributed.
Charitable Remainder Trusts
When you create this type of trust you irrevocably transfer assets (money, securities, etc) to a trust that will pay you an income for life for a period of years. You can also designate a beneficiary to which the trust can pay an income. At the death of the surviving beneficiary, the remaining principal in the trust would go to MAZON.
Wealth Replacement Trust
By this method you buy life insurance to cover the amount donated to MAZON. While you would be required to pay the premiums on the policy, depending on your age, health and tax bracket, the income tax savings from your charitable gift may be enough to cover the premium cost.
If you decide to include MAZON in your estate planning, please let us know so that we can acknowledge your membership in our Legacy Society. Contact Barbara H. Bergen, Acting President, 310-442-0020 or 800-813-0557.
