THE LEGACY ALLIANCE

WILLS GIFTS AND BEQUESTS
By Ed Sheldon

Summer 2004, NEWS

The "LEGACY ALLIANCE" is a tax deductible way to remember and help our Westies after we are no longer here. The "LEGACY ALLIANCE" program guarantees that all of its proceeds go to the Westie Foundation of America's Endowment Fund.

All assets left to the Endowment Fund remain there. Only the income derived from your gift will be spent on Health Research and Education. Thus, your gift remains intact into perpetuity.

Bequests to the Endowment Fund will be a major source of revenue to the Foundation in the future. A strong endowment will mean that in the future, our Westies will be healthier as a result of the research funded by the Foundation.

By remembering the Westie Foundation in your will, you can continue to provide income for it in perpetuity. A bequest is an ideal way to ensure that this organization - THE ONLY NATIONAL FOUNDATION DEDICATED PRIMARILY TO ADVANCING THE HEALTH OF WESTIES - will continue to serve the needs of the breed into the future.

All the assets left to the Westie Foundation of America, Inc., are removed from your taxable estate, thereby reducing the estate bill your heirs must pay.

West Highland White Terriers enrich the lives of their human friends immeasurably, giving their owners love, devotion and companionship with no restrictions or qualifications. Now there is a way that all of us who love our Westies can help repay all that they mean to us not only now, but as long as the breed exists.

The Westie Foundation of America, Inc., was formed in 1997 as a non-profit charitable corporation to provide financial and other support for individuals and organizations whose efforts focus primarily on medical research to benefit Westies. Thanks to the wonderful generosity of many people, we have been privileged to begin providing significant financial support for research programs targeting diseases that afflict our dogs. We have every reason to believe that the ultimate result of this funding will be a better life for Westies in need now and in the future.

Almost since the first day of the Foundation's existence, we have been asked if there are alternatives to a direct, immediate cash donation to support our work. We are gratified that there are so many people who want to help further research benefiting our breed even though they cannot now make a cash contribution now. However there are a number of deferred gift opportunities through which individuals can have a very significant and lasting impact on the future well being of our breed.

THESE DEFERRED GIFT OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDE:

LIFE INSURANCE

Life insurance is one of the most flexible methods available for estate planning and estate preservation for those who wish to remember and care for their loved ones. It can be used to provide significant savings for you and your beneficiaries while allowing you to support the future of our breed, both immediately and/or far beyond our lifetimes. Among the options available are taking out a new insurance policy on your life, or assigning one already in force, naming the Foundation as the owner and beneficiary. By giving an insurance policy already in force, you may receive a charitable deduction for the cash value of the policy. The premiums on a new or existing policy may also be tax deductible.

BEQUEST THROUGH YOUR WILL

At some point in our lives, the majority of us come to realize that providing for family and loved ones, even after we are gone, is among the most important things we can do; and for many of us, our Westies are certainly counted among our loved ones. We also come to realize that if we should pass away without a will, it will be our state and federal governments' wishes, not ours, which determine how our estates will be dispersed. If you wish to provide continuing support for the Westie Foundation, you may name the Foundation in your will, or a codicil to your will, as the recipient of a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate, or as a final contingent beneficiary.

The Foundation Board believes that, over the long haul, our largest financial support will come from those of you who remember the Foundation in your wills. Consequently, we offer the following information for your consideration.

What follows are some important thoughts and facts that are highly relevant to the need that EVERYONE has for their own will, as well as what it can do for you if you have a will and what can happen if you do not. Also included are some common misconceptions about who does not need a will.

YOUR WILL - A PRICELESS PRIVILEGE

One of life's privileges and perhaps that which is most ignored, is the making of one's will. Every adult of sound mind may make a will and thus determine how his or her assets will be distributed after death. Nevertheless, some 70% of those who die each year do so without a will. Probably no other document you will sign in your lifetime is as important as a will.

YOUR WILL - WHAT CAN IT DO?

A will gives you control as to how your assets will be distributed and who will oversee that distribution. Through a will, you are able to avoid unnecessary expenses in the administration of your estate, reduce your estate taxes, provide for the people who are close to you, and support charitable causes such as the Westie Foundation of America. A will allows you to shape the legacy you leave for the future.

YOUR WILL - OR THE STATE LEGISLATURE'S WILL

For whatever reason, those seven out of ten Americans are, through default, in effect permitting their state legislature to "write" a will for them.

The laws of individual states provide an inflexible method and procedure for the disposal of property of those who do not have wills. To put it another way, the state legislature has written a "will" for each person, although each person has the choice to make his or her own, personal will.

MISCONCEPTION: ONLY RICH PEOPLE NEED WILLS

Quite the contrary. In fact, those who are not rich are usually those whose families may be hurt most by the failure to have a will. As an example, the laws of most states provide, in the absence of a will, more adequately for children than for the surviving spouse. Not to be overlooked is the fact that many people are worth more than they realize - when they take into account their home, personal property, savings, life insurance, retirement benefits and securities.

MISCONCEPTION: PEOPLE WITHOUT DEPENDENTS DO NOT NEED WILLS

Just the opposite. A person without dependents who does not have a will may find that under state law his or her property will go to his or her parents and perhaps brothers and sisters in specified, rigid shares. Friends, of course will be left out, as will any worthwhile charity, such as the Westie Foundation of America's Endowment Fund, which that person may have wished to support.

MISCONCEPTION: YOUNGER PEOPLE DO NOT NEED WILLS

Wrong again. Every adult is likely to need a will, especially young married people with children. Accidents occur, and it is not uncommon for fatal accidents to involve both parents. These are exactly the situations in which an up-to-date will can prove invaluable for the survivors.

The Westie Foundation has an excellent "total package on Wills, Gifts and Bequests" - information on how to remember our Westies.

We'd be glad to send you one. It won't cost you anything but a postage stamp. Please care enough about your Westies to spend 37 cents... CONTACT US! Thank you!!

Please be aware that the laws pertaining to wills and estates differ from state to state. Before finalizing your gift, consult a licensed attorney experienced in the laws pertaining to estate planning.