The Leaders of the Pack

Naming a loved one or a favorite charity as a beneficiary is a wonderful way of showing your care about the future of the organization. Make sure you go one step further and notify the beneficiaries of the choice you made. Many charities are not aware that they have been named to receive a gift. Informing the charity helps preserve your intentions and ensures that the organization will be able to follow your wishes.

Protect the charities you love by following these simple steps in naming a beneficiary:

• Review your wills, revocable trusts, and beneficiary designations periodically and make changes as circumstances change throughout your lifetime.

Is Wolf Ridge already in your estate plan?

• Alert Wolf Ridge that you have named us as a beneficiary of your estate plans. You can do this by filling out our Letter of Intent and emailing it to development@wolf-ridge.org or mail it to Development Office c/o Wolf Ridge ELC, 6282 Cranberry Road, Finland, MN 55603.
• Make sure that your will properly lists Wolf Ridge as follows:
  • Legal Name: Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center
  • Address: 6982 Cranberry Road, Finland, MN 55603
  • Federal Tax ID Number: 41-1251705

One thing you can count on in life is that things change. In fact, the only constant in life is that things are always changing. Therefore, it is important to keep your estate plans up to date. How do you know if you should update an existing will with a codicil or a revocable trust with an amendment, or if you need to create a whole new estate plan?

Draft a New Estate Plan if:

• Your marital status has changed.
• Your children are grown.
• Your desire to include a beneficiary has changed (death, dispute, etc.)
• You moved to a different state.
• Your financial situation has changed dramatically.

Update Your Existing Estate Plan if:

• Your Executor/Trustee situation has changed
• You wish to support a new charity with a gift
• You want to make changes to the distribution choices you made earlier.

Review Your Goals

Have your planned giving goals changed? If so, you will need to change your estate plan to reflect your goals.

Top Ten Things to Know About Estate Planning

1. Having a Will does not avoid probate, but that’s okay because a probate proceeding is not that bad in Minnesota.
2. Utilizing a Revocable Trust can avoid a probate proceeding, help plan for incapacity, and may provide speedier distributions upon death, but it does not provide any tax benefits versus a Will.
3. Having a Will or a Revocable Trust can help parents plan for children’s physical and financial well-being by using Testamentary Trusts.
4. A Power of Attorney is very useful to help plan for incapacity and to avoid a guardianship proceeding, but caution should be exercised when choosing the attorney-in-fact.
5. A Health Care Directive allows an individual to (1) name an agent to make health care decisions and (2) give instructions to that named agent.
6. Some types of assets, such as Life Insurance, IRAs, 401Ks, and other Retirement Assets, are controlled by beneficiary designations, which means that simply executing a Will or Revocable Trust is not sufficient to complete an estate plan.
7. In 2018 the Federal Estate Tax Exemption is $11.18 million with a 40% tax rate. In 2018 the Minnesota Estate Tax Exemption is $2.4 million and is scheduled to increase in increments of $200k until it levels off at $3.0 million in 2020. The Minnesota estate tax rate starts at 13% and maxes out at 16%.
8. Fully utilizing each spouse’s Estate Tax Exemption through Portability is essential to effective estate tax planning.
9. IRAs, 401Ks, and other Retirement Assets are usually subject to Income Taxes upon withdrawal and estate taxes upon death, which could lead to close to 75% taxation on these assets without proper planning.
10. Implementing Asset Protection Planning is ethical, essential, and simple to accomplish through estate planning for most families.

If you die without a will, your estate will be divided according to laws in your state of residence. The resulting transfer of your assets may be very different from what you had wished. Certain family members will receive part of your estate, but close friends or charities that you may have wanted to remember will not be included.

Only you know the special circumstances of your family members and heirs. That is why it is important to discuss these issues with your attorney. Issues to address include how you want to distribute your estate, whom you want to be executor, and what charities you wish to support.

You may want to leave a gift to Wolf Ridge, talk about it with family, friends or Wolf Ridge, and then never get around to properly establishing such gifts in your estate plan. If you make this mistake, your estate will not realize the benefits of the unlimited charitable estate tax deduction, and Wolf Ridge will not receive your support. Without planning, nothing will happen!

As long as you have the capacity, you can change or revoke your will, revocable trust, and beneficiary designations on retirement accounts. If situations change, you are free to alter your will with a codicil, trust with an amendment, or to change your entire plan at any time.