As you decide who will benefit from your estate after your lifetime, consider the lasting impact you can make when you include Midland University in your plans. Not only would you have a lasting impact on tomorrow’s generation, you would also benefit personally from the tax advantages received during your lifetime, adding up to more dollars for you to pass on.

Even more, you can decide how your gift will be used. Provisions can be made in deferred gift agreements to establish scholarships, fund a future building project, underwrite faculty salaries or support the general endowment of the college.

Below are a few common ways to include Midland University in your estate plans.

Bequests

A simple way you can make a lasting difference is to designate Midland University as a beneficiary in your will of living trust. Your bequest can be an outright gift of a specific amount or a percentage of your residuary estate.

Life Income Gifts

As you look to retire, financial worries with family obligations, coupled with the high cost of living, can make it difficult for many people to consider substantial charitable gifts now. A life income plan allows you to make a gift now while receiving a yearly payment for your personal financial needs. The three basic types of these plans are charitable gift annuities, charitable remainder trusts, and charitable lead trusts.

Advantages of life income gifts include:

• It pays you, your beneficiary, or both, an income for life and in many cases, a larger income than the gift property is presently earning for you.
• It can offer an immediate charitable deduction.
• You can avoid capital gains tax upon sale of any appreciated assets.
• You will have an eventual estate tax savings.
• It relieves you of the burdens of asset management and enables you to support, in a significant way, the Midland University program of your choice.

Life Insurance Policies

The easiest way to make a gift of life insurance is to include a percentage (1%, 5%, 10% or more) to Midland University as a part of the primary beneficiary designation. This is referred to as a "Life Share" gift and is fully revocable. Substantial gifts can also be made by making Midland University the beneficiary of a new policy or an existing policy that is no longer needed. In this event, premiums paid by the donor to continue coverage are tax deductible.

Gifts of Real Estate

Depending on the circumstances involved, gifts of real estate can be an effective means of planning a gift. While the first thought often is a home or farm, real estate also can involve a vacation home, an apartment or commercial building, a shopping center, or undeveloped land. Each piece of property and its unique circumstances need to be reviewed to determine the suitability of the property as a gift. Generally speaking, an acceptable piece of property is one that can be readily sold.

Payable on Death (POD) Note

This simple revocable arrangement can be attached to a variety of assets (IRA's; CD's; TSA'S; TDA'S; annuities; employee savings plans; etc.) to facilitate a gift after the lifetime of the owner(s).

Help With Your Legacy Planning

Midland University partners with Lutheran Giving to offer gift planning guidance and resources. Their services are complimentary. Please visit Lutheran Giving to learn more. 

Contact Us

Please notify the Institutional Advancement Office at Midland University if you are considering giving or have already given any of the above types of planned gifts. We are available to help you as you consider your estate plans.

The Midland Endowment Society recognizes those who have ensured the long-term future of the college by committing a gift to the Midland University Endowment. For more information, please contact Laura Jensen, Vice President for Institutional Advancement, at 402-941-6523 or jensen@midlandu.edu.