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Planned Giving: Make Horizon a Beneficiary

People often don’t realize that retirement plans, IRAs, life insurance, and donor advised funds are not affected by a will. These assets are dispersed according to the beneficiary designations on file with each. Beneficiary designations are easier to update than a will, providing a simple way to leave a lasting legacy.

Types of Assets

Retirement Plans and IRAs

Retirement Plan balances and IRAs are often the largest source of taxable income when paid out to a beneficiary. When planning for the distribution of your assets, it is often better to make gifts from taxable assets to Horizon while giving other assets like real estate to loved ones.

Life Insurance

Designating Horizon as a beneficiary of your life insurance can turn your modest premium payments into a significantly larger gift, maximizing your impact.

Donor Advised Funds

A Donor Advised Fund (DAF) allows you to transfer cash or other current assets to a charitable foundation, realizing significant tax benefits now while allowing you to support Horizon and other charities through grant recommendations out of your DAF in the years to come. You can even pass control of your fund to your loved ones to carry on your legacy of giving.

How to Designate Horizon as a Beneficiary 

Making Horizon a beneficiary of your retirement plan, IRA, or life insurance policy is quite easy:

  1. Contact the institution that holds your account or policy and request a Change of Beneficiary Form. In many cases these can be downloaded directly from their website.
  2. Decide what percentage of the account value you would like for Horizon to receive.
  3. Name Horizon International, 350 JH Walker Dr., Pendleton, IN 46064, as a beneficiary.
  4. Name any additional beneficiaries.
  5. Submit the completed form back to the institution.
  6. Notify the beneficiaries so they can claim the assets at the appropriate time.
Return to the Planned Giving Page

The information on this website is not intended as financial, legal, or tax advice. For such advice, please consult your accountant, attorney, or financial planner for professional advice and counsel. References to estate and income taxes include federal taxes only. State income/estate taxes or state law may impact your results.

Keep Designations Up to Date

You can modify your beneficiary designations at any time. It is recommended that you review them every 2-3 years as part of examining your overall estate plan.