Health
Life Insurance: A Charitable Gift?
Life insurance: You can't take it with you, so what do you do with it? Once you're confident you and your beneficiaries won't need it, is it a good idea to sign your policy over to a charity?
Experts at Insurance News Network say it depends on your motives, the type of policy involved -- and the charity.
Some charities find the policies are more trouble than they are worth, while endowment specialists at some of the larger institutions say they can make more by just investing the money that would be spent on premiums. Smaller charities are more likely to welcome insurance policy donations.
For the giver, donating an insurance policy is tax deductible, provided the recipient actually has non-profit status and the charity is named as both owner and beneficiary. In the case of term-life policies, you can deduct the cost of the premiums -- and the cash value plus the premiums for a whole-life policy.
Experts at Insurance News Network say it depends on your motives, the type of policy involved -- and the charity.
Some charities find the policies are more trouble than they are worth, while endowment specialists at some of the larger institutions say they can make more by just investing the money that would be spent on premiums. Smaller charities are more likely to welcome insurance policy donations.
For the giver, donating an insurance policy is tax deductible, provided the recipient actually has non-profit status and the charity is named as both owner and beneficiary. In the case of term-life policies, you can deduct the cost of the premiums -- and the cash value plus the premiums for a whole-life policy.
