Planned Giving Focusing People’s Minds. Michael Kassabian

focusing People’s Minds

Need to create or update your estate plan? The pandemic is one great reason to finally get it done. By Michael Kassabian

In April 2020, CNBC reported a surge in the demand for wills and estate planning services due to the escalation of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a representative from a financial advisory firm quoted in the article, the lockdown “focused people’s minds” on an area of planning that is often neglected. For context, nearly 70 percent of American adults don’t have an updated legal will.

With social distancing measures, many people began turning to online estate planning tools, which allow a user to create a legal will online by answering a series of questions. In an August 2020 article, Forbes noted a rise in this do-ityourself approach to will writing, both from a safety and ease-of-use standpoint.

Creating or updating a will has also focused attention on one’s legacy. In addition to an increased interest in estate planning, charitable gifts in estate plans have also seen a sharp increase over the past year. Online estate planning service FreeWill, which partners with Hearing Health Foundation to help create wills online for free, saw a significant uptick in charitable bequests to a variety of nonprofit organizations in addition to the number of wills created. In August alone, for example, the number of wills created on the FreeWill site nearly doubled and the number of charitable bequests increased nearly fourfold.

These trends speak to the way that nonprofit organizations have adapted to changing times, as well as the increased role technology is playing in this sector. Charity review sites like Guidestar and Charity Navigator make it easier than ever for supporters to research their favorite charities, as they enforce transparency and credibility among nonprofits. Users can now easily access information about fiscal efficiency to ensure their gifts are used responsibly.

Because so much of our daily life is conducted online—including researching charities and donating to them—it’s not surprising that Philanthropy News Digest reported a steady increase in the rate of online giving over the past few years.

As the COVID-19 pandemic lingers, technology continues to play a greater role than ever in how we interact, work, and support our favorite causes. It stands to reason that these trends of increased transparency, credibility, and ease of use—both for online estate planning and charitable giving in general—are set to persist long into the future.

If you’re interested in learning more about FreeWill and their online estate planning services, HHF supporters can visit freewill.com/hhf to get started on creating a will for free, with the option to include a legacy gift to support those with hearing loss and tinnitus, for generations to come.

Michael Kassabian is a content associate at FreeWill. If you already have a will and want to update it, you can use your attorney or you can use FreeWill to create a new will for free, destroying the old document to prevent confusion. For more, see freewill.com/hhf or email development@ hhf.org. For references, see hhf.org/winter2021-references. Technology continues to play a greater role than ever in how we interact, work, and support our favorite causes. These trends of increased transparency, credibility, and ease of use—both for online estate planning and charitable giving in general—are set to persist long into the future.

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6 Ways to Make an Impact Today and Tomorrow

You can make a meaningful difference in hearing loss research. Whichever method below you choose, every gift to Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) counts.

Check or credit card gifts online or by mail are easy and immediate. For more of an impact, schedule a monthly gift that helps sustain research without interruption.

Donating appreciated stock can reduce your tax bill. You receive a charitable tax deduction for the full value of the stock, and avoid paying taxes on the stock as it appreciates.

A charitable bequest in your will can be a more substantial gift if you are unable to donate today. If you do not have a will, create one for free at freewill.com/hhf. The De Francescos named HHF in their estate plans.

If you are in possession of life insurance policies that you no longer need, you can designate HHF as the beneficiary.

IRA distributions that begin when you turn 70 1/2 can be taxed as income, but if you choose to donate them to HHF, you avoid the penalty.

Retirement plan benefits left to heirs are more highly taxed than other assets. Make a meaningful gift to HHF instead, leaving lower-taxed assets to loved ones.

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