VOL. III
VISION
You Can’t Take It With You!
Ford Lacy and Cece Smith Plan Their Community Legacy
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As Cece and Ford started their estate planning process, they came to Communities Foundation of Texas for assistance with their planned giving, and during the process, they decided to open a donoradvised fund to structure their giving now as well.
“ You have to support your charitable interests or the groups doing the work won’t be there.” —Ford Lacy “It’s a fun idea to be able to die with a negative net worth, but that’s hard to plan on,” says Ford Lacy. “Assuming there is something left, we thought working with Communities Foundation
IN THIS
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“You have to support your charitable interests or the groups doing the work won’t be there,” says Ford. “The things we support are the things we are interested in and are involved in—for example, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Opera, Dallas Museum of Art and UT Southwestern. We don’t usually give abstract gifts; usually we’ve made
Photo Credit: Teresa Rafidi
of Texas would be a good way to address that issue.”
OU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU! is the first thing Ford Lacy said when we asked what spurred him and his wife, Cece Smith, to plan in advance how they would give to charity through their wills. As an attorney and venture capitalist, they were romanced by the idea of spending down their net worth while living, but practically, that’s pretty difficult to do.
Ford Lacy and Cece Smith worked with Communities Foundation of Texas to start the estate planning process.
For assistance in developing a giving strategy that is consistent with your charitable goals, contact Geri Jacobs, director of charitable gift planning, Communities Foundation of Texas, at 214.750.4255 or gjacobs@cftexas.org.
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• A Heartfelt Way to Give through Your Estate
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• Planning Your Charitable Legacy
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• Five Facts