Fall 2024
Beacon
Gift planning information and inspiration for the Tufts community
Since I arrived at Tufts in February, I have met inspiring students and faculty who are pursuing excellence at every school and in every space at the university–classrooms, labs, clinics, studios, and athletic fields. I have also had the pleasure of connecting with many alumni, parents, and friends who are enthusiastic about Tufts and support the transformative experiences it provides.
Thank you to all our donors, including those who are making a gift in their will or estate plan. If you have not yet created an estate plan or included Tufts, you will find this issue of Beacon to contain helpful information, including:
- Stories from members of the Tufts community who have turned their dreams into powerful gifts.
- Tips from an estate attorney about defining your goals and beginning the estate planning process.
- Ideas for creating smart, effective planned gifts that benefit Tufts.
My colleagues on our Gift Planning team look forward to assisting you as you consider ways to create a legacy with an enduring impact.
Sincerely,
Joshua Else
Senior Vice President for University Advancement
A first-generation college student supports today's Tufts students: John Soter, A74
"My Tufts degree opened a lot of doors for me," says John Soter, A74, who built a successful career in management consulting. Yet Tufts' biggest impact on his working life was "learning how to learn and how to connect with different people." A New Hampshire native, Soter attended Tufts on a scholarship and was the first in his family to go to college.
While updating his estate plans a few years ago, he thought carefully about the institutions that had positively shaped his life. Tufts University was high on that list. He decided that he wanted to help today’s students by supporting programs that hold particular meaning for him. He created two endowed funds at Tufts: the John J. Soter, A74, Fund for the FIRST Resource Center, and the John J. Soter, A74, Fund for the Experimental College. He realized he could make an even larger impact in the future by including a gift for both funds in his estate plans.
Classes in the Experimental College were among the highlights of Soter's Tufts experience. "The topic could be anything from country music to geodesic domes," he says, "but it always came back to the question, 'What can we learn by studying this?'" The FIRST Center hadn't yet been established during Soter's time on the Hill, but he was excited to learn that it was created to provide community and resources for today's first-generation students to make their Tufts experience as strong as possible.
Soter believes that a great college experience "is about growing up a bit and then continuing to grow. It's learning to make mistakes and start again ... and then again." The beauty of a Tufts education, he says, is that it nurtures curiosity and resilience and sets the stage for a lifetime of learning.
Are you and your estate plan on the same page?
National Estate Planning Awareness Week (October 21–27) is a great time to take stock of your plans, find inspiration, and locate the resources you need at any stage of planning.
Here are some questions that might be useful to you, your loved ones, and your advisors as you prepare a first will or revise existing plans:
- Do you have an estate plan that's up to date and reflects your life and priorities today?
- Are you creating a will for the first time and don’t know where to begin?
- Have there been life changes, such as a marriage, retirement, sale of a business, or birth of a child or grandchild, that might impact your plans?
- Are you considering a gift to Tufts, or other favorite charities, in your estate plan? Would you like to know more about the options?
- Do the beneficiaries of your existing will and other assets (like your IRA) match your current wishes?
- Does your existing estate plan take into account the most current state and federal tax laws and potential upcoming changes, for example, the sunsetting referenced in the Brad Bedingfield article?
- Do you have assets held digitally, such as cryptocurrency or social media accounts? Does your family know how to access these accounts and how you want them distributed?
Our free Estate Planning Organizer can help you think through the assets you own and decisions you may need to consider when creating or updating your plans. Visit go.tufts.edu/organizer to download your free Estate Planning Organizer. Our staff is also happy to provide you with information about ways to include a gift to Tufts in your plans.
Common estate planning FAQs
Brad Bedingfield has 20 years of experience in advising families to help them achieve their long-term goals related to wealth preservation, estate planning, and charitable giving. He has worked in private practice and was a tax law specialist with the Exempt Organizations Division of the IRS in Washington, D.C.
1. How do I begin the estate planning process?
Start by doing two things: (1) Make a list of all your assets and how they are held (individually, in trust, jointly, etc.), and (2) write out a summary of whom you want to benefit and by how much. Share this information with your estate planner, who can craft a plan that captures your wishes.
2. What are the most important tips for successful estate planning?
When you think of your estate plan, consider your will and/or trust as well as any beneficiary designation forms you have filed and information regarding jointly owned property. Wills have no effect on insurance and retirement plans; they are governed by the beneficiary designation forms you completed. And jointly owned property passes outright to the surviving joint owner, regardless of what your will says.
3. The current federal estate tax exemptions are set to expire at the end of 2025. Is it possible to plan when it is not clear how things may change?
On January 1, 2026, the federal gift and estate tax exemption will decrease from approximately $13.6 million to about $7 million. For families with enough assets to be affected by the federal estate tax exemption, planning generally involves making gifts now to use that exemption before it is reduced. I encourage clients to use this pending change as an impetus to put in place a plan that is likely to be beneficial regardless of any changes that Congress may choose to make.
4. I'd like to leave a gift to charity in my will. Do I need to work with the charity?
I encourage clients to coordinate with the charity as they draft their plans. This is especially important for restricted gifts to ensure that the charity can carry out their wishes.
A fulfilling career inspires a scholarship for future Tufts physicians: Danh, M94, and Tina Nguyen
One of the best outcomes of professional success, says Danh Nguyen, M94, is the chance to create opportunities for others. Nguyen, who immigrated to the United States with his family as a child and grew up in California's San Fernando Valley, was proud to attend Tufts University School of Medicine. After medical school, he returned to California and spent his career in radiology, a field that has been exciting and personally gratifying. "I feel very grateful for the chance to pursue "the American Dream,'" says Nguyen, "through hard work and taking advantage of the opportunities available to me."
Today, Danh and his wife, Tina, are the proud parents of three grown sons now embarking on careers of their own. In 2019, they established the Danh Nguyen, M.D., M94, Scholarship Fund, which provides need-based financial aid to Tufts medical students. The Nguyens have supported the medical school through gifts from their donor-advised fund (DAF) and have made plans to make a future gift to their scholarship fund by designating Tufts as the successor beneficiary of their DAF.
For Danh and Tina, giving is a natural way to express their gratitude. "Through Tufts and my later training, I found my calling in radiology," Dahn explains. "I'm very happy, which helped me succeed in my work, and that enables us to support Tufts." Tina agrees that their scholarship was the right gift to express shared values and repay some of the good fortune their family has experienced. "It's the perfect time to think back on our lives, be thankful, and consider how we can give back."
Beyond your will: Assets directed by beneficiary designation can make an ideal gift
Many estates include assets that are not transferred through a will or trust to heirs or charities, like Tufts. Instead, they are distributed by beneficiary designation form. These assets can be excellent opportunities for giving. They include:
- Retirement accounts, such as an IRA, 401(k), or 403(b)
- Donor-advised funds
- Life insurance policies
- Financial accounts such as brokerage, checking, or savings accounts
Typically, a beneficiary designation form from your financial institution is all you need to make a gift using one of these assets. You can direct all or part of the remainder of the asset to Tufts University. If you would like to direct your gift to a particular school or program, contact the Gift Planning team. They can help you document your wishes.
How to make a bequest
The sample language and information below may help you and your advisor include a bequest in your will or name Tufts on a beneficiary designation form. You can leave your gift unrestricted, and it will be used wherever it is needed most at the school that is important to you. Or you can direct your gift to a specific area, such as faculty research or financial aid. Contact the Gift Planning team for details.
Sample bequest language
I give [the sum of _______ dollars ($_____) /___ percent (___%) of the residue of my estate] to Trustees of Tufts College of Medford, Massachusetts, for the general purpose and use of the [insert name of specific school at Tufts].
Legal name: Trustees of Tufts College
Address: Tufts University Gift Planning Office, 80 George Street, Medford, MA 02155
Tax identification number: 04-2103634
How can your planned gift change the future?
Planned gifts are as distinctive as the people who make them, and your gift can be directed to the school or program at Tufts that matters most to you. The Gift Planning team is here to answer any questions you may have about directing your gift to a specific area. Contact us today to learn more.
Your IRA is a powerful tool for giving
A gift today.
If you are age 70 1/2 or older, you can make a gift directly to Tufts from your IRA–called a qualified charitable distribution or QCD–of up to $105,000 (per individual) in 2024. Your QCD may fulfill your required minimum distribution, and you can direct the gift to a school or program at Tufts that is important to you.
NEW: Up to $53,000 of your QCD in 2024 (indexed annually for inflation) may be used to establish a charitable gift annuity that provides you with income in return.
A gift for the future.
At any age, you can name Tufts as a beneficiary of your IRA. Typically, retirement plan assets can be the most heavily taxed assets, as they are subject to both income and estate taxes. Tufts won't pay income tax on the distribution. And your estate will qualify for a charitable income tax deduction.
For more information about QCDs, please contact the Gift Planning team, or visit go.tufts.edu/IRACharitable.
The Gift Planning Office is prohibited from giving legal or financial advice, and nothing provided herein should be interpreted as such. We encourage you to consult with your own advisor when considering a planned gift.
