By including Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation in your estate planning, you can support Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation while making a tax-wise gift for the future. A bequest is a simple statement in your will that directs a gift to SMF.
Bequests
The most common bequest is an unrestricted gift of a specified dollar amount or percentage of your residual estate. Through a bequest, you may very simply give cash, securities, personal property, or real estate to Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation. You may specify a specific asset to be bequeathed, a fixed dollar amount, or a certain percentage of the balance of your estate.
An unrestricted bequest may be used for general purposes, or may be designated by the Board for use for specific purposes. You may also restrict a bequest and dedicate its use to a specific purpose or project. Those considering making a restricted bequest are asked to discuss these intentions with Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation in advance, as we wish to be sure that the intended purpose can be achieved.
Retirement Plans, 401(k), and IRAs
You may designate Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation as a beneficiary of your IRA, 401(k), or other qualified retirement plan. With such a designation, you may continue to make regular withdrawals within your lifetime. Designating Sheriff’s Meadow as a beneficiary of your retirement account helps to avoid double taxation on assets left in your retirement account. To pass the balance or a portion of your retirement assets to Sheriff’s Meadow, please contact your plan administrator.
IRA Charitable Rollover: If you are 70 ½ by the date you make the gift and if it is from a traditional or rollover IRA, you can give any amount (up to a maximum of $111,000) this year (2026) from your IRA directly to Sheriff’s Meadow without having to pay income taxes on the money.
Life Insurance
A life insurance policy can prove an excellent way to leave a legacy. You may transfer ownership of a paid in-full life insurance policy to Sheriff’s Meadow. Sheriff’s Meadow may then cash in the policy, or hold on to it. You would receive an income tax deduction equal to the cash value of the policy.
Charitable Remainder Trust
You may create a Charitable Remainder Trust for which Sheriff’s Meadow is a charitable beneficiary. With a Charitable Remainder Trust, you transfer assets to a trustee, and the trustee then makes specified payments to one or more non-charitable beneficiaries. When the Trust expires, the property within the Trust would then be distributed to Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation. You may create a Charitable Remainder Trust during your lifetime, or you may create one in your will.
Life Estate and Remainder Interest
One unique way to give land or a home to Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation is to donate the land while retaining a life estate. Under such an arrangement, you would give what is called a remainder interest in the land to the Foundation now, but you would use the land for the rest of your life. At the end of your life, Sheriff’s Meadow would own all of the interest in the property. This arrangement can be useful for both conservation lands and lands not appropriate for conservation, that could later be sold. This could also be a useful way of creating future employee housing.