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The Academic Authors Legacy Society is a group of friends of the Text and Academic Authors Association organizations who have elected to benefit the Association or the Foundation through their wills or estate plans. A legacy gift provides the opportunity to help perpetuate the interests and values a donor considers most important. It is, as one donor aptly put it, "a way of giving back to the profession that has provided me with a successful and rewarding career, and to ensure that the things I valued in that career are kept available for others who follow me." The Society was created to honor those who have made bequest or other estate commitments to ensure that the Text and Academic Authors Association will continue its outstanding record of service as the nation's largest society of published academic and textbook authors and the leading advocate for fair compensation, effective copyright protection, and free expression of academic authors for generations to come. A Gift Through Your Will/Trust Gifts made through wills have become a vital part of the American philanthropic tradition, because such gifts enable people to make significant contributions that may not have been possible through their lifetime. A gift through your will can take a number of forms. You may elect to designate a specific dollar amount. Or you may wish to include a percentage of what remains in your estate after other bequests are fulfilled. A bequest can be made either to the Text and Academic Authors Association ("TAA" or "the Association") or to the Text and Academic Authors Foundation ('TAAF" or "the Foundation"). It is important to consider which of these two organizations you wish to benefit and the tax implications involved (see box in the column to the right). An alternative to a will that avoids the expense of probate is a Trust Agreement that designates an individual or other corporate entity to be the beneficiary of the residue of all or part of the estate included in the Trust. During your lifetime you or someone of your choosing functions as Trustee of your Trust; upon your death, the individual named as Trustee distributes the elements of the trust according to your stated wishes. Naming of TAAF as a recipient of assets listed in the Trust Agreement, if it is irrevocable, can result in a tax benefit during your lifetime.
A Gift from Your Retirement Plan IRAs and other retirement plans represent a large portion of many peoples' estates. While these plans are highly beneficial during a person's lifetime, they can become tax burdens on one's death. This is because they are included in a person's taxable estate, and are therefore subject to both estate tax and income tax. By naming a charitable organization as the beneficiary of your retirement plan, you can still take distributions during your lifetime, but on your death the entire plan balance will pass, free of taxes, to the organization. If you are married, you can name your spouse as primary beneficiary, with the remaining assets going to a designated charitable organization, free of taxes, on his or her death. A Gift of Life Insurance An insurance policy that has served its original purpose can be contributed to TAA or TAAF. If you name the Foundation as the irrevocable beneficiary and owner of the policy, you obtain an immediate income tax deduction equivalent to the policy's cash surrender or replacement value. Any benefit the Foundation receives from the policy will be excluded from your taxable estate. A Gift of Appreciated Securities or Real Estate A gift of appreciated, long-term capital gain securities or real estate to TAAF can provide even greater tax benefits to the donor than a gift of cash. In addition to receiving a charitable deduction for the fair market value of such a gift, the donor also escapes any capital gains tax and the sales commission that would be payable on the sale. Please Consider... When you join the Academic Authors Legacy Society, you help ensure the continuation of the Association's valued services through changing times and potentially greater challenges. As the leading professional organization assisting academic authors in scholarly writing, grant preparation, copyright protection, contract negotiation, and professional development, TAA depends on its members' support to anticipate and meet academic authors' vital needs. Members of the society will receive a memento of appreciation and will be listed annually in the Association newsletter, The Academic Author, unless they choose to remain anonymous. For information on how to join Academic Authors Legacy Society, please contact Richard Hull, TAAF Executive Director, at (850) 893-6539 or richard.hull@taaonline.net, or at the address below. Text and Academic
Authors Association and Foundation
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2006 Text and Academic Authors Foundation. All rights reserved. Disclaimer
Questions? Call TAAF at (727) 563-0020