A Legacy Donation of Real Estate Can Benefit Future Students – and Your Heirs | Community

Donations to support college scholarships have a powerful impact on students’ lives. These contributions, whether large or small, help remove financial barriers and open doors that would otherwise remain closed. For many students living in the 100+ mile long Copper Corridor, which stretches from Catalina to up north in Globe, scholarships are the only way for them to access education beyond high school. These opportunities can transform their career prospects and life trajectories. One way to help these undergraduate and postgraduate students is by making a legacy donation to the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach Scholarship Endowment Fund.

Legacy giving typically involves including a bequest in a will or trust. One type of bequest involves one’s home, rental property or other real estate. Donating real estate to a charity at death—especially via a trust—can bypass probate, reduce administrative complexity, speed up the settlement process and provide tax advantages, all of which simplify estate settlement for your beneficiaries and executors.

When real estate is left directly to a charity through a will or, more efficiently, through a trust, it can reduce the number of assets that must go through probate. Probate is often time-consuming, expensive and public. Using a trust to transfer real estate to a charity allows the property to pass outside of probate, streamlining the process and avoiding court intervention.

By designating a charity as the beneficiary of real estate, the executor or trustee does not have to manage, appraise or sell the property for distribution among multiple heirs. This can eliminate disputes and the need for complex negotiations or sales, especially when the real estate is difficult to divide or manage.

Charitable bequests made through trusts or direct beneficiary designations can result in faster transfer of the property. The charity typically works directly with the estate or trustee to accept the property, reducing delays for other beneficiaries and expediting the overall estate settlement.

Donating real estate to a qualified charity at death also can result in an estate tax deduction, reducing the taxable value of the estate and potentially lowering or eliminating estate taxes. This simplifies tax filings and can reduce the need for liquidating other assets to pay taxes.

Leaving real estate to a charity removes ambiguity about who receives the property, preventing conflicts among heirs and ensuring your wishes are carried out efficiently.

For more information on making a legacy donation to the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach Scholarship Endowment Fund, call the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach office at (520) 825-3302 or email [email protected].