Casting Your Legacy: The Simplicity of Account Beneficiary Designations
Some of the most effective techniques in fishing are also the most straightforward – a well-tied knot, a perfectly placed cast. The same principle applies to including the IGFA as a part of your legacy through account beneficiary designations – which is simply naming who should receive your account after your lifetime. This simple yet impactful method allows you to support the IGFA's mission without changing your current financial position.
Designating the IGFA as a beneficiary of your financial accounts can be as straightforward as completing a simple form from your financial institution. Through this approach, you maintain complete access to your assets during your lifetime while ensuring your passion for sport fishing and conservation continues for generations to come.
Account beneficiary designations offer several advantages:
- Flexibility to give either a specific dollar amount or a percentage of your estate to the IGFA – both approaches are effective ways to support our mission
- Freedom to designate multiple people and organizations as beneficiaries, ensuring support for your loved ones and the causes that matter the most to you
- Complete control of your assets throughout your lifetime, with no current impact on your finances or cashflow
- Potential tax advantages that could reduce the overall burden on your heirs
- Freedom to modify your plans at any time as life circumstances change
- Ease of creating today with no need to modify your will or trust
You can name the IGFA as a beneficiary of various accounts:
- Retirement accounts
- Life insurance policies
- Investment or brokerage accounts
- Bank or savings accounts
- Certificates of deposit (CDs)
You can customize your beneficiary designation to fit your circumstances by naming IGFA as a primary or contingent beneficiary and choosing the percentage you wish to give. To designate the IGFA as an account beneficiary, simply contact your financial institution and request their beneficiary designation form. You'll need IGFA's legal name, address, and tax ID number, which we're happy to provide.
By including the IGFA as a beneficiary of your accounts, you will be invited to join the distinguished IGFA Lerner Society, named after our visionary founder Michael Lerner, alongside others who have committed to securing the future of our sport through thoughtful legacy planning. Of course, you may always choose to give anonymously. To learn more about the IGFA Lerner Society, visit our webpage, https://igfa.org/lerner-society/.
For more information about naming the IGFA as a beneficiary of your accounts, please contact Barbara E. Cini, JD, CFRE, Chief Development Officer, at [email protected] or 954-498-7153, or Eric Combast, Development Director, at [email protected] or 954-924-4325.
Every individual's financial situation and philanthropic goals are unique, just as every angler's relationship with the sport is personal. This information is for educational purposes only and, as always, be sure to consult your tax professional or advisor for advice tailored to your individual circumstances. The key is to find a strategy that aligns with your financial objectives while supporting the aspects of IGFA's vision and mission that resonate most with you. To learn more about tax-smart strategies visit our webpage, Casting Your Legacy: Strategic Giving to the IGFA.