None of us love thinking about it. But planning your estate now is one of the most powerful ways to make sure your money continues doing what you care about, long after you’re gone. Done well, an estate plan is about making sure the causes, communities, and people you value continue to be supported, on your terms.
A financial advisor can help you think through the details and often, working with a community foundation adds another layer of expertise and connection. To help make this topic a little less daunting, we sat down with Ty Zwick, Financial Advisor at Full Circle Financial and a member of the Community Foundation’s Investment Committee, for a conversation about what estate planning really involves and why it’s worth doing now.
What is your role as a financial advisor?
My job is to help ensure my clients’ financial health. That starts with understanding what matters to them — their relationship with money, how they think about it. For some people, money is simply a tool; for others, there’s more emotion tied up in it, whether that’s a fear of scarcity or something else. I start with the basics: what’s your income, and what are your goals? Some people want to spend down every last dollar. Others want to leave a legacy — for their heirs, for charitable organizations, or both.
How do you help people make sure their money goes where they want it to go after they’re gone?
We start with a conversation about values — what’s actually important to this person? For people who aren’t sure, we help guide that thinking. From there, we look at their assets and the rules that apply to different types of accounts, since what happens to your money after death can vary quite a bit depending on how it’s structured and taxed. Our role is to understand the client’s goals, take stock of their assets, and find the most efficient way to get from one to the other, because some ways of passing on money generate far more in taxes and costs than others. We also work alongside estate planning attorneys and CPAs to make sure the legal structure and tax strategy are sound.
Why would someone want the Community Foundation to steward their legacy?
Giving through the Foundation gives you a range of options for how involved you want to be. You can direct your gift to a specific charity, or to a field of interest, and the Foundation brings expertise and community connections to make sure it’s put to good use. We have deep relationships with local nonprofits and a strong sense of who needs support and when.
A donor-advised fund is one particularly flexible option. You can establish a fund in a year when you have a significant charitable or tax-planning opportunity—perhaps after selling appreciated stock, receiving a bonus, or completing another major financial transaction—and then recommend grants to nonprofits from the fund over time. It gives you one place to organize your charitable giving without having to decide immediately where every dollar will ultimately go.
For people who want their philanthropy to continue beyond their lifetime, the fund can also become part of an estate plan. You can name successor advisors, involve children or grandchildren, or create instructions for how the fund should support the community in the future.
You can also make a future gift through your estate—a set amount, a percentage, or certain assets—or give during your lifetime and see the impact of your philanthropy firsthand.
What’s the difference between giving directly to a nonprofit versus giving through the Foundation?
Giving directly to a nonprofit can be exactly the right choice when you know which organization you want to support today. The Community Foundation becomes particularly useful when a gift is intended to last over time, benefit several organizations, or adapt as community needs and organizations change.
Long-term stewardship is a core responsibility of the Foundation. Charitable assets are pooled and invested under the oversight of our six-member Investment Committee, which brings substantial professional investment and financial experience to that work. The Foundation follows a formal investment policy and provides the kind of ongoing governance, diversification, and oversight that can be difficult for an individual nonprofit—especially a smaller organization—to maintain on its own. Pooling assets can also create economies of scale, providing access to professional investment management and a broader range of investment opportunities while helping keep costs efficient.
The Foundation also provides continuity over time. If an organization you intended to support closes or its mission changes significantly, we can help ensure that your charitable dollars continue to serve the purpose you originally intended. And because we work closely with nonprofits across many sectors, we can help connect your giving to effective organizations and emerging needs in the areas you care about most.
What advice would you give someone who wants to make sure their legacy lives on?
Review your estate plan and beneficiary designations regularly. Your plan should keep up with life changes. Build a team of experts — legal, tax, and financial — to help make sure your legacy actually goes where you intend. And consider naming the Community Foundation as a beneficiary in your estate plan; it’s one of the most effective ways to keep supporting the community you care about, well into the future.
Thinking about estate planning and want to talk it through? Reach out to Ty Zwick at Full Circle Financial, or contact us directly to learn more about giving through the Community Foundation.