Hospice and Palliative Care Symposium

Thanks to the Bodien Endowment, Trinity Health Foundation is able to provide an annual Hospice and Palliative Care Symposium.  This event is free, open to the public, includes dinner, and continuing education credits will be available.  This year’s symposium will take place on Thursday, April 30, 2020 from 5-8:30 pm, at the Sleep Inn & Suites, Minot ND.  The program for this year’s event includes:

• 5-6 pm: Hard Choices for Loving People, Hank Dunn
• 6-7 pm: POLST, Nancy Joyner
• 7-7:15 pm: What is Palliative Medicine?
• 7:15-7:30 pm: Meet Your Hospice Team
• 7:30-8:30 pm: Hospice Family Panel Discussion

Registration for the event will be available in the near future on Trinity Health Foundation’s website.

Give to a qualified endowment and reduce your state taxes

North Dakota’s Century Code contains a provision that allows you to receive a tax credit when you give to a qualified endowment.  Note – this is a tax credit and not just a deduction.  This tax credit makes it possible for you to give more and make a greater impact on the health and wellness of the people in our region.  Here is how the provision works:

North Dakota residents, businesses, and financial institutions may qualify for a 40% tax credit on the value of their gift to a Trinity Health Foundation Endowment (minimum gift of $5,000 – at one time or aggregate in one year). The types of businesses and financial institutions this applies to include C corporations, S corporations, estates, limited liabilities and trusts. The maximum credit for a single tax year is $10,000 for an individual, $20,000 for a married couple and $10,000 for business entities.  Businesses may carry forward any unused credit for up to 3 taxable years (financial institutions excluded). Individual donors may carry forward any excess credit for 3 years.

For example if you made a $5,000 gift toward a qualified endowment, you would receive a credit of $2,000 on your North Dakota taxes.  If your tax liability to North Dakota in the year you made your gift was $2,000, then you would not owe any taxes to North Dakota once the credit was applied.  If your tax liability to North Dakota in the year you made the gift was only $1,000, then not only would you not owe North Dakota any taxes that year, you would also have $1,000 in credit to use over the next two years.

Trinity Health Foundation has the following endowments that one can give to:

• Trinity Health Capital Improvement Endowment provides funding for facilities and equipment upgrades including the new hospital
• CancerCare Endowment provides long-term funding for the Trinity Health CancerCare Center
• Holland Pediatric Endowment funds items related to pediatric care
• Nursing Scholarship Endowment provides scholarships to students enrolled in Nursing Programs
• Michelle Keller Radiologic Technology Endowment provides scholarships for students enrolled in the Trinity Hospital School of Radiologic Technology
• Verhey Critical Care Endowment contributes to the ongoing improvement and success of Critical Care programs at Trinity Health
• Willie and Ruth Bodien Endowment funds education about Hospice and end of life care

Based on Trinity Health Foundation’s spending policy and the UPMIFA guidelines included in the North Dakota Century Code, only 5% of an endowment’s funds may be expended each year.

There is a lot we can learn from a triathlon, even if we have never run a race. Any competitor will tell you that to finish well, you must have a plan, and that plan has three parts:

• COMMIT
• PREPARE
• COMPLETE

To win a triathlon, a competitor must be an excellent swimmer, bicyclist and runner. The athlete must master not only these events but also the transitions between these disciplines. A triathlete’s ultimate goal is to cross the finish line first. While a triathlete can be finely tuned and train for life, he or she may still come in second place, or lower.

However, we don’t have to finish first to have a successful future. Everyone has the power to win. Unlike the triathlete, we don’t have to train, and there are no sacrificial diets or exercise regimens. The cost for having an estate plan is minimal compared to the investment a triathlete makes, but the rewards are remarkable.

Like the triathlete, the first step in estate planning is always the most difficult: STARTING. A triathlete in training will tell you the battle is not with the body but with the mind. Mental preparation, more than physical exercise, is the key to victory. In the same way, estate planning is never about the things you have, although they all are mentioned. Estate planning is always about the values and people important to you. Estate planning helps you choose how to provide for those people and causes you cherish. The things you own or control are simply tools available to you to help you accomplish that.

For example:

• When you no longer need your house, who do you want to receive it?
• What family member(s) need you now and will need you in the future?
• Who would be the best steward of your baseball card collection, jewelry or class ring?
• Do you have any assets that can be changed from tax-burdened to tax beneficial?

To help you begin and even give you a head start, we have free tools that make getting started easy. Once you have them and use them, you have already completed step two—preparation. You are 2/3 of the way to victory! The final step is easiest—completion. It comes when your attorney combines your preparation into a solid, thoughtful plan that follows and preserves your wishes. What could be easier or more rewarding than that?

Part of the thrill of winning a triathlon is the fulfillment of mastering its three key parts—swimming, bicycling and running—as well as the two transitions between them. An athlete knows they must train in all these to win. Each is different, but all propel the competitor closer to the finish line. Fortunately, as you plan your estate, you can choose the parts and tools you want. You can use any and are not required to use any one. As you think about your plan, here are some of the more common tools for you to think about:

BEQUEST—the most common and powerful tool. You can use your will to list the people and causes important to you and direct almost any assets you have to them.

BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION—like the transitions in a triathlon, this one is often overlooked but can play a pivotal role. Consider naming family, friends and causes as the beneficiary of your IRA, 401(k) or investment account. The transition happens almost automatically, is not part of your will and is often done by completing a simple form.

TESTAMENTARY CRUT—A testamentary charitable remainder unitrust, or CRUT, is a trust created in your will that does special things. The trust pays each year at a rate you choose to the people you choose for as long as you choose. After the trust ends, all remaining funds go to the charity you support, which provides your estate with significant tax savings.

A triathlete trains for years for the momentary thrill of crossing the finish line first. You can spend what amounts to a moment to produce years of ongoing fulfillment and satisfaction. Think of the joy and happiness you will receive for completing your estate plan and knowing how it will positively impact the people and causes you care about.

There are two ways to access the information:

Option 1 – go to Trinity Health Foundation’s website, foundation.trinityhealth.org, click on the Donate to the Foundation section, then select Planned Giving from the menu items.

Option 2 – go directly to the planned giving portion of the website using this URL – https://trinityhealthnd.giftlegacy.com/