Getting the job done!
By Orkidstra
Chayanika Abeysekera Lutes and her husband had spoken on numerous occasions about wanting to leave a donation to charity in their Will. But they had a ton of questions about the process, like, what would be the best way to donate and how would they integrate this gift into their existing plans?
One thing they were sure of…it was about time they get it done! As Chayanika puts it, “At my age and stage, I’ve narrowed my interests and passions, and I want my actions to have the biggest impact. We have two young boys, and I want to make a difference in the world they live in and set an example of what it means to give back to your community. Social change through music is something that hits me at my core, which is why I love OrKidstra.” And so Chayanika and her husband set their minds to figuring out how best to incorporate OrKidstra into their estate plans.
“Having a husband who is a financial planner, I feel like our family is fortunate to be well equipped in this area. We have a Will and life insurance and review our financial planning several times a year. However, one thing we have not yet done is include a charitable gift in our Will.” admits Chayanika.
After a few weeks of discussions with her husband and chatting with other professional advisors, Chayanika had a path forward. First, she needed to decide what financial tool they would use to make their donation – “One of the things I learned is that there is no one way to leave a charitable gift in a Will, we just decided on what made the most sense for our situation. Instead of adding a charity to my Will, we decided to use one of my existing life insurance policies. It felt easier to do it this way as I just needed to add OrKidstra as a beneficiary to an existing policy and then list the amount we wanted to donate.”
The next thing Chayanika needed to solve was uncertainty about the future, what if her charity no longer existed in the future or if she wanted to change the amount given? As Chayanika found out, “It is good to know that wills and life insurance policies can be amended anytime. Nothing we’ve done is written in stone. While we don’t anticipate changing our minds, and I genuinely believe that OrKidstra will be around for many years to come, the flexibility to amend amounts or add other charities makes the decision less stressful.”
Chayanika hopes by sharing her process she inspires others who are thinking about leaving a donation in their Will to take action. “Overall, I found the process of leaving a legacy gift meaningful and relatively simple. There was little reason for me to have even put it off this long!”
