Planning for LGBT Families and Individuals

David Miles and David Higgins have made a bequest to the ACLU.

Click here to read more about their decision and others' inspiring stories.

A comprehensive estate plan is especially important for LGBT individuals. Without systemic legal protections, LGBT people must plan early, plan comprehensively, and continue to update their plans throughout their lives. This is true regardless of wealth, age, or family situation.

Without a valid estate plan, the laws of your state dictate who will make your health care decisions, who will receive your assets, who will care for your minor children and how much taxes are owed. Without an estate plan, your assets will generally be distributed to your biological or legal children (if any), then your parents and/or other relatives regardless of whether or not you may wish them to benefit. The continually shifting legal landscape, both locally and nationally, makes it important to plan ahead. Even in states that have domestic partnership laws, state intestacy laws typically do not provide inheritance rights to domestic partners. At the federal level, same-sex spouses are not eligible for Social Security spousal benefits and are not eligible for the federal estate tax exemption or for the unlimited gift tax exclusion for gifts between spouses.

An estate plan generally includes some or all of the following documents, depending on the laws of your state, the structure of your family, and the size and complexity of your estate.

• Will and living trust
• Powers of attorney
• A Living Will
• Proper beneficiary designations on savings and retirement accounts and life insurance policies
• Guardianship and custody agreements

Supporting the ACLU

Planning is also an opportunity to explore the values you hold dear, support the causes you care about and leave a legacy of fairness and equality.

The ACLU is our nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties that the Constitution and laws of the United States guarantee everyone in this country.

Legacy giving to the ACLU allows you to achieve your philanthropic goals while also maximizing tax savings. You may wish to consider one of the following gifts to the ACLU as part of your estate and financial plan.

• Bequest: A bequest to the ACLU in a will or a living trust is the most flexible way to ensure that your legacy will make a difference for future generations.
• Beneficiary Designation: By naming the ACLU as the beneficiary of your retirement account and/or life insurance plan, your assets can pass directly to the ACLU while enabling you to avoid substantial income and, potentially, estate taxes.
• Life income gift: Make a contribution today through a charitable gift annuity or other life income gift and receive lifetime payments for you or another beneficiary (including a partner, friend, or family member).

Take the Next Step Toward Leaving your own Legacy of Liberty:

• Getting Started
• Request Information
• Tell Us About Your Gift
• Meet Our Team

Questions? We're here to help. Email us or call toll-free 877-867-1025.

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