Estate and planned gifts propel our progress and allow us to continue providing progressive, life-saving programs that meet current and emerging needs of vulnerable dogs & cats throughout New Mexico. Please keep our vision alive by making an estate gift for the future benefit of pets in need.

Ways to Include Animal Humane New Mexico in Your Estate…

Some of the largest charitable gifts Animal Humane receives come from estate gifts,

There are many ways you may structure your gift to Animal Humane:

• A stated dollar amount or percentage of your estate
• A gift of securities (stocks, bonds, or mutual funds)
• A gift of property, such as real estate, collections, art, jewelry, or car
• A share of your residual estate after providing for your heirs and paying debts
• The remainder or a share of a living trust or charitable remainder trust
• List Animal Humane as the beneficiary of your savings or investment accounts, such as IRAs and Donor-Advised Funds

You may also make gifts outside your will, please see the options below.

Create a Will Today for Free

Animal Humane New Mexico is partnering with FreeWill.com to give you an easy, no-cost way to write a legally valid will online. We’re excited to offer this gift free of charge to make your love of pets live indefinitely!

You can use FreeWill to make a gift from your estate to Animal Humane to improve the lives of New Mexico’s cats and dogs for decades to come. The service is free whether or not you choose to leave a gift.

If you are working with an attorney on your estate plans, you can also use FreeWill to document and organize your wishes, saving you time and money.

Go to FreeWill.com/AnimalHumaneNMto begin your will. It takes on average 20 minutes and you can save your work for future updates.

Planning for Your Pet’s Future

A little planning can give you big peace of mind. By deciding now who can take care of your pets if they outlive you, you make a difficult transition much easier for your beloved companion. We can guide you through this process, whether you want your pets to come to Animal Humane or to someone you know and trust.

We have helped many friends with information about leaving Animal Humane New Mexico a charitable gift and planning for pets — and we would be happy to help you as well.

What is Planned Giving?

The term “planned giving” refers to a charitable gift that requires some pre-planning. When a donor leaves assets to Animal Humane in his or her Will, the estate receives a charitable tax deduction.

Types of Planned Gifts

Revocable Living Trust: These trusts are created during the donor’s lifetime and may be changed or revoked at any time. Upon death, ownership of assets is determined immediately as set forth in the trust document. Trust property may forego the probate process—compared to property distributed through a will, which requires probate—ensuring that your charitable wishes are carried out in a timely and cost-effective manner. A gift of this nature may also lower estate taxes.

Charitable Remainder Trust: This trust makes payments, either a fixed amount (annuity trust) or a percentage of trust principal (unitrust), to Animal Humane. Provisions may be included that allow income to be redirected back to you, and you may claim a tax deduction as well as not pay capital gains tax if the gift is of appreciated property. At the end of the trust term, Animal Humane receives the remaining funds in the trust. Charitable remainder unitrusts provide flexibility in income distribution and thus can be helpful with retirement planning.

Charitable Lead Trust: This trust makes payments, either a fixed amount (annuity trust) or a percentage of trust principal (unitrust), to Animal Humane during its term. At the end of the term, the remaining assets can revert back to the donor (a grantor lead trust) or to heirs named by the donor (a non-grantor lead trust.) The donor may claim a charitable tax deduction for funding a grantor or non-grantor lead trust. Since lead trusts are typically used to pass assets to heirs, non-grantor lead trusts are far more common. In this case, assets forego estate taxes at your passing, given that they have been removed from your taxable and probate estate.

Retained Life Estate:  A donor may make a gift of his or her personal residence, farm or vacation property to Animal Humane and retain the right to live there for the remainder of his or her life. The donor receives an immediate income tax deduction for the gift. At the donor’s death, Animal Humane may use or sell the property.

Real Estate: Appreciated real estate may allow a donor to avoid sizeable capital gains taxes. Depending on the appreciation, the tax savings may exceed the original cost of the property. Conversely, if real estate values have decreased over time, donors will benefit more by: 1. selling their depreciated property; 2. taking a capital loss; and, 3. receiving a charitable deduction for their cash gift.

Planned Gifts Outside Your Will

You do not have to make or change a Will to benefit Animal Humane at the time of your death. Virtually any account that allows you to designate a death beneficiary may be gifted to Animal Humane.

Life Insurance: You may name Animal Humane New Mexico as your beneficiary, co-beneficiary, or contingent beneficiary, of your insurance policies.

Financial Accounts: Most financial accounts may be made Payable on Death (POD) to a named beneficiary, including a nonprofit organization.

Retirement Savings: IRAs, pensions, 401K plans, and other retirement savings arrangements provide for death beneficiaries, including a nonprofit organization.

Revocable Living Trusts: Property placed in such a trust may be transferred to Animal Humane quickly given that these processions are not subject to the probate process.

Property Deeds: Consider naming Animal Humane as the Transfer on Death (TOD) beneficiary of your property, such as a house or undeveloped land.  A TOD deed bypasses probate and allows a gift of property to transfer directly to Animal Humane New Mexico’s ownership.

Vehicles: Gifts of automobiles and other kinds of titled vehicles must be included in your will.

Consult Your Financial Advisor

Your financial situation is unique. We strongly recommend that you consult your tax attorney, accountant, or financial advisor to help you include Animal Humane in your estate or trust planning. If you or your advisor have any questions, please email plannedgiving@animalhumanenm.org or call 505-938-7919.