Planned Giving

Her Story

In the early years of Archbishop Murphy High School (originally called Holy Cross High School) the school faced many financial challenges. Those who worked at the school often had to wait several weeks to deposit their paycheck, and many served the community without full compensation. These pioneers of AMHS made their service an act of sacrifice. An amazing story of the early years was of Sister Aquinata, a Dominican Sister who was friends with one of the founding families. As she was visiting with the family, Sister Aquinata was asked to say a prayer for the school as they were short on a payment. The next day she presented the family with a $25,000 check to help the school get through the hardship. This was a lifetime of savings, and she willingly gave it to AMHS. This was her sacrificial gift.

We are inspired by those who give so willingly and make their gift a true sacrifice. The word sacrifice derives from the Latin words saker (sah-ker) meaning sacred or holy, and fakio (fah-kee-oh) meaning do or make—thus by definition sacrifice means to “make sacred” or “to make holy”. Giving is an act of love, and proves the adage: It is far better to give than to receive. We’ve heard beautiful stories of generosity, including the founding of our school by a group of Catholic families who wanted to see a Catholic high school in Snohomish County.

Please consider leaving Archbishop Murphy High School in your estate plans or in your annual charitable distributions.

Their Story

Dawn and Paul Lawrence had many friends at Archbishop Murphy High School prior to their arrival in 2006 and 2007. Paul taught history and coached football at both Cascade Everett High School and Everett High School. At AMHS, Paul coached the offensive line and hosted “lineman dinners” at his house during his two years on staff. After his good friend Terry Ennis passed away in 2007, Paul helped strategize offensive game plans with coaches Rick Stubrud and Roger Brodniak.

Dawn joined the science department at AMHS following a 32-year stint at Cascade Everett High School where she taught biology and was the Head Girls Track coach. In addition to teaching biology at AMHS, Dawn started a gardening club and a recycling club and her planters graced the campus at the front entrance and commons areas. As she bravely battled cancer, Dawn continued to teach until a week prior to her death in November 2011. Several members of the AMHS community planted her favorite flower--daffodils--along the berm behind the west side of the football/soccer/lacrosse field. They still bloom to this day each spring. Dawn and Paul planted their seed at AMHS and now it blooms for years to come.

Following Dawn’s death, Paul remained connected to AMHS and he attended countless games and events over the years. He was very supportive of the auction and other fundraising events targeted at helping students. Paul was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic Church and he joined the Immaculate Conception Parish. Paul passed away in the fall of 2017 following a courageous bout with cancer.

Dawn and Paul both left AMHS in their estate plans with the intent of continuing to support high school students both in the classroom and on the playing fields. Their contributions were directed to the Terry Ennis Endowment, which was established to provide tuition assistance for families in need. Please consider leaving Archbishop Murphy High School in your estate plans or in your annual charitable distributions.

A charitable bequest in your will or trust is one of the easiest and most flexible ways to leave a gift to AMHS that will make a lasting impact. The charitable bequest can be a percentage of your estate, a specific dollar amount or a specific asset from your estate, or the balance or residue of your estate after all other bequests have been met.

Benefits of a charitable bequest are:

• It supports a cause you care about
• Your estate can receive an estate tax charitable deduction
• It can reduce the burden of estate taxes on your family

With help from an attorney, you can include language in your will or trust specifying a gift be made to AMHS as part of your estate.

Types of Trust

Grantor Lead Trust

With a grantor lead trust, you make a contribution of your property to fund the trust and then the trust makes annual payments to AMHS for a specified number of years. You receive a gift or estate tax deduction at the time of your gift. When the specified number of years is up, you or your family receive the assets back from the trust, including any appreciation the trust has earned over that period of time.

A grantor lead trust is only one type of charitable lead trust. Consult an attorney or other professional advisor if you are interested in setting up a charitable lead trust.

Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust

With a charitable remainder annuity trust, you transfer cash or assets to fund the trust and the trust assets are invested to pay you, or any other trust beneficiaries you specify, a fixed income amount for life or a term of up to 20 years. You receive an income tax deduction in the year you transfer the assets to the trust and, if the assets have appreciated value, they can be sold by the trust with no capital gains tax assessed. AMHS benefits from what remains in the trust after all the annual payments have been made.

A remainder annuity trust is only one type of charitable remainder trust. Consult an attorney or other professional advisor if you are interested in setting up a charitable remainder trust.

Give it Twice Trust

With a give it twice trust, you set up a charitable remainder unitrust and then name the trust as the beneficiary of your IRA or other retirement account. When you pass away, the retirement account funds are transferred to the trust and the trust pays income to your spouse, children or other individual beneficiaries for their life, a term of years, or life plus a term of years. At the conclusion of these payments, the balance of the trust is transferred to AMHS.

Charitable bequests using a will or trust are complex and you should consult with an attorney or other professional advisor to prepare these types of documents.

You may have investment assets that you can give now and receive significant income tax benefits. Two options are listed below.

Stocks and Bonds

Donating appreciated stocks and bonds provides you with an immediate charitable income tax deduction for the mean fair market value on the date of the gift and avoids paying capital gains tax on the appreciated value (value on date of gift less your original purchase price).

Please contact us for instructions on how you can transfer stock or bonds directly from your brokerage or investment account to AMHS. Note: If you sell the stock and donate the cash, you do not get the tax benefits stated in the previous paragraph. You must donate the actual shares of stock.

IRA Charitable Rollover

Once you reach the age of 70 ½ and have a traditional IRA account, you must begin to take annual distributions of a certain amount determined by federal tax law called the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD). If you find that the RMD is for an amount larger than you need for your daily use, you can make an IRA Charitable Rollover to AMHS of up to $100,000 per individual per year. The benefits of an IRA Charitable Rollover are:

• The rollover amount is not included in gross income for federal income tax purposes (consequently, no charitable deduction is allowed for this gift)
• It can satisfy all or part of your RMD for the year

Contact your IRA plan administrator to request that all or part of your RMD (up to $100,000) be directly transferred from your account to AMHS. Note that the transfer must be direct and made by December 31. Funds that are withdrawn by you and then donated do not qualify. Gifts from other types of retirement accounts do not qualify.

The Wildcat Legacy Society was created as a way for Archbishop Murphy High School to recognize and thank donors who have made a planned gift to the school. Wildcat Legacy Society members are supporters of AMHS and Catholic education who wish to see the mission of our school live on well into the future.

Members receive special recognition on the school’s website, in the Annual Report, and other AMHS publications, as well as, a membership certificate.

If you have already named AMHS as a beneficiary in your will, trust, insurance policy or retirement plan, we invite you to become an official member of the Wildcat Legacy Society.

Michael and Barb Alfond

Don+ and Millie+ Demers

Lon and Joan Carlson

Dick and Mary+ Henderson

James+ and Ina+ Henry

Paul+ and Dawn+ Lawrence

Deacon Dennis and Mary Kelly

Father Joseph Marquart+

Patricia Radle

Duane and Mary Schireman

+ Deceased

Beneficiary Designation Gifts

Beneficiary designation gifts are simple and straightforward. They are typically gifts where the donor designates an organization or individual as the beneficiary of a retirement, investment or bank account or a life insurance policy. They are also among the most flexible of all charitable gifts. Even after you complete the gift, you can continue to use these accounts including taking distributions or withdrawals. You can change your mind at any time in the future if your financial circumstances unexpectedly change.

Benefits of a Beneficiary Designation Gift are:

• It supports a cause you care about
• You can continue to use the account, therefore, not impacting your financial status during your lifetime
• It is simple and less expensive to implement
• It can reduce the burden of estate taxes on your family
• Your estate can receive an estate tax charitable deduction

Types of Beneficiary Designation Gifts

Insurance Policy

You can designate AMHS as a partial, full or contingent beneficiary of your life insurance policy. You will continue to own and can make use of the policy during your lifetime. Or, if you find that the policy has outlasted its original purpose, you can gift it now and AMHS can cash in the policy and put the funds to work immediately.

To make a gift of life insurance, contact your life insurance provider and complete a beneficiary designation form adding AMHS as a beneficiary of the policy.

Retirement Funds

Many people do not use all of their retirement funds, such as IRA, 401(k), 403(b) and pension accounts, during their lifetime. These unused funds can be an excellent way to make a partial, full or contingent beneficiary designated gift. Retirement funds are likely to be taxed if you leave them to your heirs at both the federal and state levels which could reduce the amount by as much as 70%. As a non-profit corporation, we are not taxed upon receiving proceeds from these retirement funds. Further, your estate will get an estate tax charitable deduction for the gift.

To leave part or all of your unused retirement funds to AMHS, contact your retirement plan custodian and complete a beneficiary designation form adding AMHS as a beneficiary.

Bequest language, included in your will or trust document, can come in many different forms. The following are some common examples.

Bequest of a specific dollar amount or a particular asset:

“I give to Archbishop Murphy High School located at 12911 39^th Avenue NE, Everett, Washington, 98208, $_________ dollars, to be used for the benefit of said school in such a manner as the Board of Trustees may direct.”

Or

“I give to Archbishop Murphy High School located at 12911 39^th Avenue NE, Everett, Washington, 98208, #____ of shares of XYZ stock, to be used for the benefit of said school in such a manner as the Board of Trustees may direct.”

Bequest payable out of the general assets of your estate:

“I give to Archbishop Murphy High School located at 12911 39^th Avenue NE, Everett, Washington, 98208, an amount equal to five percent (5%) of my adjusted gross estate, to be used for the benefit of said school in such a manner as the Board of Trustees may direct.”

Contingent bequest takes effect only upon the occurrence or non-occurrence of an event:

“In the event my spouse does not survive me, I give the sum of $________ dollars to Archbishop Murphy High School located at 12911 39^th Avenue NE, Everett, Washington, 98208, to be used for the benefit of said school in such a manner as the Board of Trustees may direct.”

A restricted bequest used to support a particular program:

“I give to Archbishop Murphy High School located at 12911 39^th Avenue NE, Everett, Washington, 98208, $_________ dollars, to be used for (specify program or purpose). (Note: use general language so that the restriction is not so limited as to prevent the school from applying the gift in the most efficient way). If it is determined by the Board of Trustees of the school that all or part of the gift is no longer needed, or for any reason cannot be used for the stated purpose, then such portion of the gift may be used for other related purposes, which the Board of Trustees deems to be in the best interests of the school, giving consideration to the original purposes described above.”

It is important that you or your legal advisor discuss your plans with AMHS before your estate plan is completed.

Bequest to set up a restricted endowment:

“I give to Archbishop Murphy High School located at 12911 39^th Avenue NE, Everett, Washington, 98208, $__________ to establish the _________(name) Endowment within the AMHS Endowment Fund. The income from the endowment fund, whether realized or unrealized, can be distributed to the school for (state purpose). If it is determined by the Board of Trustees of the school that all or part of the gift is no longer needed, or for any reason cannot be used for the stated purpose, then the income from the fund may be used for other purposes, which the Board of Trustees deems to be in the best interests of the school, giving consideration to the original purposes described above.”

It is important that you or your legal advisor discuss your plans with AMHS before your estate plan is completed. The minimum for a named endowment fund at AMHS is $10,000.

The purpose of this site is to provide information of a general character only. AMHS is in no way dispensing legal or financial advice or counsel. Laws vary widely, therefore, the services of an attorney or other professional advisor should be obtained before completing your gift.

If you have any questions about leaving a bequest to AMHS, please contact us. We would be happy to assist you.

If you have made a bequest to AMHS as part of your estate plan, please let us know. We would like to recognize you and your family for your generous gift that will have a lasting impact on our students and community.

Steve Schmutz
sschmutz@am-hs.org