Gifts of Bank and Investment Accounts

In the “Bequests” page of our website, we briefly mentioned that a bank account (such as savings or checking) could be a specific asset included in a gift to the David Horowitz Freedom Center through your will or revocable living trust. The same concept applies to investment accounts. There are other methods for transferring such accounts to the Freedom Center that happen outside of probate, don’t require you to have a will or trust and, if you do, supersede anything regarding those accounts in your will or trust. These are the transfer-on-death, or TOD, account and the, payment-on-death, or POD account. A TOD is generally only used for investable assets, such as securities, bonds and mutual funds held at a financial institution such as a brokerage firm. A POD is very similar to a TOD, but it deals with savings accounts, some checking accounts, money market accounts and CDs, generally held at a bank.

Advantages of a gift of a TOD or POD account:

  • By establishing a TOD or POD provision, you can transfer assets to the David Horowitz Freedom Center without the expense of a will or trust.
  • Through a TOD or POD arrangement, you can bypass the delays and costs associated with probate and qualify for an estate tax charitable deduction.
  • You do not have to work with an attorney or accountant or prepare or revise a will or trust.
  • You still have full control of the account during your lifetime.
  • You can change the beneficiary at any time if your circumstances change.
  • You will have the satisfaction of knowing that the full amount of the account remainder at your passing will go to support the mission of the David Horowitz Freedom Center and not mostly to the IRS or state taxing authority for estate taxes.

How to make the Freedom Center the beneficiary of your TOD or POD account:

  • Request a POD beneficiary designation form from your bank account manager and/or a TOD beneficiary designation form from your investment account manager. State laws govern TOD and POD designations, so your financial institution will give you the appropriate form(s) based on the state where you live.
  • Designate the David Horowitz Freedom Center as the beneficiary of your account(s).
  • Return the completed beneficiary designation form(s) to your bank and/or brokerage firm.

These are the basics of making such a gift to the Freedom Center. Your account manager at the bank or brokerage firm can provide you with more details on these and other options for using POD and TOD accounts to support our mission.

Let Us Thank You

If you plan on making a legacy gift to the Freedom Center, or if you already have, please let us know so that we can thank you.  You can click on the “Contact us” link below, complete the form there and hit the appropriate button to send it to us. You can email us at legacy@horowitzfreedomcenter.org. Or you can call Jay Ornellas, Director of Development, at (818) 849-3470 ext. 213. Thank you, in advance, for considering the David Horowitz Freedom Center for a legacy gift

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