Gifts of real estate can enable your Sutter Health affiliated organization to make significant investments in health care delivery. Since much of the individual assets in the U.S. are invested in real estate, these types of donations can also be an effective means of planning a gift.

Real estate donations could include a home, farm, vacation or second home, apartment or commercial building, shopping center, or undeveloped land. Each piece of property and its unique circumstances must be reviewed to determine the suitability of the property as a gift. Generally speaking a suitable real estate gift can readily be sold.

How it Works

Eileen and her husband, Paul had raised their three children in their family home. But after Paul passed away, Eileen realized that the house was too big, too much to maintain and even a bit lonely.

Eileen: "Paul always said that I was the solid one. If there was a decision to be made I could get to the bottom line pretty quickly. Well, the bottom line was that I needed to make a change for a number of reasons. I decided to move into a smaller place in town, easier to take care of and one that was part of a neighborhood where I could make some new friends and be a part of activities and things. And where my grandchildren could still come and visit."

"Paul and I had talked about what we would do when we got to this stage in our lives. I always thought he would be here with me, but that wasn't to be. I also knew I had enough money to live comfortably without needing funds from the sale of my house."

"My financial advisor helped me crunch the numbers. If I simply sold my house, there would be a large capital gain and taxes to pay. By putting my house in a trust and then selling it, I could avoid a taxable capital gain, because when I'm gone the trust goes to my local Sutter community hospital foundation. The trust takes the money from the sale of my house and invests it, while I get income from the trust for the rest of my life. When I’m gone, I know an organization that is doing great things right here in my community will receive the remainder of the trust and that will even save my family on estate taxes."

Ways to Donate Property

There are many ways to donate property. It can be an outright gift, a retained life estate, or placed in a trust.

In addition to making a significant contribution to your Sutter Health affiliate, a gift of real estate may provide other benefits:

• There may be a charitable income tax deduction that would lower your income tax.
• If your property has appreciated in value since you acquired it, there might be a large capital gain tax that would result if you sold it. By donating the property, you may be able to avoid realizing the capital gains.
• Depending on your state regulations, you may be able to turn the property into a gift that is structured to provide income for you and a beneficiary.
• If the property is your home or farm, you may be able to make a gift of it now and continue to live in it for the rest of your life and receive tax benefits the year your property is actually donated.
• If the contribution from your property exceeds the allowable charitable deduction limits, the deduction may be carried forward for five years.

There can be significant advantages to using property as a charitable gift. If you are considering such a gift to Sutter Health, please contact us to discuss its suitability and to discuss your unique circumstances.

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Please note, individual financial circumstances will vary. The information on this site does not constitute legal or tax advice. As with all tax and estate planning, please consult your attorney or estate specialist. All material is copyrighted and is for viewing purposes only. Use of this site signifies your agreement with the terms of use. The content in this Planned Giving section has been developed for Sutter Health by Future Focus. Please report any problems to the Webmaster Revised: June 23, 2006 11:53