Entering information for multiple beneficiaries

Planned gifts often have more than one non-charitable beneficiary. For example, a gift annuity might make payments to a husband and wife or a charitable lead trust might distribute its principal to several children of the donor when the trust terminates.

The proper way to enter information for gifts with multiple beneficiaries depends on the type of gift and on whether the beneficiaries are consecutive or concurrent. The different approaches are described below.

1. Add each person who is a beneficiary of the gift. $image\chiclet.gif$ How?

2. Open the Person Information of the appropriate gift beneficiary. $image\chiclet.gif$ How?

Charitable remainder annuity trust, charitable remainder unitrust, gift annuity, pooled income fund
Open the Person Information of the beneficiary who will first receive income from the gift. If more than one person will receive income first (i.e., the beneficiaries are concurrent), open the Person Information of any one of these beneficiaries.

Charitable lead annuity trust, charitable lead unitrust, retained life estate
Open the Person information of any of the beneficiaries.

3. Add the gift. $image\chiclet.gif$ How?

Regardless of how the beneficiaries will split their interests in the gift, create a single gift record for the full amount of the gift. In other words, enter all basic information on the gift based on the full gift amount. Do this even if two spouses will be splitting the income from a gift annuity or each beneficiary's part of a remainder trust will be distributed to the charity when each beneficiary dies. In these cases, you will need to split check and tax information only.

Loading gift information from a file
If you plan to load gift information from a file created in Planned Giving Manager or Mini Manager (PGM/Mini), read the information below step 4 before you load the file. It will help you create a file with the correct information. If necessary, correct the gift information file you saved previously by creating the gift information file again in PGM/Mini.

4. Associate each beneficiary with the gift. $image\chiclet.gif$ How?

Charitable gift annuity

Consecutive beneficiaries

Associate the first beneficiary of the annuity income as the Bene-A (or Donor/Bene-A). Enter payment amounts and tax tier information based on the full gift amount in the check schedule and tax information schedule of the Bene-A. Associate the gift's other income beneficiary as a Bene-I (or Donor/Bene-I).

Concurrent beneficiaries

Spouses: If the concurrent beneficiaries are spouses who file a joint tax return and receive payments jointly, designate one of the spouses as the Bene-A (or Donor/Bene-A). Enter the names of both spouses in the Pay to the Order of field as you want them to appear on each check. Enter the full payment amounts in the Bene-A's check schedule and the full tax information into the Bene-A's tax information schedule. Associate the other spouse as a Bene-I (or Donor/Bene-I). This way, a 1099-R tax form based on the full annuity amount will be printed for the Bene-A only. If the Bene-A dies first, Record Death will properly adjust the check and tax information schedules for both spouses and make the surviving spouse the new Bene-A.

If you plan to load gift information from a file created in PGM/Mini, create the file based on the full gift amount. This way, the payment amounts and tax tier information loaded for the spouse you designate as the Bene-A will be correct.

If the spouses will receive separate checks, whether they file a joint tax return or separate returns, enter their information as if they were non-spouse concurrent beneficiaries. See Non-spouses below.

Non-spouses: Associate each beneficiary as a Bene-A (or Donor/Bene-A). Enter the payment amounts to be paid to each beneficiary in their respective check schedule and the corresponding tax tier information in their respective tax information schedule. This way, each Bene-A will receive their own checks and their own 1099-R tax form.

If you plan to load gift information from a file created in PGM/Mini, create the file based on half the gift amount. This way, the payment amounts and tax tier information loaded for each beneficiary will be correct. All you need to do is change the figure loaded into the Amount field to the correct gift amount (it will be half of what it should be). If the two beneficiaries split the annuity 50/50, the Record Death routine will let you transfer the deceased's remaining check and tax information to the survivor automatically when you record the death of one of them.

Charitable remainder annuity trust and charitable remainder unitrust

Consecutive beneficiaries

Associate the first beneficiary of the trust as the Bene-A (or Donor/Bene-A). If you wish, enter payment amounts in the check schedule of the Bene-A. Associate each of the gift's other income beneficiaries as a Bene-I (or Donor/Bene-I).

Concurrent beneficiaries

Spouses: If the concurrent beneficiaries are spouses and receive payments jointly, designate one of the spouses as the Bene-A (or Donor/Bene-A). Enter the names of both spouses in the Pay to the Order of field as you want them to appear on each check. If you enter payment amounts, enter the full payment amounts in the Bene-A's check schedule. Associate the other spouse as a Bene-I (or Donor/Bene-I).

If the spouses receive separate checks, associate each of them as a Bene-A (or Donor/Bene-A), then enter each of their names in their respective Pay to the Order of field. If you enter payment amounts, enter each spouse's share of the income in their respective check schedule.

Non-spouses: Associate each of the beneficiaries who will receive income first as a Bene-A (or Donor/Bene-A). If you wish, enter the payment amounts to be paid to each of these beneficiaries in their respective check schedules. Associate each of the gift's other income beneficiaries as a Bene-I (or Donor/Bene-I).

Pooled income fund

Consecutive beneficiaries

Associate the first beneficiary of the pooled fund income as the Bene-A (or Donor/Bene-A). If you wish, enter past payment amounts in the check schedule of the Bene-A. Associate each of the gift's other income beneficiaries as a Bene-I (or Donor/Bene-I).

Concurrent beneficiaries

Associate each of the beneficiaries who will receive income first as a Bene-A (or Donor/Bene-A). If you wish, enter past payment amounts paid to each of these beneficiaries in their respective check schedules. Associate each of the gift's other income beneficiaries as a Bene-I (or Donor/Bene-I).

Charitable lead annuity trust and charitable lead unitrust
Whether a current or secondary beneficiary, associate each beneficiary of the lead trust as a Bene-N or Donor/Bene-N, whichever is appropriate.

Retained life estate
Whether a current or secondary beneficiary, associate each beneficiary of the retained life estate as a Bene-N or Donor/Bene-N, whichever is appropriate.

Notes:

· There is help available on each field.