f 2 CHARITABLE R EMEMBER EState PLANNING & TAX TIPS FALL SSTANFORDTANFORD 2007 Creating a Legacy Leo Holub Leo STANFORD SCRAPBOOK Students on the Main Quad in the early 1960s BEQUESTS OF RETIREMENT PLANS : A TAX -WISE WAY TO CELEbrATE LIFELONG STANFO R D CONNE C TIONS ttending Stanford as an undergraduate of the power of ‘knowing’ history to shape lives.” A opened the door to a stimulating world of By far the most lasting impact was her time at new ideas and exceptionally talented people, says Stanford in Florence, Italy, in 1962–63. “My six Lauren Dunbar Keough, ’65 (history). “I was months there as a student, then two years as a eager to be challenged beyond my dreams,” she resident assistant, caused a huge shift in my world- recalls. “Stanford delivered well beyond that. Over view,” she says. “I came to understand that cultur- time, it became clear that my lifelong curiosity al, societal, and economic values are relative to a about the nature and history of everything had people’s history and language. I became more open been ignited at Stanford. I became in absolute awe to a global cultures perspective.” ❖ REMEMBER stanford CR EATING A LEGA C Y undergraduate independent research and international Lauren went on to become a documentary filmmaker and studies, as well as the range of multidisciplinary courses now runs her own personal and family history business. and majors, is simply amazing,” she says. “After I’m Lafayette, California–based Memoria specializes in video gone, my gift will be working at Stanford to support pro- biographies and photo storybooks that celebrate indi- grams I can’t imagine today. That’s thrilling!” vidual lives and preserve family legacy stories. AN EASY WAY TO GIVE Making a charitable bequest from an IRA is an easy and remarkably effective way to give, says John Lillie, ’59, MS ’64, MBA ’64. “I think that an estate plan that includes charitable giving should first look at any tax- deferred accounts available,” he says, pointing out that funds left to heirs from a tax-deferred retirement plan can be taxed at very high rates, since they are subject to both estate and income taxes. Up to 65 percent of the plan could go to the government in the form of taxes if an IRA or other tax-deferred plan is passed down to an heir, while there is no tax on these types of funds when left to the university. In addition, making Stanford a retirement plan ben- eficiary is a simple process—as easy as filling out a new Lauren Dunbar Keough, ’65 beneficiary form. “It’s done quickly and with flexibility,” Central to Lauren’s own legacy was her decision to says John, a retired business manager. “It’s a particularly make an estate gift to Stanford. easy way to do estate planning that many people aren’t When Lauren’s parents passed away, leaving her a aware of.” share of their Individual Retirement Account (IRA), she learned from a Stanford planned giving officer about the benefits of using a portion of her inheritance to make a tax-free bequest. “At the time,” Lauren says, “I had little confidence that I would be able to make a bequest from my personal investments and savings, so this provided the perfect opportunity to invest in Stanford’s future.” Her bequest will support the Bing Overseas Studies Program “with the hope that even more Stanford under- graduates will be able to expand their hearts and minds as I did by studying abroad,” she says. “This gift is a perfect legacy—one that treasures my parents’ love for me and their support for my Stanford education,” Lauren says. She also is honoring other fam- ily ties to the university: Her older sister, Carol Dunbar Tether, graduated from Stanford in 1961 in mathematics; and her younger brother, Robert B. Dunbar, is a professor of geological and environmental sciences and the Victoria Simon Joel John, ’59, MS ’64, MBA ’64, and Daryl Lillie P. and Roger W. Sant Director of Stanford’s Earth Systems Program. John and his wife, Daryl, decided to leave a portion of What was the tipping point for Lauren in making this an IRA to the university to add to their earlier gifts, which gift? “Stanford’s commitment to undergraduate educa- had created endowed scholarship funds in the business and tion continues to impress me. The stunning growth of engineering schools. “We think that supporting students ❖ 2 CHARITABLE ESTATE PLANNING is extremely important, and places like Stanford are very unaffordable for a lot of young people,” John says. After all, today’s educational choices “will influence develop- ments in the world for the next 40 to 50 years,” he adds, and he and Daryl hope their gifts will make a difference. The Lillies’ IRA gift also is a testimony to John’s long- term commitment to Stanford, which included service as a trustee from 1988 to 1998. Friends’ experiences at Stanford initially led John to the university after graduat- ing from South Pasadena-San Marino High School. He cherishes lifelong relationships with Stanford classmates, including a close 60-year friendship with a fraternity Virginia Voegeli Royden, ’48, MS ’49 brother with whom he attended grammar school, high school, and Stanford. After her husband passed away, Virginia WAT C HING STANFO R D GR O W —AND and her three children HELPING IT TH R IVE got together to talk about Virginia Voegeli Royden, ’48, MS ’49, also has many honoring him with a gift lifelong ties to Stanford. She initially caught the Stanford to Stanford. “We very bug from her high school French teacher on Long Island, much wanted to leave who sang the praises of his alma mater. A physics major some sort of memorial during World War II, Virginia excelled in math and sci- to Hal,” she recalls. Virginia and Halsey Royden on their wedding ence. At the time, because of the war, it was practically Her children “were day in 1948 “a girls’ school,” she recalls, but not entirely: It was in a very enthusiastic” about Bequests are vital to the long-term financial strength of Stanford University. When you include Stanford in your estate planning by making the university the beneficiary of your retirement plan, you help ensure Stanford’s future and contribute to the success of The Stanford Challenge. class at Stanford that she met her husband-to-be, Halsey a retirement plan gift. Virginia and her family decided this Royden, ’48, MS ’49. year to make Stanford the beneficiary of the couple’s IRA. Hal later became a professor of mathematics at Stan- The gift will create an endowed graduate fellowship at ford and served as dean of the School of Humanities and Stanford. In this way, the Royden family will continue to Sciences from 1973 to 1981, one of the longest terms help Stanford grow and thrive. in university history. Virginia also went back to the classroom, studying at the Stanford Graduate School of As Lauren, John, and Virginia discovered, a bequest Business in the 1970s. of a retirement plan is an ideal way to support the univer- Virginia and her husband were part of Stanford’s sity while honoring loved ones and celebrating lifelong transformation from a “rather small school” to a world- connections to Stanford. It is also a perfect vehicle for class institution. “Hal saw a lot of the internal workings those seeking an easy and tax-efficient way to give back. of the university,” she recalls. “He used to come home By naming Stanford as a beneficiary of their retirement and tell me about [Provost] Fred Terman, of whom he plans, these individuals have helped expand Stanford into thought very highly.” As time went on, “we watched new territories—whether by sending students to experi- Stanford becoming a major university. It’s great to see ence life overseas or by bringing more talented young that when it’s your school,” she says. scholars to enrich life on campus. v ❖ 3 REMEMBER stanford GOOD COUNSEL 2. Fill out the form naming Stanford University (Tax ID# 94-1156365) as a beneficiary (you can leave a percent- BY CAROL KERSTEN, JD ’82 age of the plan, up to 100 percent, to Stanford) and file it DIRECTOR OF PLANNED GIVING FOR THE Stanford UNIVERSITY with your plan administrator. MEDICAL CENTER 3. If you would like your gift to support a specific he experiences of Lauren school or program, please contact the Office of Planned T Dunbar Keough, John and Giving (650.725.4358 or 800.227.8977, ext. 54358, Daryl Lillie, and Virginia Royden e-mail: [email protected]) to docu- (see story beginning on page 1) Gladfelter Steve ment your wishes and to ensure that we can use your Carol Kersten, JD ’82 demonstrate that naming Stanford gift appropriately. (See the sample designation as a beneficiary of your retirement plan [e.g., IRA, 401(k), letter below.) 403(b), Keogh, or SEP] can be an excellent way to establish 4. It is a good idea to make sure your estate planning a lasting legacy at Stanford. And as Doug Brown points out attorney knows when you change beneficiaries (opposite), retirement plan assets left to individuals (other of your retirement plan since it could affect other than a spouse) may be subject to both estate and income aspects of your estate plan. taxes, sometimes resulting in as much as 65 percent going to taxes, while naming a charity like Stanford avoids all Naming Stanford as a beneficiary of your retirement plan taxes with the full amount of the plan being distributed for qualifies you for membership in Stanford’s Founding the purposes the donor wishes to support.