Beneficiary Designations

With a charitable beneficiary designation, you can make a simple future gift that costs you nothing today.

You may find that creating a gift that you may change in the future if circumstances shift is a comfortable, convenient way to make a meaningful gift while keeping control of the gift property during your lifetime. The following assets can pass directly by beneficiary designation and not under your Will:

  • IRAs and other retirement accounts
  • Donor-Advised Funds (allowable for some DAFs, but not all)
  • Bank accounts (through a payable on death, or POD, designation)
  • Stock and mutual fund shares (through a transfer on death, or TOD, designation)
  • Real estate (through a TOD designation, allowable in more than half of US states)
  • Life insurance policies

A charitable beneficiary designation works like this:

  • You name Turning Point to receive the remaining assets or specific proceeds at the time of your death. You can do this at the time you purchase the asset or set up the fund or account, or you can easily create or change beneficiary designations using a Change of Beneficiary form.
  • You can choose to name Turning Point as the sole beneficiary, a percentage beneficiary (along with one or more heirs or other charitable beneficiaries), or a contingent beneficiary (to receive the assets only if the primary beneficiary cannot).
  • Turning Point has no rights to the asset/fund/account during your lifetime—we will only receive the designated amount after you pass away.
  • The beneficiary designation is revocable, meaning you can remove or change it at any point during your lifetime.
  • Some financial accounts or assets typically pass by Will but can pass directly to a named beneficiary if you opt to complete a form to set up a POD or TOD designation.

Beneficiary designations control some assets, but not all.

If you would like to make a similarly easy, flexible, revocable gift of other assets not named here, consider making a gift in your Will.

Evaluate the fit.

A charitable beneficiary designation may be a particularly good option to consider if you:

  • Want to leave a lasting legacy to support efforts to share the Gospel
  • Want to make a substantial gift in the future but also want to maintain flexibility over the assets during life
  • Want the ability to continue to use the assets during your life
  • Want the peace of mind that comes from knowing you can alter or revoke the gift if your situation changes
Life Insurance Form Application Security Concept

See how it works.

Years ago, when David’s wife died, he filed a Change of Beneficiary form on his life insurance policy, making his two grown children the primary beneficiaries and Turning Point a contingent beneficiary (to receive the proceeds only if his children could not). Now, both children are married with families of their own and are doing well financially. David plans to leave other assets to them and makes Turning Point the sole beneficiary of his life insurance policy. This allows him to meet his charitable goals while still retaining all his assets for use during retirement. In addition, he knows that if his situation changes, he can easily make another beneficiary change.

Flowchart: Beneficiary Designations. A donor designates a charity as the sole or partial beneficiary of a life insurance policy or retirement account. The donor enjoys a potential estate tax deduction and the proceeds/assets bypass probate.

Deborah adds a POD designation to her checking account and names Turning Point as the beneficiary. She retains complete control of the account and can change the beneficiary designation again at any time during her life. While the FDIC insures her other accounts and CDs at the same bank for a combined total of $250,000, her POD account has its own $250,000 coverage. At Deborah’s death, we must provide a certified copy of her death certificate to claim the money that remains in the account, which will then pass directly from the bank to Turning Point without going through probate.

Flowchart: Payable on Death. A donor designates a charity as beneficiary of a payable-on-death bank account, retaining ownership of account assets during life. At the donor's passing, POD assets bypass probate, and the charity receives ownership of all assets in account.
coins and silver calculator with text on display-payable

Consider your timing.

It is a good idea to regularly review your beneficiary designations. Since a charitable beneficiary designation does not qualify for an income tax charitable deduction, you can plan or change this gift at any time that is convenient for you.

We can help.

We can answer any questions you may have about this gift option. If you have already named us as the beneficiary of an asset or account, please let us know.

The Ministry's information is:

Legal name: Turning Point for God
Tax identification number: 33-0095805
10007 Riverford Rd.
Lakeside, CA 92040
(619) 258-3600

Contact Turning Point Ministries Foundation

Toll-Free Phone: 1-833-HIS-WORK (447-9675)
Email: PlannedGiving@DavidJeremiah.org

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