FOR MARINE EMERGENCIES PLEASE CONTACT JOINT RESCUE COORDINATION CENTRE (JRCC) on VHF Channel 16 or CALL 1-800-567-5111, *16 or #727 or Dial 9-1-1

Leave a Legacy
Make A Gift for Future Generations

 

What Will Your Legacy Be?

It’s 2 am. The call goes out. Trained volunteers from all walks of life rush out into the freezing wind and darkness to save someone they’ve never met.

Leaving a gift to RCMSAR in your will can help bring our brave volunteer crews home safely. Your legacy will be the protective gear they can count on, the training that keeps them safe, and the strong rescue vessel that ploughs through fierce winds and waves to reach people in distress. Learn more about how your gift saves lives.

Legacy giving means making a charitable gift that maximizes your tax and financial benefits. You can decide if the gift is one-time, a series of payments or ongoing support.

While many donors make gifts through bequests in their will, there are other estate planning options. By including charitable gifts in your estate planning, you may eliminate significant taxes payable upon your death.

To learn how to leave a charitable gift in your will to RCMSAR, visit the Canadian Association of Gift Planners’ Will Power website.

A gift in your will is one of the most powerful gifts you can make. You can make a specific cash gift or leave a portion of your estate to Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue. Whatever form your donation takes, it will have the same effect: saving lives on the water for years to come.

Your estate will receive a tax receipt for the full value of your charitable gifts. This can minimize, or in some cases eliminate, taxes payable by your estate.

The most common types of bequests include:

  • Specific bequest: This is a gift of a specific amount of cash or piece of property, such as real estate, stocks, bonds, or works of art.
  • Residual bequest: What remains in your estate once all specific gifts, bills, and taxes are paid, is called the residue. You may choose to leave all, or a percentage, of your residue to Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue.
  • Contingent bequest: This gift only happens if certain conditions are met (for example, if someone you named to receive a bequest dies, you could name RCMSAR as the contingent beneficiary to receive this gift).

To include a gift in your will, share the following information with your legal advisor below or download our document Your legacy is a lifeline:

Legal Name: Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue Inc.
Address: 6040 East Sooke Road, Sooke, B.C. V9Z 0Z7
Charitable Registration Number: 106863137 RR0001

There are a number of options available for making a gift using life insurance. This can be part of your estate plan and deliver a large gift to Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue for a relatively small cost to you. And, a gift of this kind can generate tax benefits.

Deciding which option is best for you will depend on your circumstances. For example, you could decide to:

  • Establish a new policy and name Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue as the beneficiary: Your estate would receive a donation receipt for the full value of the proceeds (which would be paid to RCMSAR at the end of your lifetime).
  • Transfer the ownership of an existing policy that is fully paid, naming Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue as the beneficiary: When transferred, you receive a donation receipt for the cost or fair market value of the policy, and RCMSAR would receive the proceeds at the end of your lifetime.
  • Transfer the ownership of an existing policy that still has premiums owing, naming Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue: you receive a donation receipt for the cost or fair market value of the policy, plus a donation receipt for every premium paid. RCMSAR would receive the proceeds at the end of your lifetime.

We recommend speaking with your advisor for more details.

From an estate planning perspective, registered funds are the most heavily taxed asset in Canada. So unless these funds are rolled-over tax-free into a plan that names as beneficiary your spouse or a dependent (an underage child or grandchild or physically or mentally challenged individual), your estate will be faced with a significant tax liability. The value of the RRSP or RRIF will be taxed as ordinary income, often at the highest tax rate, in the year of death.

What are the benefits of choosing to donate registered fund proceeds?

  • By designating Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue as the beneficiary, your estate will receive a charitable tax receipt for the full amount which can offset income tax payable on your estate.
  • Proceeds are not subject to probate fees, and since it’s considered to be outside of your estate, proceeds are paid out upon notification of your death.
  • There are no fees involved. You don’t need to involve a lawyer, and it doesn’t cost anything to change the beneficiary name on your RRSO or RRIF plan.
  • You can change your mind at any time by simply completing a new beneficiary designation form.
  • You can split the proceeds among charities and individuals, using a multiple beneficiary designation form.
  • These gifts are confidential, so less likely to be open to legal challenges than bequests.

If you are interested in establishing a gift through your registered funds, we encourage you to talk to your financial institution and request the RRSP/RRIF Multiple Beneficiaries Designation Form.

Setting up a charitable remainder trust, and naming Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue as the beneficiary, allows you to arrange your legacy gift now, receive an immediate tax receipt, and enjoy the interest income from the trust during your lifetime.

Then, upon your death, what is left in this trust will be transferred to Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue.

You can set up a trust using a variety of assets, including cash, bonds, publicly-listed securities, or real estate. And, since these assets in the trust will not form part of your estate, there are no probate fees calculated on their value. Gifts through trusts are confidential and less likely to be open to legal challenges than bequests.

A donation through a charitable remainder trust can be a complex gifting arrangement and therefore we recommend you discuss this with your professional advisor. There are costs involved in setting up and maintaining trusts, and these vary depending upon the financial institution or trust company.

The benefits of donating securities versus cash for gifts made during your lifetime also apply when using securities to fulfill a charitable bequest. You can completely eliminate any capital gains tax by donating securities “whole” (or “in specie”) to RCMSAR through your estate. Make a gift of securities to RCMSAR here.