Planned Giving – Ways to Plan Wisely

Special Announcement:

Gift Annuity Rates have increased as of January 1, 2024!  Your new gift annuity rates are from 5.2% to 10.1% (depending on your age and number of annuitants). And new legislation may now allow you to fund your gift with retirement assets. Contact us for details and personalized illustrations


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Did you know that there are a variety of ways to achieve your financial goals, maximize the impact of your giving to Weill Cornell Medicine, and create your unique legacy to improve the future of medicine?

Tax-wise strategies that can protect your needs and enhance your gift’s impact

  • Future Gifts: Minimal cost, easy to arrange and allow full control of your assets during your lifetime. Gifts may be for a specific dollar amount, percentage, full or partial remainder of your assets.
    • Bequest in a Will or Revocable Trust: As simple as adding a sentence or codicil.
    • Beneficiary Designations: Fill out a beneficiary form for your retirement, donor-advised funds, financial accounts or life insurance policy.
    • Sample Language for your attorney/administrator for your revocable will or beneficiary designation for much-needed unrestricted support. To restrict your designation or personalize your gift, simply contact us and we will help you and your advisors with the language:

Cornell University, in Ithaca, NY, for the benefit of its Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, NY.” Our tax ID is #15-0532082.

  • Gifts that Provide Tax and Payment Benefits in Return
    • Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA): Provides you or loved ones immediate fixed annuity payments, based on age of annuitant(s) when established. Call for our latest rates.
    • Charitable Remainder Trust: Provides you or loved ones fixed rate or variable rate payments, with greater flexibility than a CGA.
    • Charitable Lead Trust (CLT): Provides fixed annual payments to Weill Cornell Medicine and tax savings for the donor or heirs.

Flexible assets that make giving easier

  • Appreciated Securities: Gifts of marketable securities held for more than one year are for the full fair market value and allow you to eliminate capital gains tax.
  • Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from Retirement Accounts: If you are 70 ½ or older, you can make a tax-wise qualified charitable distribution from your IRA of up to $100,000 per person ($200,000 per couple) to Weill Cornell Medicine.
  • Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs): Ongoing grants can be made from your DAF to Weill Cornell Medicine, or from DAFs funded in prior years. Establishing a DAF can provide a charitable deduction.
  • Real Estate, Bargain Sale, Retained Life Estate: You can contribute the entire asset, or donate it and continue to live in the property.
  • Other AssetsArt, personal collections, private or corporate stock, cryptocurrencies or royalties may be an option.

The Lewis Atterbury Stimson Society – Join Us!

The Stimson Society honors a distinguished community of alumni, faculty, friends, patients and staff who have included Weill Cornell Medicine as a beneficiary in their financial or estate plans. Members are invited to special events, including our Plan Well, Live Well webinars, and receive our Philanthropist newsletter. If you have included Weill Cornell Medicine in your plans, please let us know so we may honor your generosity.

We Can Help

To learn more, or to request a personalized, obligation-free gift illustration, please contact:

Lisa Lager, Director of Planned Giving
(646) 962-9567 or 
plannedgiving@med.cornell.edu

This is general information on tax and financial planning for our friends and supporters. Please consult your attorney or other advisor as to the applicability of any option to your personal situation.

Stay Connected, Stay Informed


Plan Well, Live Well Webinars – Join us for these free educational webinars that offer valuable perspectives from experts on personal, financial and estate planning. You will hear how to build a more stable financial future, supplement retirement income, provide more for heirs and enhance the impact of your giving.

Upcoming Webinars


Contact us to register at 646-962-9567 or plannedgiving@med.cornell.edu

All webinars will be from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET (details to follow)

  • July 23, 2024 webinar (topic and speakers to be announced)

Past Webinars


Tuesday

May

14

May 14, 2024 webinar – Impactful Philanthropy – a Special Panel on Legacy Giving

Three generous donors discussed what inspired them to give to Weill Cornell Medicine, what motivated their philanthropy in general and how giving made them feel.



Tuesday

Jan

30

Important 2024 Tax and Estate Tips: What You Need to Know Now

Martin Shenkman, Weill Cornell Medicine Planned Giving Council member, estate planning expert, attorney, accountant and author provided an update on pending tax and estate law changes and explained options to consider for how to provide financial security for your loved ones and favorite charitable causes.


Tuesday

Mar

12

Maximizing Your Giving and Creating a Legacy – Crafting a Charitable Roadmap

Two members of the Weill Cornell Professional Advisory Council, Jacques E. Boubli, CFP, investment advisor and certified financial planner and Avery E. Neumark, CPA, JD, LLM, attorney and accountant, shared an overview of issues you may want to consider as you create or review your philanthropic roadmap, including your motivations, goals, and levels of involvement. They also discussed estate and tax laws that affect planning opportunities and strategies that can help you achieve your philanthropic goals.


Tuesday

Nov

14

How to Choose the Right Fiduciaries for your Estate Plan - Executors, Trustees, Health Care Proxies and Power of Attorney Agents

Estate attorney Jill Miller, member of the Weill Cornell Medicine Professional Advisory Council and director of the Estate Planning Clinic at Cornell Law School, reviewed each of the roles in a typical estate plan and explored the qualities required for each fiduciary role.


Tuesday

Sep

19

Four Mistakes People Make in Estate Planning and How to Avoid Them

Estate attorney Jill Miller, a member of the Weill Cornell Medicine Professional Advisory Council and director of the Estate Planning Clinic at Cornell Law School, discussed common problems include minimization of expenses and taxes, protecting privacy, asset protection and reducing family discord.


Tuesday

June

6

Retirement and Estate Planning: Mistakes to Avoid and Steps to Succeed

Jacques E. Boubli, CFP, investment advisor and certified financial planner and Avery Neumark, CPA, JD, LLM, attorney and accountant, shared recently enacted laws which affect planning opportunities and strategies.


Tuesday

Nov

15

Essential Estate Planning Strategies: What You need to know

Lisa Newfield, Esq., an estate planning expert and member of the Weill Cornell Professional Advisory Council, shared key steps, strategies and important health and legal documents needed to plan for a secure future.


Tuesday

Sep

20

Retirement Planning: Tips for Smooth Sailing Through Stormy Times

Two members of the Weill Cornell Medicine Professional Advisory Council – Jacques E. Boubli, CFP, investment advisor and Certified Financial Planner, and Avery Neumark, CPA, JB, LLM, attorney and accountant – will explain flexible options to supplement retirement income, preserve wealth for heirs and save taxes.


Tuesday

July

19

Financial Planning: Mistakes to Avoid and Steps to Succeed

Kim Isaacs Katz, a financial advisor and member of the Weill Cornell Professional Advisory Council, and Elizabeth Sohmer, a certified financial planner, shared key steps to increase your financial wellness.


Tuesday

May

24

Essential Estate Planning Strategies: Key Steps to Provide More for Heirs While Creating Your Unique Legacy

Financial advisor Kim Isaacs Katz and her colleague, estate planning attorney Jennifer B. Goode, shared key steps you can take today to increase your estate and financial planning wellness.


Tuesday

March

8

2022 Tax-Smart Financial Planning Update

Two members of the Weill Cornell Professional Advisory Council – Jacques E. Boubli, CFP, investment advisor and Certified Financial Planner, and Avery Neumark, CPA, JB, LLM, attorney and accountant – explained current and pending tax law changes that may impact your financial planning. They shared how charitable giving strategies may help you preserve wealth for your heirs, supplement retirement income and save taxes.


Tuesday

Dec

7

How to Make the Most of Year-End Charitable Giving for 2021

Two members of the Weill Cornell Professional Advisory Council, Jacques E. Boubli, CFP, investment advisor and Certified Financial Planner, and Avery Neumark, CPA, JB, LLM, attorney and accountant, explained pending tax law changes that may impact your financial planning. They shared how charitable giving strategies may help you preserve wealth for your heirs, supplement retirement income, and save taxes.


Tuesday

Oct

12

Creative Strategies to Pass Your Wealth to Your Heirs - What you need to know about new tax proposals

Martin M. Shenkman, CPA, MBA, PFS, AEP, JD, an estate planning attorney and member of the Weill Cornell Medicine Professional Advisory Council, provided an update on economic and pending tax law policy changes and how they may impact your estate and financial planning.


Tuesday

July

13

Special Edition - Financial and Estate Planning Issues for Women

11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. ET
Kim Isaacs Katz, a financial advisor and member of the Weill Cornell Professional Advisory Council, and Tara Thompson Popernik, a certified financial planner, shares key steps you can take to increase your financial wellness.


Tuesday

May

25

Planning Wisely: Strategies to Secure the Future for Yourself, Your Family and Your Favorite Causes

Two members of the Weill Cornell Professional Advisory Council, Jacques E. Boubli, investment advisor and CFP, and Avery Neumark, CPA, JB, LLM, attorney and accountant, explain the new tax law changes and how they may impact current and future personal planning, so you can plan well and live well, and maximize the impact of your philanthropy.


Tuesday

March

9

Essential Planning Strategies 2021 Update – What You Need to Know

Martin M. Shenkman, CPA, MBA, PFS, AEP, JD, an estate planning attorney and member of the Weill Cornell Medicine Professional Advisory Council, provides an update on economic and tax law policy changes and how they may impact your estate and financial planning.


Tuesday

Jan

26

Understanding Market Opportunities and Risks During Unusual Economic Times

Kim Isaacs Katz, a financial advisor and member of the Weill Cornell Medicine Professional Advisory Council, and Roosevelt D. Bowman, an investment strategist, share key steps you can take today to plan well and live well.


Tuesday

Oct

13

Important 2020 Tax Law Changes and Year-End Planning Opportunities: What You Need to Know

Two members of the Weill Cornell Medicine Professional Advisory Council – investment advisor and financial planner Jacques E. Boubli, CFP and attorney and accountant Avery E. Neumark, CPA, JD, LLM – explain how to navigate the new tax laws (the SECURE Act and CARES Act), supplement retirement income, provide more for heirs and create a lasting legacy.


Tuesday

Sept

15

Planning Wisely for Yourself, Your Family and Your Favorite Causes

Jill Miller, Esq., an estate planning attorney and member of the Weill Cornell Medicine Professional Advisory Council, shares key steps you can take today to plan for a more secure future.