Are you looking for ways to reduce capital gains tax on the sale of your appreciated assets, save and plan for the future or save on your income taxes? A planned gift can help you achieve your goals. It’s possible to increase your income now or in the future and save money on taxes — while you create your legacy and support charitable work in your community.
Here are a few ideas to consider for year-end planning:
- If you own low-yielding assets and want a higher income, a charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust may be worth exploring. In exchange for your charitable gift of cash or appreciated securities, you reap multiple benefits, including payments for your lifetime, a current income tax deduction and bypassing all or a portion of the capital gains on appreciated assets.
- Making a charitable gift of your old, unneeded or obsolete life insurance policy can provide you with a charitable income tax deduction now and a reduced taxable estate later.
- If your estate plans include leaving your residence to charity, you may wish to create a charitable life estate arrangement. You can make a charitable gift of your property today and receive a current income tax deduction while maintaining your lifetime use and enjoyment of the property.
To see if these ideas may work for you, call your tax advisor.
NATIONAL KIDNEY FOUNDATION OF HAWAII
808-589-5976 | jeff@kidneyhi.org
For Planned Giving: www.kidneyhawaii.org
Main: www.kidneyhi.org | www.kidney.org
If truth is stranger than fiction, then this book is the strangest you will ever read. James Dooley, a former investigative reporter for The Honolulu Advertiser, KITV 4 News and Hawaii Reporter, details public corruption and criminality in Hawai‘i during the 70’s and 80’s. A lot of Dooley’s sleuthing formed the basis of the original essay called “Broken Trust,” printed in the old Honolulu Star-Bulletin and later published as a book. Dooley’s gripping memoirs of ties among celebrities, Teamsters, politicians and judges weaves a broad web of “how things were done in Hawai‘i.”
911 dispatchers need callers to give them vital information so they may dispatch EMTs and Firemen to emergencies. Many victims cannot give proper information: little children, victims of heart attacks and strokes, people who are choking, people who don’t speak English, or cannot hear what 911 is asking. Dispatchers lose precious minutes attempting to find out a callers’ exact location and information. With Smart911, they already know where you are and what medications you take. For elderly persons living alone, Smart911 is a very important breakthrough.
When it comes to Alzheimer’s disease, anything that offers hope gets attention. Dr. Blake analyses the latest scientific information and results from his clinical trials with Alzheimer’s patients at Hawaii Pacific Neuroscience Institute on O‘ahu, and dishes us up a simple diet — berries, green vegetables, nuts and beans — to prevent and slow the progression of Alzheimer’s and related dementia. The subject is rocket science, but his book is easy to understand. Learn how powerful flavonoids in plant foods preserve brains cells and keep them active. See how how antioxidant vitamins protect our brain cells.
Years ago, I pioneered a concept of eating more to lose weight. The effectiveness of this approach has withstood the test of time. Some of my patients report losing over 50 to 100 pounds over the years simply by using my food “Mass Index” table that shows which foods will help you to lose weight. This table can be found in most of my books, such as the Eat More, Weigh LessR Diet and my latest book. the “Peace Diet™.” For a sample of this table, go to 
In Japan, they say we should first “eat with our eyes.” In other words, food should be presented in a visually pleasing manner. This turns out to be great advice to help slow and reverse the aging process. The more colorful your food, the more anti-aging nutrients it is likely to contain. For example, green foods tend to have lutein and zeaxanthin, powerful antioxidant nutrients that prevent aging. Yellow and orange vegetables and fruit tend to have lot of carotenoids that help with vision, skin, heart and the immune system. Red vegetables tend to have lycopene, which can protect against some cancers — notably prostate cancer — and may also help to protect the brain. Blue and purple vegetables and fruit have anthocyanins, also known to help prevent memory loss. Purple-red vegetables and fruit such as grapes and blueberries have resveratrol in them that can protect the heart. In future articles, I’ll cover these nutrients in detail and explain what foods are rich in these and other anti-aging nutrients.
Cancer is now close to becoming the No. 1 cause of death in the U.S. It seems like we see more cases of cancer than ever before. In addition to smoking and alcohol consumption, diet and lifestyle factors may play as great or greater roles in causing cancer. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) came out with a statement that processed meats increase the risk of cancer. So avoiding processed meats would be a good health habit, in addition to eating colorful food.
Today, as Hawai‘i’s aging population grows, many of us carry on these traditions and are the privileged caregivers for our parents.
Seniors also love our newest classes — MOSSA Group Power™ and Enhanced Fitness.™ These fun, high-energy group exercise classes provide a very efficient workout at every pace and level. Motivated by great music, up-beat instructors and positive physical results, seniors excel in these classes.
For those suffering from arthritis, evidencebased Enhanced Fitness is designed to help reduce painful symptoms. Seniors see improved strength, mobility and agility — all while having fun and making new friends. One senior’s physical therapist asked what she was doing. He was amazed at how much flexibility she gained in her spine!
Senior citizens can attend classes on University of Hawaii Manoa campus through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. For 10 years OLLI has been offering non-credit, college-level courses and other activities to encourage older individuals to engage their minds, enrich their lives, and serve the community. While the institute primarily serves mature learners aged 50+, the only true requirements for participation are maturity, life experience, and a desire to learn.
Watching a running relay race is exciting. Running together at full speed and passing the baton to a teammate is thrilling to watch. I would ask you to consider that your estate plan is your relay. The definition of the word relay is “a series of persons relieving one another.” Your baton is your legacy — your intentions and wishes passed on with your material wealth. The passer of the baton must be in sync with the receiver for success. And both the passer and receiver bear responsibility for this transfer. Running together in sync, stride-for-stride is essential and requires planning. This is why including your beneficiaries and fiduciaries in the estate planning process, with clear communication is necessary in the estate planning process. Running in sync together with clear understanding of intentions can make for a successful relay of your legacy.