Charlotte devotes week to estate planning

PJ staff report | October 12, 2011

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Patton McDowell

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The week of Oct. 17-23 has been dubbed "Leave A Legacy Week" for the Greater Charlotte region in an effort to increase awareness of the importance of having a will and the option to leave estate gifts to charity.

While 80 percent of Americans give to charity at some point during their lives, only 40 percent have a will and only 8 percent have designated charities as beneficiaries, says Leave A Legacy Charlotte Region, the program sponsoring the awareness effort.

A series of events spanning the week aims to educate residents about charitable gift planning.

On Oct. 17, members of the Charlotte Estate Planning Council are invited to a session on "Changing the Donor Conversation in Charlotte." Online registration is available.

The public is invited to a workshop, "The Will to Make a Difference," that will focus on developing estate plans. The session will take place at 11:45 a.m. at the Simmons YMCA in Charlotte.

A second workshop, "Five Keys to Building a Successful Major and Planned Gifts Program," is open to the public and is scheduled for noon on Oct. 20 at the Myers Park Country Club. Additional information is available online.

"Charlotte is renowned for its giving spirit," Patton McDowell, chair of Leave A Legacy Charlotte, says in a statement. "Most people give to a favorite charity, yet very few include that charity in their estate plans. ‘Leave A Legacy Week' is designed to raise awareness about how easy it is to create an estate plan with a charitable component."

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