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To Do: Create an Estate Plan

Is estate planning one of your New Year’s resolutions? Get inspired by discovering how one couple tackled their plans with Aggieland in mind.

By Jeannie Ralston

It’s a well-known fact that Aggies help Aggies. So, to help motivate your estate planning efforts this year, we’ve recruited the help of Dana ’21 and Kevin Friar ’88 to share their experience navigating this important and meaningful process.

The couple moved to College Station after Kevin retired from an executive position with a Fortune 500 company to become more involved with Texas A&M University. Dana recently received her master’s degree from the university and volunteered as an academic mentor; Kevin taught courses in industrial distribution as a professor of practice before returning to the corporate world as CEO of a middle-market company.

The Friars’ estate plan includes after-lifetime contributions for Aggieland by naming the Texas A&M Foundation as the beneficiary of their individual retirement account (IRA). Among their commitments are an endowment for an industrial distribution professor of practice named in honor of the program’s longtime director, Dr. F. Barry Lawrence ’99; funds to benefit initiatives in the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences in appreciation for the care given to their own dogs; and athletic scholarship funding via the 12th Man Foundation.

What inspired you to finalize your estate plans?

Kevin: We’re at a time in our life where we wanted to do more charitable giving, and we had to start thinking about the future and estate planning. We knew we needed to consider the best way to plan for taxes and how to maximize the value of our assets.  

What made you choose Texas A&M for a charitable contribution?

Kevin: In thinking about where we wanted to give, the Aggieland Humane Society and our church came up, and we both felt Texas A&M was another obvious choice. The school has done a lot for us. I’ve had a great career and good friends through Texas A&M.

Dana: We wanted the outcome to impact as many people as we could, and that’s another reason Texas A&M made sense.

 

Start Planning Today

One more reason to include estate planning in your New Year’s resolutions? At the end of 2025, favorable tax provisions in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are scheduled to expire. The current estate and gift tax exemption is $13.61 million per person but will be reset to an estimated $7 million per person in 2026. As for charitable giving, the act also increased the annual deduction limit for cash contributions to charities from 50% of adjusted gross income to 60%. That ceiling will revert to 50% in 2026, which means you’ll be able to deduct a larger amount from your taxable income if you make a charitable gift of cash before the end of 2025.

What specific benefits does your IRA gift offer?

Kevin: You can incorporate many different giving methods in an estate plan, and the Foundation’s team went through all the pluses and minuses of each, including tax advantages. We looked at whether we should create a charitable trust. Should it be property? Should it just be stocks? We were thinking about giving our house, but as we talked to the Foundation’s team, we realized that using our IRA to benefit Texas A&M was the best value for the school and us. Our IRAs are growing tax-free now. But if we were to take that money out, there’s a sizeable tax burden. By giving it to a nonprofit like the Texas A&M Foundation, we avoid the tax burden and make use of the full value for Aggieland.

How did the Foundation’s planned giving team help you navigate the giving process?

Dana: They made it very easy. Nobody pushed us; it was more like they came alongside to guide us. Then we got them in touch with our financial advisor and estate planning attorney. Between all three of them, we got the answers we needed.

Kevin: It was very pleasant. You may wonder how it could be pleasant deciding to give money away, but it actually was. When you give, you often get more back, and through the Foundation, we’ve gotten involved with the areas we’re giving to and have been blessed through those relationships.

How long did the process of finalizing your estate plan take?

Kevin: It took two or three months, and we met with the Foundation’s team probably three times.

What does your gift say about the legacy you wish to leave?

Dana: We wanted to make an impact, especially on young people. One of the reasons we moved to College Station after Kevin retired is that we always said we wanted to be old people in a young-people town. We have so many opportunities to get to know Aggie students in town.

Kevin: We love Texas A&M and what it stands for. The values and traditions are really like no other.

Dana: Ultimately, it feels really good knowing the money we accumulated in our lifetime will touch many lives after we’re gone.

Navigate your estate plans with the help of Aggieland’s Ultimate Estate Planning Kit, a free resource that includes FAQs, interactive worksheets and real-life examples. When you’re ready to begin a conversation, contact our team at plannedgiving@txamfoundation.com or 979.845.8161

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