The Estate Planning Council of San Diego is a membership organization made up of the region’s leading estate planning professionals, including attorneys, CPA’s, wealth managers, insurance agents and philanthropic planners.
Part of the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils, this 60+ year Council Chapter meets monthly to learn about the latest estate planning topics, discuss new trends in the industry and network with peers in the field.
Last month, as a long-standing member and Past President of the Estate Planning Council of San Diego, I had the privilege of hosting the group at The San Diego Foundation for its annual offsite event. More than 60 members and guests attended the dinner meeting, many of whom are valued partners who work with The San Diego Foundation to maximize the impact of philanthropy for their clients.
Continuing Education
To help the estate planners in attendance learn more about a complex, important topic in the industry, we invited Andy Pharies and Erin Norberg, attorneys at DLA Piper, to present to the group about the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA) and state law issues that arise in planning and administering charitable trusts.
UPMIFA was adopted to enforce how charities handle charitable funds. During their presentation, Andy and Erin described how it is the responsibility of attorneys and other advisors, together with the charity, to understand and preserve donor intent.
For example, The San Diego Foundation’s team of charitable experts recently helped manage a complex gift related to the laws surrounding UPMIFA. In this instance, the trustee misinterpreted the trust and ignored the provision to make a gift to the deceased donor’s fund, resulting in a legal battle to clarify the donor’s intent.
Clear and unambiguous language in the gift instrument, combined with a thorough understanding of UPMIFA law over how the charity administers the funds, were needed to avoid intervention by the Attorney General.
The case was a perfect example as to why UPMIFA is an important law for all estate planners to be aware of.
Impact Investing
In addition to the continuing education portion of the evening, the event kicked off with a welcome from The Foundation and an introduction of our impact investing programs by Brian Zumbano, Vice President, Chief Development & Stewardship Officer, and James Howell, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer.
They highlighted The San Diego Foundation Impact Investing Fund, which leverages new, innovative investment strategies to strengthen the nonprofit community and increase the amount of impact a donor can have in the region.
Impact investing goes beyond standard grantmaking by investing in financial, human, social and intellectual capital to better the long-term economic welfare of the San Diego region.
Through the Impact Investing Fund, philanthropists with The San Diego Foundation are able to support nonprofit organizations that generate a measurable social and environmental impact, while also accruing a financial return that can be reinvested for future charitable needs and impact in the community.
Contact our Development & Stewardship Team today!
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About Leslie Klein, CFP®
As Director, Gift Planning Advisor, Leslie oversees The Foundation’s professional advisor outreach program and provides high-level expertise in estate and financial planning. She is responsible for working with advisors and their clients who are charitably-minded to establish donor-advised funds, new endowments and legacy funds including complex gifts of real estate, non-publically traded stock and partnership interests.
