Leave a Legacy of Hope and Healing

Thank you for your interest in learning more about how legacy gifts, put into place now, can help you provide a secure future for your loved ones and support the Mercy Ships mission well into the future. A legacy gift is a lasting investment in Mercy Ships, advancing our mission and ensuring our ability to help those in need for years to come.

For over 40 years, the heart of Mercy Ships has focused on bringing hope and healing to the forgotten poor. Our fleet of state-of-the-art hospital ships bring world-class healthcare and medical training to regions where clean water, reliable electricity, and medical personnel and supplies are limited or even nonexistent. Onboard our hospital ships, staffed by volunteer professionals from around the world, surgeries are performed that transform the lives of people who might otherwise face a lifetime of suffering. Tumors are removed, orthopedic conditions are corrected, sight is restored, cleft lips are repaired, and more!

We invite you to consider adding Mercy Ships to your will, leaving a legacy of hope and healing well into the future.

"You can't change the whole world. But you can change the whole world for one person."
-Dr. Gary Parker, volunteer surgeon

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The Retirement Unitrust

The Retirement Unitrust
Mary grew up on a farm. When her parents passed away, she and her husband Bill inherited the farm.

When Mary was a child, the farm was out in the country. Now that the city has grown, the farm is within the city limits. Several developers would like to build homes on the farmland.

Mary: We received modest payments from the farm over the years, including from a neighboring farmer who rented our land for grazing. Since I inherited the farm from my parents several years ago, the value has greatly increased.

Bill: Since it is a good time to sell, that's what we would like to do. We would also like to invest the sale's proceeds for growth for about 10 years until we retire. However, when we checked with our tax advisor, she told us that if we sold the farm, we would have a large capital gains tax bill.

Mary: But then she told us about a plan that would provide for our retirement. She explained that we could transfer the land into a special retirement trust. Once inside this trust, the farm could be sold tax free and the cash invested for growth. The proceeds would grow tax free inside the trust until we retire. By the time we retire, the payouts would be taxable, but we could have as much as $900,000 in the trust.

Bill and Mary's advisor discussed a charitable remainder unitrust, or retirement unitrust. The retirement unitrust pays out either a fixed percentage of the trust assets each year or the trust income, whichever is lower. Because the trust is invested for growth instead of income, the payments from the trust will remain low while Bill and Mary are still working. This strategy allows the trust to grow in value so that the unitrust can provide greater income to Bill and Mary in retirement.

Bill: We took her advice and transferred the farm to the unitrust. We know we will enjoy a very nice retirement. We already have an IRA and are planning to use that for retirement. With the extra income from this retirement trust, we will be able to travel and really enjoy our golden years.

Is a retirement unitrust right for you?


If you have a highly appreciated asset, such as real estate or stock, and are several years away from retirement, a retirement unitrust could help you sell the asset tax-free while saving for retirement. Please contact us if you have questions about a retirement unitrust.

*Please note: The names and image above are representative of a typical donor and may or may not be an actual donor to our organization. Since your unitrust benefits may be different, you may want to click here to view a color example of your benefits.


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