Planning for the future

Are you among the many Americans who don’t have a will or an estate plan? Are you waiting for a more convenient time to prepare one? Unfortunately, waiting for that convenient time leaves you vulnerable to the possibility that the government will make decisions about how your assets are distributed. And there is no guarantee that those decisions will match your desires.

Even if you have a will or an estate plan, it may not accurately reflect your wishes if it has not been updated recently. An outdated will or estate plan can be as undesirable as not having one at all.

In addition to providing for your family after you’re gone, a will or estate plan also allows you to support charitable organizations that make a difference in your community. One such organization is the Salem Hospital Foundation.

“Over the course of its 37-year history, many people have made substantial gifts to the Salem Hospital Foundation through their estate plans,” says Craig Haisch, planned giving officer at the Salem Hospital Foundation. “The Foundation has been able to use these gifts to provide scholarships to students pursuing medical careers, purchase new technology and equipment for the hospital, and fund programs benefiting patients.”

As an example, a community member who recently passed away made a generous gift from her estate to the Foundation to support the pediatrics department and the Special Care Nursery, our infant intensive-care unit. Many young families will benefit from this gift for years to come.

If you’d like more information about the variety of ways you can make an estate gift to the Salem Hospital Foundation, please contact us by calling (503) 561-5576 or check the box on the donor form and send it to us.