Karen and Frank Verprauskus ’61 have been Alden Society members since 2013, when they established their first gift annuity with WPI. Recently, the Verprauskuses were able to deepen their commitment to WPI while gaining tax benefits and income for life through a planned gift.
Karen and Frank achieved this goal through a Flip Charitable Unitrust, which bypasses capital gain, provides donors with a charitable deduction for the current year and pays them income for life or for a term of years, with the remainder going to charities of the donors’ choice.
The Verprauskuses owned real estate that had appreciated in value and which they no longer needed. To save on capital gains tax, they gifted the real estate to the Verprauskus Charitable Remainder Unitrust, which sold the property. The Verprauskuses will receive payments amounting to 6 percent of the value each year for their lifetimes. At the end of the period, 50 percent of the remainder will be donated to WPI to fund the Frank and Karen Verprauskus Global Passport Fund, an endowed fund that will allow our students to participate in a global experience.
Frank and Karen are very active in the WPI community. In recent years, they have attended the inauguration of President Laurie Leshin and the Silicon Valley Project Center event. Their planned gift enables them to support WPI in a meaningful way, while also fulfilling other financial goals. “Karen and I are very happy with the results of the Charitable Remainder Unitrust we have created with our alma maters as beneficiaries,” Frank says.
“This adds greatly to the proceeds which will go to WPI in the future. It also adds to the dollar amount we will receive from the trust each year, giving us more flexibility to add to our four granddaughters’ college funds and still be able to contribute something to WPI each year.”
The tax benefits, Frank adds, will also bring “more dollars to our ‘bottom line’ for more good uses like fun, family and additional funding of some smaller charities in our community which we have started working with.”