On their first date 50 years ago, John Parke Young ’17 and his future wife, Marie Louise Young, were dining at the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C., when Occidental president Arthur Coons stopped by to visit with John, a former professor at Oxy and internationally renowned economist. Today Marie contends that it was after this chance meeting, abetted by John’s endless tales of his Oxy days, that she fell in love with the College.
When the time came to work on their estate plans, it seemed natural for the Youngs to include Occidental. “John and I wanted to endow a chair in the International Economy but weren’t sure that we had the resources to do it—nor did we want to do so at the expense of John’s three children,” Marie recalls. “But the College solved our dilemma by suggesting we set up charitable remainder unitrusts to provide lifetime income for each of the children.” Upon the termination of each trust, the principal will go toward the funding of the chair.
“A few years after creating the three unitrusts,” she continues, “John and I decided that unitrusts were such a good thing that we set up one for ourselves.” Since her husband’s death in 1988, Marie has created six additional unitrusts for other family members.
Marie is “utterly pleased” with how the trusts and her income have grown over the years. “The beauty of a charitable remainder unitrust is that you derive so many benefits for the donor as well as for the College,” she says. “By using appreciated assets such as stocks, bonds, and property to build these trusts, I avoid capital gains and reduce the size of my estate. With each gift or addition that I make to a unitrust, I receive a charitable income tax deduction. What’s more, I am receiving income for the rest of my life—and I know that John’s dream of an endowed chair will be realized.
“Occidental charitable remainder unitrusts are a win-win situation,” Marie concludes with a smile. “I can’t say enough about them!”
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Last updated:01/23/08