Giving in Trust - Cleone Willingham ('37)

Cleone Willingham and her late husband, Cleburne, have been generous givers to a number of charities, including Abilene Christian University, through the years. With the assistance of The ACU Foundation, Cleone has completed an estate plan that benefits ACU, Foster Home for Children, and Cherokee Home for Children. These plans include both a Charitable Remainder Unitrust and a Charitable Lead Trust.

Mrs. Willingham: In making my estate plans, I had two major objectives. One involved providing for members of my family and the other centered on helping these three Christian organizations. I wanted these charities and my family members to receive benefits from my estate for the maximum amount of time and money I could provide.

The Charitable Remainder Unitrust will provide income for me and my heirs for my lifetime plus 20 years. At the end of that time, ACU, Foster Home, and Cherokee Home will receive the remainder of the assets in that trust.

But I also wanted to provide something for the charities during that same time period. That's why I established the Charitable Lead Trust. Now income from that trust will be directed to the charities. And my family heirs will receive the remainder of the trust assets at the end of that time.

I chose the Office of Gift Planning to be the trustee of these trusts because I know these people will be guided by the principles of greatness which Christ defined. I believe they have a prudent investment team. During the time we worked on setting up this plan, I found that they have established a firm line of succession in management. Last, but not least, I have been impressed with the style of reporting that they are developing to relay the financial activities of ACU to trust investors.