Unitrusts: Gifts with a Purpose

Longtime Laguna Beach resident Catherine ?Kay? Scrafield understood the importance of planning ahead. In gratitude for the support her family received from Children?s Hospital more than four decades ago, she established a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT).

Kay was a gracious woman who appreciated all that she had been blessed with, and she always looked at the bright side of every situation. ?Honey, it could be worse,? she often told her daughters, Sandy and Christine. ?That was our mama, and we miss her deeply,? they say.

Kay enjoyed spending time with her family and friends. She also enjoyed traveling, but she was always thankful to return to her beautiful Laguna Beach home. Sandy and Christine still meet at their mother?s home to relax and reminisce about the fun times they shared with her and to honor a life well lived.

Sandy and Christine remember their mother talking about how charitable the hospital was, and how it had helped their family. So when it came time to give back, Kay knew where she wanted her support to go.

Kay?s CRUT was funded in 1991 with highly appreciated real estate. With this type of gift, CHOC is able to use the trust?s remainder to help individuals and families realize personal financial objectives while providing a permanent legacy for the many endowments, institutes and programs that are in operation at the hospital.

Even though Kay died in September 2005, her memory will live on. The remainder of her trust will fund one of the new Adolescent & Young Adult cancer rooms in the Oncology Unit at CHOC; the rooms are scheduled to open in 2008.

Although Kay will not see this new room and its benefits to children, you can be sure that Sandy and Christine will carry on the family tradition of sharing and encouraging wherever they can.

To learn more about charitable remainder unitrusts or other gift planning vehicles, please call Jeri Stathis at the CHOC Foundation for Children at (714) 532-8690, or send an e-mail to jstathis@choc.org.