Hello, how do you handle gift recording/realized bequest for a real estate gift that was given decades ago, when the donor was alive, but not disposed of until now?
At the time, the donor had a gift in kind credit and an outstanding pledge that was expected to be fulfilled upon the sale of the property. The donor has since passed away. The real estate proceeds were to fund an endowed professorship.
Can the proceeds in excess of the originally recorded gift in kind be counted as a realized bequest?
To make it more tangible, let's say that the donor gave land valued at $90,000 20 years ago, and had an outstanding pledge for $10,000 that was to be fulfilled upon the sale. For whatever reason, the institution decided not to sell the real estate until now. It is now worth $300,000. Can the $210K difference between $300K and $90k be counted as a realized bequest? Had the property been liquidated 20 years ago, the endowed professorship would have been fully funded at that time.
If it can't be treated as a realized bequest, what, if anything, is the appropriate gift treatment for the appreciation post-gift? The donor's intent with the land gift was to support the professorship.
Thank you for your help!
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Meg Tallman
University of Delaware
mtallman@udel.edu------------------------------