Love of the Land: An IRA Gift Lends Support for Future Ranchers

“David spent his entire life in land conservation and farming and ranching,” Stevens said. “It goes back generations in our family; we were brought up respecting the land. It’s part of who we are and where we came from. That’s what inspired me to make this gift to the university in his place.”

McKnight family lore claims that the tract of land in Tarrant County that David, Ann and their three siblings called home was a land grant given to their great-grandfather through his great-grandfather’s family connection to Sam Houston. Three generations farmed that tract. When civilization got too close, Stevens’ father traded that farm for another in Bosque County.

Ties to these family lands were particularly strong for McKnight. After earning an agricultural economics degree from Texas A&M, he returned to the ranch and worked alongside his father. In his final two years, illness forced him to move from the family ranch to be with Stevens in Fort Worth.
 

“I was David’s only heir, and I was going to give to the university then or when he passed away,” Stevens explained. “I thought, ‘Why not do it now when he can appreciate it?’”

Knowing little about Texas A&M, Stevens relied on the expertise of the Foundation’s team. They identified the Ranch Management University program as a worthy recipient of McKnight’s generosity and helped Stevens turn her brother’s IRA into a charitable gift. She turned his final required distribution into a qualified charitable distribution and named the Texas A&M Foundation as beneficiary of the remaining funds, redirecting them from what would become McKnight’s estate. By giving the IRA funds to a charitable organization like the Foundation, she avoided paying taxes on the distribution amounts.

“This was the perfect way to give that much money in one lump sum,” Stevens said. “It helped lower the taxation of his estate and, at the same time, it helps the university.”

McKnight trusted his sister to handle his financial affairs both when he was ill and after he passed away. Stevens said their situation is a prime example of why designating someone you trust as your executor and giving them power of attorney is so crucial.

Planning ahead, Stevens said, ensures that your money and other possessions end up where you want them to go. In her case, she’s grateful she could use her power of attorney status to ensure her brother’s legacy lives on at Texas A&M.

“Knowing this makes me very, very happy,” she said.