Page 14 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, MAy 9, 2025 Sa nr Sa a y Senior Seni by Jim Miller How to Choose a Volunteer Vacation Dear Savvy Senior, What can you tell me about volunteer vacation programs? I’m a healthy, 60-year-old, single woman, and am interested in doing some solo traveling, but would like to tie it with something meaningful. Purposeful Traveler Dear Traveler, If you’re looking to do more on your next vacation than relax in the sun or go sightseeing, volunteer vacations – also known as voluntourism – which combine travel and volunteer work, are a great alternative for solo travelers and have become increasingly popular among older adults. Volunteer Vacations There are many organizations today that off er short-term volunteer vacation projects in the U.S. and abroad, lasting anywhere from a few days to a few months. Common program themes include teaching English, working with children and teens, building and repairing homes and schools, and assisting with community or environmental projects. In addition, volunteer vacations also give travelers the opportunity to experience the culture more fully and connect with the local people – much diff erent than your run-of-the-mill sightseeing vacation. Most volunteer vacation groups accept singles, couples and families and you don’t need to speak a foreign language. Costs usually range from around $1,000 to $3,000 per week, not including transportation to the country your site is in. Fees typically cover pre-trip orientation information, room and board, onsite training, ground transportation once you get there, the services of a project leader, and a contribution to the local community that covers material and services related to the project. And, if the organization running your trip is a nonprofi t, the cost of your trip, including airfare, is probably tax-deductible. Where to Look While there are many organizations that off er volunteer vacations, here are some good options to look into. Global Volunteers (globalvolunteers.org): A pioneer in global travel, this group tackles hunger, poverty and educational needs. It off ers a variety of one, two and three-week service programs in 12 countries, including the U.S. Earthwatch Institute (earthwatch.org): With an emphasis in environmental conservation and research, they off er dozens of one and two-week expeditions in countries all over the world. Conservation VIP (conservationvip.org): Provides environmental conservation volunteer projects to seven destinations abroad and three in the U.S. Biosphere Expeditions (biosphere-expeditions.org): Off ers wildlife conservation expeditions in six countries. Habitat for Humanity (habitat.org): Offers international house-building trips through its Global Village Program in 16 countries. Natucate (natucate.com): With a focus on nature and species conservation, they off er oneto-12-week trips in 32 diff erent countries. American Hiking Society (americanhiking.org): Targeting hikers and backpackers they offer weekend and week-long volunteer vacations in the U.S. that focus on building and maintaining trails. International Volunteer HQ (volunteerhq.org): Off ers a wide variety of one-to-24-week volunteer service projects in dozens of countries. How to Choose With so many diff erent volunteer vacations to choose from, selecting one can be difficult. To help you decide, you need to think specifi cally about what you want. For example: Where you want to go and for how long? What types of work are you interested in doing? What kind of living situation and accommodations do you want? Do you want to volunteer alone or with a group? Do you want a rural or urban placement? Also consider your age and health. Are you up to the task, or do you have any special needs that will need to be met? Once you fi gure out what you want and spot a few volunteer vacations that interest you, ask the organization to send you information that describes the accommodations, the fees and what they cover including their refund policy, the work schedule and work details, and anything else you have questions about. Also, get a list of previous volunteers and call them. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. nior ior PROJECT | FROM PAGE 10 asked residents, “What are the benefi ts you want to see in a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) for a stadium project?” DeMaria said the focus of the meeting was “not whether the project should advance or not, but to get ideas for community benefi ts,” unlike discussions at City Council meetings on March 10 and April 14 and a public forum on March 31. For the most part that’s how it went. Kelsey Derouen of the Lower Mystic Transportation Management Association said a CBA must take transportation issues into account. She also said she’d like to see bike access to any park. DeMaria answered that efforts are being made to connect it to the Northern Strand Community Trail. Carl Colson of the sports booster group E Club said stadium facilities should be available for sports banquets as well as games. Jared Evenson of the Everett Active Transportation Committee acknowledged the wisdom of limited parking and less traffi c because of it, but added that there will be more bike and pedestrian traffi c as a result. He thinks traffi c-calming measures should be introduced and bike lanes protected. Jeff Parente, who has expressed opposition to the project in the past and said he still opposes it, suggested a ticket surcharge to create a medical trust fund for people in need. “I like that idea,” DeMaria reacted. Nevertheless, some residents did object to the project. “I don’t want to see this in Everett,” Kathy McNeil said. “It will bring thousands of people fl ooding onto Everett.” “That sounds great,” DeMaria reacted. The City of Everett plans to host more community meetings in the future, so please stay tuned for more information. Those who couldn’t attend the meeting and would like to share their ideas on what to include in the community benefi ts agreement are asked to email Mayor DeMaria at Mayor@ci.everett.ma.us. LLC’s To Avoid The Mass Estate Tax M any people who own real estate in Massachusetts yet establish residency in New Hampshire or Florida, for example, will place their Massachusetts real estate in a Limited Liability Company (LLC). If the LLC membership interest is held directly by an individual or by a living Trust for the benefit of that individual, whether it be revocable or irrevocable, the New Hampshire or Florida resident, as the case may be, no longer will own real estate in Massachusetts that will be subject to the Massachusetts estate tax. That person will now own an intangible membership interest in an LLC similar to owning common stock in General Motors. As a Florida or New Hampshire resident, such common stock in General Motors would of course not be subject to the Massachusetts estate tax as this person is no longer a Massachusetts resident. If the Massachusetts real estate is rental real estate, if the LLC holding title is a single member LLC, no separate income tax return needs to be fi led for the LLC. The rental income and expenses can be reported on page 1 of Schedule E, Rental Income or Loss, as part of your Form 1040. If there are two or more members of the LLC, then Form 1065, Partnership Income Tax Return would have to be fi led for the LLC. The LLC would then issue a Schedule K-1 to each member of the LLC in order that the net rental income of the LLC be refl ected on page 2 of Schedule E. Keep in mind that if you plan on selling your home in Massachusetts, in order to take advantage of the $250,000 capital gains tax exclusion for a single person ($500,000 for a married couple filing a joint return) with respect to the sale of your principal residence, if you transfer your home into an LLC, you have 3 years to sell your home to take advantage of this capital gains tax exclusion. The reason is you have to own your home and live in your home for at least 2 out of the immediate 5 years prior to the date of sale. Once you transfer your home to the LLC, you won’t technically own it. The LLC will own the home. Another reason to place the Massachusetts real estate for a non-Mass resident into an LLC and then have a Trust own the LLC membership interest, would be to avoid having to probate your estate in the county where the real estate is located. If the LLC membership interest is placed into a revocable or irrevocable Trust, the terms of the Trust would dictate the ultimate disposition of the real estate. No probate proceedings would be necessary. Furthermore, if the LLC interest was placed into an irrevocable trust and more than fi ve years have gone by, the real estate would be protected against any possible future Medicaid lien and would not be considered a countable asset for Medicaid eligibility in the fi rst place. Joseph D. Cataldo is an estate planning/elder law attorney, Certifi ed Public Accountant, Certifi ed Financial Planner, AICPA Personal Financial Specialist and holds a masters degree in taxation.
15 Publizr Home