One very important aspect of planning for the future is to take time to consider your overall financial and estate plans. Many people never get around to making a will or other estate plan, for example, and that's a real shame because so many good things can come out of the planning process -- not the least of which is your own peace of mind.

If you are ready to consider making or reviewing your estate plan, consider using the four "P's" as a simple guide. Before going to visit your attorney and/or other professional advisor, take time to list the following:

PEOPLE: Who are all the people in your life who depend on you or whom you might want to remember in your estate plans? Spouse, children, grandchildren, other relatives, friends and loved ones come to mind.

PROPERTY: What are the various properties you own that together make up your estate? List real estate, insurance, annuities, mortgages held, automobiles, furniture, etc. Make a note of the cost of each, the estimated current value and any income or debt involved.

PLANS: How would you like to match your properties to the people you have listed? Be sure to include any plans you have to remember your charitable interests, such as donations to support our hospital.

PLANNERS: Who are the people you will need to talk with to complete your estate plan? Remember to list your attorney, insurance agent, broker, trust officer, certified financial planner and perhaps others.

Once you have been through this process, you are ready to put your plan all together. We at the Brighton National Addiction Foundation would be most honored to be a part of your future estate plans. If you would like more information about our alcohol and drug treatment center, or if we can help in any way as you plan your estate, please feel free to call or e-mail Richard L. Kramer at (810) 225-2542. Thank you for considering our nationally leading rehab clinic in your estate plans.

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How would including donations to our Foundation in your estate plans help in the fight against addiction?

The Brighton National Addiction Foundation seeks your donations and philanthropic support its fight against all forms of substance abuse.  Dedicated to the mission of Brighton Hospital, one of America’s oldest and most experienced alcohol and drug treatment centers and the first to be licensed in Michigan, the Foundation offers ways for individuals, corporations and grant makers to invest in our national leadership as they plan their estate.  With your donations, you allow our drug and alcohol treatment center to continue to be a leading source of hope through prevention, patient care, aftercare, education and research. By including donations to the Brighton National Addiction Foundation as you plan your estate, you can play a pivotal role in the fight against chemical dependency.  There are many opportunities available for you to be part of the solution.

It is with great pleasure that Brighton Hospital welcomes the philanthropic leadership of the Brighton National Addiction Foundation.

Board of Trustees

"Brighton Hospital has had strong relationships with families throughout the United States and Canada for many years", comments Richard Kramer, President of the Brighton National Addiction Foundation.  "These relationships, built on the importance of effective 12 step recovery programs and innovative treatments of these chronic diseases, are vital to the continual success of the hospital."

Your donations will help us:

• Build and expand our alcohol and drug treatment center.  Our campus exceeds 90 acres including Lake Serenity, wooded areas, and historic structures.  All of our rehab clinic facilities need updating and restoration to keep pace with hospital innovations and expansion.
• Help patients who need added days of rehabilitation.  In the world of alcohol and substance abuse, detoxification, and recovery, research has shown a clear correlation between the length of stay in a rehab clinic and the long-term success of the patient’s recovery.  Insurance carriers, however, do not reimburse behavioral health and rehabilitation from substance abuse as generously as they cover a patient’s medical and surgical needs.  The Hospital Patient Extended Care fund provides for this gap.
• Grant continuing education opportunities for our drug and alcohol treatment staff.  Inaugurated in 2006, the Brighton Hospital Addiction Fellowship is America’s first clinically based addiction fellowship program.  It increases the quality and quantity of medical staff and supports the vision of the hospital as a national center of excellence and an innovator in alcohol and drug treatment and education.
• Help collaborative research programs with leading medical and nursing schools.  Funds are needed to sponsor research programs while they develop the resources needed to apply for extramural grants from government agencies and foundations.
• Supply scholarships for our youth drug and alcohol services.  Through regional partnership, the Teen Drug Rehab Clinic enables more teens, ages 13-17, and their families to get the help they desperately need.  Scholarships provide assessment, intensive outpatient treatment for three months and aftercare.
• Fund and continue a variety of other programs, such as our clergy recovery series, our 30-day residential treatment series, our halfway house expansions, the restoration of our 1939 chapel, and the relocation and expansion of the gift shop and bookstore, all which keep our hospital a leader in drug and alcohol treatment, and the rehab clinic of choice over other highly regarded chemical dependency hospitals.

Our Philanthropic partners are people like you who have enriched their own lives while supporting the needs of others through donations from their estate plans.  There are a variety of ways that you can plan for your own financial security and still offer our hospital valuable support.  In addition, the emotional rewards, which can only be described by those who have felt them, make supporting us a life-changing experience.

Thank you so much for your interest in the Brighton National Addiction Foundation and considering donations in support of our philanthropic mission.  For more information on factors to consider as you plan your estate or to learn more on how to donate through wills and bequests, real estate, retirement assets, charitable lead trusts, appreciated stock, and charitable remainder trusts, contact foundation@brightonhospital.org.  With your gifts, donations and support, we will build upon this lead for the sake of all who look to us for caring, compassion and clinical excellence in the face of addiction, a life-threatening, chronic disease.

The Brighton National Addiction Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization as classified by the Internal Revenue Service. Contributions are tax-deductible to the limits allowed by law for non-profit donations.  Organizations exempt under section 501(c)(3) are further classified as either public charities or private foundations.  The Brighton National Addiction Foundation is treated as a public charity and is qualified to receive tax-deductible bequests, devises, transfers, donations and gifts.  Brighton Hospital is located in Metro Detroit, Michigan (MI).

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