A House Becomes Hope

It’s common to find Stuart Houston engaging with members of the UVA Health community— asking questions of young researchers at the Pediatric Research Symposium, meeting with School of Medicine leadership to learn about programs at UVA Health Children’s, or attending the Child Health Research Center’s Betsy and Stuart Houston Lecture, which Stuart and his late wife created with a gift in 2015.

Stuart’s connection to UVA Health began when Betsy experienced a gastrointestinal hemorrhage and was airlifted from their Lexington, Virginia, home to the UVA Health University Medical Center. He credits the treatment she received with saving her life. 

Stuart and Betsy became steadfast supporters of UVA Health. Their first gift provided funds that allowed medical fellows in gastroenterology and interventional radiology to travel and present their research at national conferences. Over time, they made gifts to UVA Health Children’s, the UVA Midlife Health Center, and the School of Nursing—gifts that supported work in all aspects of the UVA Health mission: clinical care, education, research, and community. 

This giving tradition continues with Stuart and his wife, Dawn Houston, whom he married in 2019. Dawn, a nurse practitioner who retired after a career in medical management, views healthcare through a professional lens. “What sets UVA apart is how they connect to their patients,” she said. The Houstons experienced this firsthand when Stuart had a health scare just a month after they were married and was

“One thing that I have observed at UVA is a collegiality among the doctors, not a ‘this is my patient, stay away’ approach,” Stuart noted. “And they take unusual care in recruiting their fellows. They want fellows who are not just good technically. They want ones who can deal with the patients.” 

“I can’t tell you how many times you see that the patient really comes first,” added Dawn. 

Stuart had continued to own his former home in Lexington. When he and Dawn decided to part with the property, they donated it to support UVA Health. Stuart is a tax attorney and was aware of the ways donating the home could benefit both his family and UVA. “There are many ways to make gifts of appreciated property,” said Stuart, “and, by doing so, not having to recognize the [capital] gain.” 

When the home sold, Stuart and Dawn directed the proceeds to support pediatric gastroenterology research in the lab of Dr. Sean Moore. Gastrointestinal tract health has implications related to nutrition, growth, and immunity. The project funded by the Houstons had potential benefits for people with inflammatory bowel disease in the U.S., as well as for children with environmental enteropathy in low- and middle-income countries. 

And the Houstons’ investment in the UVA community continues. The couple recently made a gift to purchase thermometers for UVA Continuum Home Health and a gift to create a “Joy Fund” at UVA Health Children’s. The fund will be used to celebrate important milestones, holidays, and seasons with young patients and their families to normalize as much as possible their experiences on the inpatient unit. 

“Gratitude and joy inspire the desire to give,” said Stuart. “Dawn and I are grateful that we have the ability to make gifts that bring joy to sick children.”

TURN YOUR PROPERTY INTO A LEGACY

If your home, vacation property, vacant lot, farm, or office building has lost its usefulness or become expensive or cumbersome to maintain, it could fund a meaningful and tax-efficient gift to support UVA Health. Below are a few examples of the ways that individuals have benefited from making a gift of real estate: 

An outright gift of real estate, like the one made by Stuart Houston, has an immediate impact. You will avoid the capital gains tax you would have had to pay if you had sold the property and avoid the inconvenience of selling the property yourself. 

Giving property through your will unburdens your family and provides future support to UVA Health. An individual who had multiple investment properties didn’t want to burden his heirs with the sale of the properties at the end of his lifetime—and he wanted his estate to have a philanthropic impact. Proceeds from the properties, which he left to the UVA Foundation and were sold after he passed away, benefited scholarships at the School of Nursing. The property values were excluded from the donor’s taxable estate. 

A charitable remainder unitrust can turn a property into an income stream with tax benefits. A couple who relied on the rental income from multiple properties wanted to avoid the capital gain they would have incurred if they sold them. They used two rental properties to create “Flip” Charitable Remainder Unitrusts, which pay 6% annually. And they received a charitable income tax deduction in the year of each gift. The trusts are invested with UVA’s endowment, and the trust income nearly matches the former rental income. The donors no longer have the expense (and stress) of managing, maintaining, repairing, and paying property taxes. At the end of their lifetimes, the remainder of the trusts will fund a distinguished professorship at UVA. 

With a retained life estate gift, you receive a tax deduction and retain lifetime rights to your home. A couple who planned to stay in their home for the rest of their lives wanted the Cancer Center to benefit from the value of their house. They gave the University a remainder interest in their home and received an income tax deduction for the remainder value in the year of the gift. They retained the right to live there for the rest of their lives and continued to maintain, insure, and pay taxes on the property. At the end of both their lifetimes, the property will be sold, and the proceeds will benefit the Cancer Center. 

Gifts involving real estate—including those to UVA Health—are coordinated through the Office of Gift Planning in conjunction with the UVA Foundation. Before accepting a gift of real estate, the UVA Foundation conducts a due diligence process to ensure the property is appropriate for the University to own and sell. To determine if your property could make a charitable impact at UVA Health, please contact Erin Hughey-Commers, senior gift planning advisor for UVA Health, at 434-760-3281 or efh3z@virginia.edu.