Family Spotlight

Meet Zach Baza ... A COTA Miracle

Zach Baza arrived in the world with much fanfare. The baby boy was born to Jesse and Carmelita, who were already raising four beautiful daughters. They were ecstatic at having a son, but within days joy turned to anxiety when they realized Zach had serious medical problems. While less than 24-hours-old, Zach had his first surgery where 12 blockages were discovered in his small intestine. Thirty days later the same surgery was performed to remove more blockages. Several months later Zach was still not able to keep any food down or have it go through his intestines. Zach became critically ill and by the middle of March 2008, Jesse and Carmelita were told the baby was in liver failure; they should begin making funeral arrangements.

Right before signing a do not resuscitate order for Zach, Jesse and Carmelita talked to a surgeon who said there was one last call they could make … to the transplant team at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. They made the call and four days later Jesse, Carmelita and Baby Zach were on a plane to Omaha. By the end of that week Zach was listed for transplant, and on his six-month birthday (April 14, 2008), Zach received a small bowel, pancreas and liver transplant.

While Jesse and Carmelita were relieved, at the same time, they were frightened about the mounting costs they were facing. They were encouraged to contact the Children's Organ Transplant Association (COTA) to ask for guidance. They did and with COTA's assistance, the community of San Antonio rallied to help raise funds in honor of Zach.

"We had already been through the transplant surgery when we learned about COTA. We were facing mounting medical bills and our baby was struggling after a very serious surgery. We didn't know where we were going to go to get the money for our monthly COBRA payments when Carmelita's job was eliminated. It was COTA that gave us hope and helped us find a way," said Jesse.

"COTA provided us with a website to keep all of our friends, family members and supporters informed of Zach's condition while we were in Omaha," said Carmelita. "COTA also got our volunteers excited about fundraising. COTA is such a big part of the miracle we have experienced."

Please visit www.cota.org and select “Find a COTA Family” to locate a transplant family in your area needing financial and/or volunteer assistance.

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Giving Options

Where is the Missing Will?

After extensive review of the 40 documents, the court finally determined that none of the 40 wills were valid. Because there was no valid will, the court divided the $2.5 billion estate between 22 relatives. Court costs, attorney costs and estate taxes were enormous, but the 22 heirs still each received millions of dollars.

There are at least seven reasons for creating a will. A "peace of mind" estate plan starts with your will. The will passes your property to family, friends and favored organizations, could direct distribution of a recent inheritance, may fix errors in living trust funding, allows you to select a guardian, enables you to disinherit a child or other relative, permits you to select your executor and may help with a simplified probate.

1. Transfer of Property -- There are some types of property that are best transferred by will. Many types of personal assets are difficult to transfer through a living trust or not appropriate for a "pay on death" transfer. Because vehicles and other personal assets are likely to be bought and sold, it is much easier to keep vehicles, furniture, collections and other items in the probate estate and transfer them by will.
2. Potential Inheritance -- You might be planning to receive an inheritance from a parent, an aunt, an uncle or other relative, but the inheritance could be delayed by the probate process, potential estate issues or other reasons. Therefore, when you finally receive title to the property, there may not be a convenient time or opportunity to transfer the assets into a revocable living trust. As a result, the inheritance will form part of your estate.
3. Living Trust Errors -- A living trust is a very appropriate way of avoiding the probate process. However, in too many cases a person has a valid living trust but has not properly transferred the real estate, securities accounts or other assets to the trust. As a result, the property that has not been legally transferred to the trust will be part of the probate estate covered by your will.
4. Guardian for Minors -- The selection of a guardian for minor children is done through your will. Most states do not permit you to use a living trust (there are a few exceptions) for this purpose, so it is very important to designate the guardian in your will. When you create the will and designate the guardian of the person, it is also quite common to establish a family trust for the minor children and appoint the trustee.
5. Disinherit Someone -- It is possible to disinherit a child or other heir. The appropriate place to explain that disinheritance or explain why the inheritance is a nominal amount (such as $1.00) is in your will.
6. Select the Executor -- Your executor is a very key person for a successful estate property transition. The executor will inventory your estate, advertise for creditors, pay bills and taxes, submit your will to the probate court and obtain the court's approval for the final distribution. Your will is the document in which you will name your executor. Even if you have a revocable living trust with a trustee and a successor, it is essential to select an executor who will manage your probate property.
7. Simplify Probate -- In many states it is possible for people who pass away with modest to moderate resources to have a simplified or summary probate. This permits your executor to manage your property and make distribution of it with very minimal contact with the probate courts. For example, California allows many estates with assets valued under $100,000 to use a simplified probate process. The executor will follow the directions in your will and distribute your property accordingly. In most cases, this will simplify administration and reduce your
   estate costs.

To help you make wise estate planning decisions, please contact Rick Lofgren at COTA for the no obligation brochure, "Record of Essential Information." You can contact Rick via email at rick@cota.org, or via phone at 800.366.2682.

This article is for information purposes and is not binding tax or legal advice.
Please consult with your tax advisor for specific items to discover how they impact your situation.

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Ways You Can Help

From the Mouths (and Banks) of Babes

After reading about baby Henry "Witt" Deane's COTA campaign and his need for a life-saving heart transplant in the newspaper, seven-year-old Camden wanted to help. And, help, he did! He grabbed his piggy bank and asked his mom to drive him to COTA Community Coordinator Kathryn Johnson's home. Camden's mom called Kathryn as they headed to the car and inquired if there was a place they could leave a donation. Learning a child was making such a selfless gift, Kathryn placed a small tin on her porch where Camden could deposit the coins from his piggy bank.

Later that morning, Kathryn heard noises on her porch and found the little boy dumping not just a few pennies, but lots of quarters into the tin, which soon overflowed onto the porch floor. She learned that Camden had also asked his mom and dad to pitch in some loose change as well.

This week when Kathryn (who is also Witt's grandmother) visits baby Witt in the hospital she will have something new to read to him … a note from Camden and his parents wishing him the best in his transplant journey. She will also share with him the story of a little boy who left a very generous gift on the porch.

Can members of your club or organization follow the example of this child who was willing to give everything he had to help another child from his community? COTA has deposit accounts for cash established nationwide. For a list of banks where you can deposit your spare change, please email COTA@cota.org.

The loose change you dump from your pockets each night could make help give hope and make miracles for COTA patients like Baby Witt.

If you would like to learn more about a COTA family in your community and would like to plan a fundraising event in their honor, please email CampaignInfo@cota.org.

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COTA News

We Hope to See You at Conferences ...

COTA will be attending several national service organization conventions later this summer.

In August, we will be exhibiting at The American Legion National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. If you are attending this convention, please stop by the COTA booth in the exhibit hall and speak to us face-to-face. Conferences are the perfect opportunity to catch up with our friends and to provide answers to questions about our organization and the many ways our services help transplant families.

If your organization is having a state, regional or national convention, COTA would like more information. Please send details about any service conventions to jennifer@cota.org.

We will be kicking off the celebration of our 25th year of service to transplant families in September. Watch for more information about special programs in upcoming editions of
this e-newsletter.

We hope to see many of you soon and we look forward to hearing from you. COTA's staff is here, just a phone call or email away.

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COTA Fast Fact

Funds Raised Are Not Taxable and Will Not Jeopardize Assistance Programs
Because the Children's Organ Transplant Association is the recipient and steward of the funds raised in honor of patients, these funds are not considered income for families. Families are not taxed on these funds, nor do these funds jeopardize any assistance programs patients have, or may qualify for in the future.

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