West Hunsaker at Morris Hall supports Make-A-Wish Foundation in Arizona

PHOENIX — KTAR’s Community Spotlight this month focuses on Morris Hall and its commitment to supporting the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Arizona.

How did Morris Hall find Make-A-Wish Arizona?

For West Hunsaker, partner and attorney at Morris Hall, and his family, the foundation has been kind and tender.

“Our daughter’s best friend since they were 4 years old, one day when they were sophomores in high school,  got diagnosed with Stage 4 Rhabdomyosarcoma,” Hunsaker told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News.

“Her parents called us down to the hospital, and it was very difficult, you feel hopeless, and the crazy thing was is he pulled me aside and he said, ‘last month I had to make a choice to pay either my house payment or my medical insurance and I didn’t know my little girl was sick.'”

Not long after Hunsaker’s friend paid his house payment, he found out his daughter had 18 months to live.

“This was a little girl who’s lived at our house and would go on vacations with us and now she and her family were in such a struggle,” Hunsaker said.

That’s when Hunsaker picked up the phone and made a call to Make-A-Wish, asking them to let him help out in any way possible.

Make-A-Wish grants children with critical illnesses their one true wish, which time has shown can be just about anything, from Disneyland to a day-trip to the local mall.

“Since that time, our relationship with Make-A-Wish has grown significantly from our firm and from our family personally,” he said.

Anyone interested in supporting Make-A-Wish through Morris Hall can do so online.

How does charitable giving in general come into play with estate planning?

While donations can be made now, people can also plan for after they’ve died.

One way that can be done is through a donor-advised fund (DAF), which allows yo to get a charitable deduction today and make contributions to charities over time.

Another way that can be done is through a charitable trust, such as a charitable remainder trust or charitable lead trust.

“You also can include it as part of your will or your trust to leave a legacy to charities that are meaningful to you and your family,” Hunsaker said.

“And often, more and more, I’m seeing clients that want to leave more than money to their children, they want to leave a legacy and an example.”

For a complimentary consultation call the Morris Hall office at 888-222-1328 or visit online.