Charitable Giving
As part of a well-structured estate plan, charitable giving can be a way to support the causes you want to support while reducing federal income, estate, and gift taxes. Lanier Ford advises on all aspects of charitable giving and prepares the documents necessary to effect such gifts, including—
- Charitable lead trusts.
- Charitable remainder trusts.
- Private foundations.
Through transferring assets to a charitable lead trust, a client can give to a charity during his or her lifetime or for a certain time. Upon death, the remainder of the assets can go to a client’s estate, spouse, children, or even grandchildren.
Through transferring assets to a charitable remainder trust, a client or others can receive payments while still alive and give part of the assets to one or more charities. Upon death, the remainder of the assets could go to one or more charities. This may be a very good approach if real estate or stocks have substantially appreciated.
For those who have the means, establishing a private foundation may be the most flexible approach to consider. A foundation allows managers to retain control over assets, invest them, and determine which charities receive grants from the foundation. Foundations may also help individuals with hardships or provide scholarships.
When providing advice about charitable giving, the estate planning attorneys of Lanier Ford carefully consider how to make charitable giving a winning proposition for you, your loved ones, and the organizations you want to support.
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