What’s Is the Best Way to Give to Charity?

What’s Is the Best Way to Give to Charity?

Charitable giving plays a valuable role in estate and tax planning. A well-planned donation can also provide a healthy income tax deduction, along with a reduction of estate taxes. Your generous donation could help to maintain financial security, exert control over assets during life and after death and provide for heirs, as explained in a recent article titled “Charitable giving good for heart, 1040” from the Valdosta Daily Times.

To accomplish any of these objectives, you’ll want to work with an experienced estate planning attorney who can help tailor an estate plan to your individual circumstances. Here are some strategies to consider.

Gifts of appreciated property might allow you to avoid capital gains tax owed when the asset is sold and, if planned properly, might allow you to receive an income tax deduction, usually worth the fair market value of the asset.

Removing any assets from your estate reduces the potential estate tax liability.

If you want to make a donation to a charity but you’d like to maintain some control over it, a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) might be a good fit. A CRT works best when funded by an appreciated asset, such as real estate or stock in a family owned business.

Once the property is transferred to the CRT, the CRT can sell the appreciated assets it holds without paying capital gains taxes. It then continues to provide income generated by the CRT to the beneficiaries for a period of time, as instructed by the CRT. At the end of this period, the remainder of the CRT is donated to the charity. You avoid capital gains on the assets you donated, an income stream and you also receive a tax deduction.

Another strategy is to use a Charitable Lead Trust or CLT. With a CLT, you give the charity the use of the asset and the right to any income generated for a predetermined time. When the time period ends, the asset reverts to you or is given to whoever you designate in the CLT. Appropriate assets for a CLT could be income-producing stocks and bonds, a valued collection or a painting transferred to a museum for a certain period of time.

You likely receive a current income tax deduction for the value to the charity. However, you receive no other direct benefit during the term. If a CLT is created upon your death, estate tax liability could be reduced.

Early tax planning can help make the most of any charitable giving opportunities and let you take full advantage of any additional benefits. Talk with an experienced estate planning attorney to receive guidance appropriate to your unique situation.

Reference: Valdosta Daily Times (Dec. 4, 2022)  “Charitable giving good for heart, 1040”

Don’t Miss Out on Estate Planning Opportunities

Don’t Miss Out on Estate Planning Opportunities

The recent article, “Rooting Out Estate Planning Opportunities,” from Financial Advisor offers a number of frequently missed opportunities in estate planning. Chief among them are failing to update estate plans, as changes to tax laws could mean that strategies used when your estate plan was initially created may no longer be relevant.

Before these opportunities can be discovered, it’s important to have a clear accounting of all of your assets, including a balance sheet of each “bucket” of resources: personal assets, trust assets, qualified plan assets, etc. The secret to success: meeting with your estate planning attorney every few years to review this entire picture to identify potential opportunities.

Once you have a sense of the whole picture, it’s easier to spot opportunities for your Estate Planning. For instance:

A Spousal Lifetime Access Trust, or SLAT, is an irrevocable trust used when a grantor wants to transfer part of their spousal exclusion into a SLAT to provide for their spouse and descendants. The SLAT keeps assets out of the donor’s estate and authorizes the trustee to make distributions to the grantor’s spouse, while at the same time it allows children or other heirs to be named as beneficiaries. Many couples use these trusts to protect assets from lawsuits.

There are some drawbacks to keep in mind. If one spouse is the beneficiary of the other spouse, all is well while both are living. However, if one spouse dies or becomes incapacitated and all assets are in the trust, the other may lose access to the trust created for the now deceased spouse.

The loss of access and the restrictions on SLAT distribution could be addressed by having both spouses purchase life insurance policies to fill the gap. At the same time, the couple would be well advised to look into disability and long-term care insurance.

Another situation is the use of a credit shelter trust, often called a bypass trust because it bypasses the surviving spouse’s estate. They are not as advantageous as they used to be because of today’s high estate tax exemption. They were also popular when the surviving spouse wasn’t able to use their deceased spouse’s estate tax exemption.

With the federal estate tax exemption up to more than $12 million, many who still have credit shelter trusts may find they don’t make sense in the short term. However, for now the federal estate exemption is set to drop down to $6 million when the Jobs and Tax Act sunsets. Depending upon your circumstances, it may be worthwhile to maintain this trust. Your estate planning attorney will be able to guide you.

Merging old trusts into new ones, or “decanting” them, makes sense in some situations. A new trust can be better crafted to align with the latest in tax laws and serve the same beneficiaries for as long as your state’s laws permit.

The two important takeaways here:

  • Estate planning requires a complete look at all of your assets and liabilities to make the best decisions on how to structure any estate and tax strategies; and
  • Estate planning needs to be reviewed on a regular basis—every three to five years at a minimum—to ensure the strategies still work, despite any changes in tax laws and your situation.

Reference: Financial Advisor (Nov. 1, 2022) “Rooting Out Estate Planning Opportunities”

What are the Pitfalls of a Charitable Remainder Trust?

What are the Pitfalls of a Charitable Remainder Trust?

If you have discretionary funds and are philanthropically minded, a charitable trust can serve you well, giving money to an organization you want to support, while passing assets to beneficiaries without burdening them with estate or gift taxes, but is it right for you? Some of the answers can be found in a recent article from U.S. News & World Report titled “Should you Set Up A Charitable Trust?”

Some basics to consider about charitable trusts are:

  • There are a number of different types.
  • Consider all disadvantages and alternatives.
  • Make sure it works with your estate plan and your long-term financial plan.

The most common types of charitable trusts are the Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) and the Charitable Lead Trust. For the CRT, funding begins with cash or other assets, like stocks. The trust pays an income stream to family members or beneficiaries while they are living or for a set period of time. When they die, or when the time period ends, the remaining assets in the trust go directly to the charity.

For a Charitable Lead Trust (CLT), payments first go to the charity and then the remainder transfers to the beneficiary at the end of the trust term. One of the benefits of the CLT is to reduce the beneficiary’s tax liability, while giving the estate a charitable deduction.

An estate planning attorney will help refine these choices to the ones best suited for each individual. The CLT and CRT let you support a cause you believe in, while alleviating the tax burden to loved ones.

Charitable trusts are also useful when wishing to sell an asset. If an asset with a large capital gain is to be sold, like real estate, individual stock or a business, the asset may be moved into the charitable trust. The trust becomes the owner of the asset, and then the asset can be sold, avoiding the capital gain. Speak with your estate planning attorney to ensure that this is done correctly.

What about the disadvantages? There are fees to establish and maintain a trust. Charitable trusts are usually irrevocable, so if your financial situation changes, you may not be able to gain access to the funds. There may also be some pushback from heirs or family members who would rather see your money being given directly to them and not a charity.

Make sure that the benefits you and your heirs seek to gain from establishing a charitable trust, whichever type you use, outweigh the management costs. Do not create a trust with money you may need in the future. Charitable trusts are feasible only if you have already paid off all debts and are confident you will not need any of the assets in the future.

The exact amount to put in the trust should be carefully considered, with an eye to future expenses and your overall financial status. Your estate planning attorney may wish to meet with you and senior officers from the charity to ensure a clear understanding of your wishes and make sure that this is the best solution for all.

Reference: U.S. News & World Report (Feb. 23, 2022) “Should you Set Up A Charitable Trust?”