Thursday, August 16, 2012

What You Need To Know About Charitable Giving

By Jameson Littman


If you have assets that you want to be given to charity or your heirs, you need to investigate the details pertaining to a charitable trust. A charitable trust is a special tax-exempt irrevocable trust arrangement. It is written to comply with federal tax laws and regulations. The trust can be made up of cash or assets. There is a list of requirements according to the IRS, which the trust must adhere to.

One of the more common questions people have is about how much money can be given to a beneficiary. In most cases, the minimum amount is 5% while the maximum amount is up to 50%. If you should decide to change who your main beneficiary is at a later time, there are a few things you can do to make some variations in where your money goes. You would have to classify them as a contingent beneficiary. In order to be completely removed as a beneficiary, the donor's last will and testament would have to clearly reflect this change.

This information and process might seem a little complicated, so it is highly recommended that you leave it up to a trusted lawyer. The average person should not have to be responsible for knowing the ins-and-outs of how to establish a trust and what is involved in planning an estate. This is why the best route to take is get advice from those who are very knowledgeable about it.

It only takes a little time to understand some of the advantages of having a Charitable Remainder Trust in place. In the United States, most people know that if you have money, you will have to pay some taxes on it no matter what your specific situation is. In addition, capital gains taxes can be quite substantial as well. But a Charitable Remainder Trust is completely tax-exempt. You can reinvest the entire value of such a trust so that you will make more income for yourself without having to pay more taxes.

You have spent your life making and taking care of your funds, it makes sense to take a few steps to protect those assets so that they can be distributed in a way that suits you. An attorney that does estate planning will have the ability to make your choices set down legally and effectively. It will make certain that the most comes from your money with the least possible amount of taxes.




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