Charitable Remainder Trusts

A charitable remainder trust provides life income for one or several income beneficiaries, such as a donor and spouse, and leaves the remainder interest to the Foundation to benefit the donor’s favorite charity or cause. Appreciated or low-yielding securities, real estate or testamentary retirement plan assets are best to use when creating charitable remainder trusts.

There are two variations of a charitable remainder trust: the annuity trust and the unitrust. Each enables the donor to designate an asset and retain life income. Another trust option is a charitable lead trust which allows the donor to give an asset to the Foundation, receive an income tax deduction and reclaim the asset at a later date.

Benefits of charitable remainder trusts:

• You or anyone you designate can receive annual income.
• You receive an income tax deduction in the year the trust is created.
• You have no capital gains tax on appreciated assets used to fund the trust.
• You can receive significant gift, estate and transfer tax savings if the eventual recipient of the trust assets is a member of your family.