Hardly a week goes by without news of yet another wealthy person giving away a large sum of money to a college, university, hospital, medical research facility, cultural institution, or any one of dozens of other institutions or causes. The very wealthy are giving gifts at an astounding rate. The top five Forbes 400 members including Warren Buffet, Stephen Mandel, and Mark Zuckerberg, gifted a total of $3.7 billion in 2010 and 2011. Clearly, many wealthy individuals view their legacy as more … [Read more...] about Philanthropy: Guiding Your Clients Towards a Lasting Legacy
Charitable Lead Trust
Charitable Lead Trusts: A Win-Win Scenario
In the past, wealthy donors have been hesitant to use a Charitable Lead Trust as a tax planning option. In the past, the lifetime gift tax exclusion has been low. With a low exclusion, a Lead Trust has to be structured with a relatively high payout rate to ensure that the ultimate gift to the trust’s remainder beneficiaries (usually the donor’s family) falls below the exclusion amount. While this might have been a good theoretical planning strategy, as a practical matter the high payout rate … [Read more...] about Charitable Lead Trusts: A Win-Win Scenario
