In Royal Oak, Michigan, "charitable giving" involves donating money or property to an individual or organization, expecting nothing directly in return.
Most charitable donors, while they're alive, give their gifts in the simplest way possible: handing the money or property they wish to donate over to the individual or group they want to help.
Some people want to give a larger percentage of their assets to a charitable organization than would be feasible during life, so they create some type of arrangement under which the money will be transferred upon the donor's death.
If you decide to make a sizable donation to a charity that will not directly occur until after your death, the easiest (and most commonly-used) method is to simply leave the desired amount of money or property to the charitable organization in your will.
Charitable Trusts in Royal Oak, Michigan
A charitable trust is an arrangement through which some amount of money or property is given to a charity after the donor's death, or during their life.
While the money, for a time at least, is still technically owned by the donor, it is possessed and controlled by the charity, which acts as a trustee. The trustee is then able to use the money for the charitable purposes which have been laid out in the agreement that first created the trust.
The most typical type of Royal Oak, Michigan charitable trust is identified as a "charitable remainder trust." Under this arrangement, some of your money or property is given to your charity of choice. The charity then invests the money, while giving a percentage of the income generated by these investments to you or a beneficiary of your choice, for a determinate period of time. Once this time is up, ownership of the original fund transfers to the charity.
Wanting to help a charitable cause is, of course, a good thing. However, some people seek to take advantage of our good intentions through fraudulent charities. If you want to help ensure that any money you donate to an organization is directly used for a charitable cause, and that your donation will be tax-deductible, you should check to see that the organization is truly tax-exempt. You can find this information from the IRS and/or the agency responsible for taxation in
Do I Need a Royal Oak, Michigan Attorney?
When attempting to establish a charitable trust, or make another charitable donation, the first thing you should do is discuss this with the organization you want to make the donation to. They will probably be able to advise you on how to donate your money in the way that will be most useful to them. And, of course, you should speak with an attorney in Royal Oak, Michigan, who will typically be able to make the process much easier.
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