Charitable Giving in Portland, Oregon

Find the right Charitable Giving attorney in Portland, OR

In Portland, Oregon, "charitable giving" refers to the act of transferring money or property, for selfless motives. It necessarily means that the donor does not plan on receiving any direct compensation for whatever they have given.

In life, charitable giving typically simply involves writing a check or handing cash over to the charitable organization of the donor's choice.

Some people, however, may be especially dedicated to a certain cause, giving rise to a desire to donate a very large percentage of their assets to it. However, during life, this is usually infeasible, since people have their own expenses that they have to cover. Thus, people often put off this donation until after their death.

There are many ways to give a charitable gift that does not take effect until after the donor dies. The simplest and least intricate way to do this is a simple testamentary gift in a will - wherein a specific amount of the donor's money is transferred to the charity upon the donor's death.

Charitable Trusts in Portland, Oregon

A charitable trust is an arrangement through which some amount of money or property is directed to a charity after the donor's death, or throughout their life.

In a charitable trust, the money that is donated is still legally owned by the donor. But this is largely a formality, as the charity receives possession and control over the money. The charity is then free to use that money, but exclusively for the purposes laid out in the trust instrument.

If a person decides to set up a charitable trust in Portland, Oregon, they typically set up a "charitable remainder trust," since this is usually beneficial to both the donor (or their estate) as well as the charity. The operation of this type of trust is fairly simple: at a set time (typically the donor's death) the property that the donor wants to give to the charity is handed over, and the charity invests it. The charity benefits by getting to keep most of the money that these investments generate. The donor benefits because they also get a percentage of this income, for a period of time laid out in the trust agreement. Afterwards, the recipient of the donation gets it free and clear.

Obviously, if you want to help a good cause, you want to make sure that any charity you donate to is valid. Sadly, there are quite a few fraudulent charities out there. The ideal way to do this is to check and make sure that the charity is registered as a tax-exempt organization with the IRS, and the tax authorities in

Do I Need a Portland, Oregon Attorney?

If you wish to set up a charitable trust, you should consult with the organization directly. They frequently know the simplest way to direct any charitable giving to their organization. You should also speak with a reliable trusts and estates attorney in Portland, Oregon, who can help ensure that your intentions are carried out.

Talk to a Wills, Trusts & Estates Law Attorney now!

Life in Portland

Portland may be the 3rd most populous city in the Pacific Northwest but it's one of the most popular. Known as one of the greenest cities in the world, Portland has used city planning and public transportation to lessen residents' impact on their surrounding environment. In fact, Portland has been named the second most eco-friendly place behind Reykjavik, Iceland by Grist Magazine, and in top 10 greenest cities by Move, Inc.

P-town residents live among some of the most innovative microbreweries and distilleries. Widmer Brothers, Henry Weinhard, and Michael "Beerhunter" Jackson even dubbed Portland beer capital of the world. Portland Mayor Tom Potter nicknamed the city "Beertown."

Most people probably know Portland as the location of the Nike Headquarters (known as the Nike Campus) but the city also plays host to KEEN, Adidas, Columbia Sportsware, U.S. Bank, Oregon Steel Mills, Willamette Industries, and Louisiana-Pacific. Since the city is known as a "green city" you won't be too surprised to find there are a number of alternative energy companies there like Vestas Wind Systems.

Portland is unique in that the city hosts the worlds largest, and even legally sanctioned in Portland court, naked bike ride. The annual World Naked Bike Ride began in 1999 with less than seven participants but has grown to over 13,000. Another legal oddity you may not know is that there are very strong speech protections in the Oregon constitution that extend to full nudity and lap dances in strip clubs. Not by coincidence, Portland has more strip clubs per capita than Las Vegas or San Francisco.

If you need some help navigating these sometimes confusing courts, consult a local Portland lawyer today.

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