Charitable giving in Birmingham, Alabama is the donating of money or some other asset to a charitable cause.
The simplest way to make a charitable gift is to just give the money or property directly to the organization you want to help.
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 frequently infeasible, since people have their own expenses that they have to cover. Thus, people often put off this donation until after their 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 largely-used) method is to simply leave the desired amount of money or property to the charitable organization in your will.
Charitable Trusts in Birmingham, Alabama
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.
The money is still technically owned by the donor, but the charity, serving as a trustee, has the authority to use it for charitable purposes, with the exact scope of this right having been laid out in the trust agreement.
If a person decides to set up a charitable trust in Birmingham, Alabama, 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.
Wanting to help a charitable cause is, of course, a good thing. Nonetheless, 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 accountable for taxation in
Do I Need a Birmingham, Alabama Attorney?
Making a substantial charitable donation is a generous and admirable act. Nonetheless, good intentions don't always lead to good results. To guarantee that your donation has the most positive impact possible, you should discuss the matter in detail with representatives of the organization(s) you want to donate to. It might be advantageous to have a Birmingham, Alabama lawyer handle these negotiations on your behalf, since they will likely understand the legal and financial complexities involved.
Mr. B. is a terrific lawyer and I am extremely happy with his work. What I liked most about him was his timely responses. I highly recommend Mr. B..