Charitable giving in Homewood, Alabama is the transferring 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. Therefore, 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 complicated way to do this is a simple testamentary gift in a will - wherein a particular amount of the donor's money is transferred to the charity upon the donor's death.

Charitable Trusts in Homewood, 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.

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 Homewood, Alabama, they normally 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 (normally 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.

You should make sure the charity is registered with the Internal Revenue Service, and (if applicable) the taxation authority of .

Do I Need a Homewood, Alabama Attorney?

When attempting to create 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 Homewood, Alabama, who will normally be able to make the process much easier.