In Fenton, Michigan, "charitable giving" involves giving money or property to an individual or organization, expecting nothing directly in return.

In general, it's extremely easy to make a charitable donation to a cause you want to help. Whether it contains writing a huge check, or dropping spare change in a donation jar, a large majority of charitable gifts are made simply by giving money away, with no intermediary or other complicated legal arrangements.

What if, on the other hand, a donor wishes to give everything they own (or a considerable chunk of everything they own) to a charity? This is extremely generous, of course, but it's rarely possible during life, considering the expenses and obligations we all have. On the other hand, most people don't think they'll be needing their money after they die. Knowing this, many arrangements have been created permitting a person to have as much of their money as they want transferred to a charity of their choice after their death.

There are many ways you can donate some or all of your property or money to a charity after your death, if you wish to do so. Direct testamentary gifts are the most common and the most simple way to accomplish this. A testamentary gift simply entails transferring the money or property directly to the charity, through a provision in your will.

Charitable Trusts in Fenton, Michigan

Charitable trusts are arrangements that involve handing possession (but not generally ownership) of money or property over to a charity, either during the donor's life, or after their death.

In a charitable trust, the property is still technically owned by the donor, but the recipient retains possession and control over it. As the trustee, the charity is free to use the money for any purpose laid out in the trust agreement. With a charitable trust, trustees are typically only authorized to use the money to advance their organization's charitable mission.

The most frequent type of charitable trust in Fenton, Michigan is a charitable remainder trust. Under this arrangement, you give a particular amount of money or property to a charity. The charity then invests this money, giving you or a named beneficiary a portion of the income generated from these investments for a set amount of time. Once this expires, the money that was initially invested goes to the charity, free and clear.

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 really used for a charitable cause, and that your donation will be tax-deductible, you should check to see that the organization is really tax-exempt. You can find this information from the IRS and/or the agency responsible for taxation in

Do I Need a Fenton, Michigan Attorney?

Making a substantial charitable donation is a generous and admirable act. However, good intentions don't always lead to good results. To ensure 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 valuable to have a Fenton, Michigan lawyer handle these negotiations on your behalf, since they will likely understand the legal and financial complexities involved.