In Houghton, Michigan, "charitable giving" involves transferring 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 want to make a donation that's effective after your death, there are a few ways to do this. The most common method is also the simplest: leaving the charity whatever property you want to give to it in your will - this is known as a "testamentary gift."

Charitable Trusts in Houghton, Michigan

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

The money is still technically owned by the donor, but the charity, serving as a trustee, has the right to use it for charitable purposes, with the exact scope of this right having been laid out in the trust agreement.

The most common kind of charitable trust in Houghton, Michigan is a charitable remainder trust. This allows you to give as much money or property as you want to a charity. The money is then invested by the charity. The investments are usually fairly conservative, sacrificing large returns for security. The charity then returns a portion of these returns to the donor, or another person named by the donor, while keeping the rest. This lasts for a set period of time, at the end of which the charity gets full ownership of the original fund.

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

Do I Need a Houghton, 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 helpful to have a Houghton, Michigan lawyer handle these negotiations on your behalf, since they will likely understand the legal and financial complexities involved.