In St. Francis, Minnesota, "charitable giving" involves giving 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 allowed: handing the money or property they wish to donate over to the individual or group they want to help.

Some generous donors will sometimes give essentially everything they own to charity. This is a wonderful thing to do, but it's not really practical - after all, just about everyone has bills to pay. One solution to this is to put off such a generous donation until after death. This allows the donor to meet their obligations during life, while having the satisfaction of knowing that a cause they care about will be given a large amount of assistance after their death.

There are many arrangements permitting you to donate some or all of your assets to a charitable cause after your death, but direct testamentary gifts (simply leaving money in your will to the charity of your choice) are the most frequent.

Charitable Trusts in St. Francis, Minnesota

Charitable trusts are normally used for very large donations, and can be made 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 power to use it for charitable purposes, with the exact scope of this right having been laid out in the trust agreement.

In St. Francis, Minnesota, a "charitable remainder trust" is the most recognized kind of charitable trust. This authorizes the money or property to immediately pass to the charity of the donor's choice, so they can benefit from it as soon as possible. The charity takes the money, and invests it (typically in reliable, but not necessarily high-yield, investments). They keep most of the income that this generates, but return a portion of it to the donor on a regular basis, for a set period of time. When this time runs out, the original donation, along with all the income it will generate, becomes the legal property of the charity, to dispose of as it pleases.

Obviously, if you want to help a good cause, you want to make sure that any charity you donate to is legitimate. Sadly, there are quite a few fraudulent charities out there. The best 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 St. Francis, Minnesota Attorney?

If you wish to set up a charitable trust, you should consult with the organization directly. They commonly know the easiest way to direct any charitable giving to their organization. You should also speak with a brilliant trusts and estates attorney in St. Francis, Minnesota, who can help ensure that your intentions are carried out.