In Easton, Pennsylvania, "charitable giving" refers to the act of donating money or property, for selfless motives. It necessarily means that the donor does not plan on receiving any direct compensation for whatever they have given.
In life, charitable giving usually simply involves writing a check or handing cash over to the charitable organization of the donor's choice.
What if, on the other hand, a donor wishes to give everything they own (or a significant chunk of everything they own) to a charity? This is very generous, of course, but it's rarely possible during life, considering the expenses and commitments 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 allowing a person to have as much of their money as they want transferred to a charity of their choice after their death.
If you decide to make a sizable donation to a charity that will not actually occur until after your death, the easiest (and most typically-used) method is to simply leave the desired amount of money or property to the charitable organization in your will.
Charitable Trusts in Easton, Pennsylvania
Legal arrangements known as "charitable trusts" are also utilized to give large amounts of money to charity. It can be used to make the gift quickly, or it can be set to take effect after the donor's death.
Under a charitable trust, the money going to the charity technically still belongs to the donor. Nonetheless, the charity, acting as a trustee, has power to use it for charitable purposes (what the money can and can't be utilized for should be clearly laid out in the trust).
In Easton, Pennsylvania, a "charitable remainder trust" is the most frequent kind of charitable trust. This allows 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 (generally 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 produce, 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 valid. Sadly, there are quite a few fraudulent charities out there. The ideal 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 Easton, Pennsylvania Attorney?
If you want to set up a charitable trust, you should first speak with a representative of the charity you want to support. You should also talk with an experienced attorney in Easton, Pennsylvania, who will be able to help you navigate the legal details, making it easier to give effect to your intentions.
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..