In Gainesville, Texas, "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.

Most charitable donors, while they're alive, give their gifts in the simplest way feasible: handing the money or property they wish to donate over to the person or group they want to assist.

Some people want to give a larger percentage of their assets to a charitable organization than would be feasible during life, so they implement 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 Gainesville, Texas

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.

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.

The most common kind of charitable trust in Gainesville, Texas 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 complete ownership of the original fund.

If you wish to set up a charitable trust in you should check with the IRS and equivalent state agencies to confirm that the charity you want to help is registered with them. This will help make sure that your money is utilized for a good cause (and not to line somebody's pockets) and that your contribution will be tax-deductible.

Do I Need a Gainesville, Texas Attorney?

Making a substantial charitable donation is a generous and admirable act. Nonetheless, good intentions don't always lead to good results. To guarantee 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 Gainesville, Texas lawyer handle these negotiations on your behalf, since they will likely understand the legal and financial complexities involved.