In Hidalgo County, Texas, "charitable giving" refers to the act of giving 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 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 frequent 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 Hidalgo County, Texas

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 right to use it for charitable purposes, with the exact scope of this right having been laid out in the trust agreement.

In Hidalgo County, Texas, a "charitable remainder trust" is the most common 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.

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

Do I Need a Hidalgo County, Texas 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 Hidalgo County, Texas lawyer handle these negotiations on your behalf, since they will likely understand the legal and financial complexities involved.