In The Woodlands, 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, however, may be particularly dedicated to a certain cause, giving rise to a desire to donate a very large percentage of their assets to it. However, during life, this is often infeasible, since people have their own expenses that they have to cover. Therefore, people often put off this donation until 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 The Woodlands, Texas
Charitable trusts are arrangements that involve handing possession (but not generally ownership) of money or property over to a charity, either during the donor's life, or after their death.
In a charitable trust, the property is still technically owned by the donor, but the recipient retains possession and control over it. As the trustee, the charity is free to use the money for any purpose laid out in the trust agreement. With a charitable trust, trustees are typically only authorized to use the money to advance their organization's charitable mission.
If a person decides to set up a charitable trust in The Woodlands, Texas, they normally set up a "charitable remainder trust," since this is usually beneficial to both the donor (or their estate) as well as the charity. The operation of this type of trust is fairly simple: at a set time (normally the donor's death) the property that the donor wants to give to the charity is handed over, and the charity invests it. The charity benefits by getting to keep most of the money that these investments generate. The donor benefits because they also get a percentage of this income, for a period of time laid out in the trust agreement. Afterwards, the recipient of the donation gets it free and clear.
You should make sure the charity is registered with the Internal Revenue Service, and (if applicable) the taxation authority of .
Do I Need a The Woodlands, 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 The Woodlands, Texas lawyer handle these negotiations on your behalf, since they will likely understand the legal and financial complexities involved.
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..