In Reston, Virginia, charitable giving is simply the act of transferring money or property to a charitable cause, without the expectation of direct compensation. This is normally done for selfless reasons.
In life, charitable giving normally simply involves writing a check or handing cash over to the charitable organization of the donor's choice.
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 typically infeasible, since people have their own expenses that they have to cover. Therefore, people often put off this donation until after their 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 Reston, Virginia
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.
Under a charitable trust, the money going to the charity technically still belongs to the donor. However, the charity, acting as a trustee, has authority to use it for charitable purposes (what the money can and can't be used for should be clearly laid out in the trust).
The most frequent kind of charitable trust in Reston, Virginia is a charitable remainder trust. This authorizes 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 normally 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 full 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 ensure that the charity you want to help is registered with them. This will help make sure that your money is used for a good cause (and not to line somebody's pockets) and that your contribution will be tax-deductible.
Do I Need a Reston, Virginia Attorney?
If you want to create a charitable trust, you should first talk with someone in charge of the charitable organization you wish to help. They will be able to assist you in setting up the trust, or advise you of their preferred method of donation. This will help you ensure that your donation is as effective in helping the charity as it can possibly be. It is also a good idea to speak with a Reston, Virginia attorney, who can help iron out the more technical details.
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