In Wytheville, Virginia, charitable giving is simply the act of donating money or property to a charitable cause, without the expectation of direct compensation. This is typically done for selfless reasons.

In life, charitable giving typically 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. Thus, people often put off this donation until after their death.

If you decide to make a sizable donation to a charity that will not directly occur until after your death, the easiest (and most normally-used) method is to simply leave the desired amount of money or property to the charitable organization in your will.

Charitable Trusts in Wytheville, Virginia

A charitable trust is an arrangement through which some amount of money or property is given to a charity after the donor's death, or during their life.

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 typical type of Wytheville, Virginia charitable trust is identified as a "charitable remainder trust." Under this arrangement, some of your money or property is given to your charity of choice. The charity then invests the money, while giving a percentage of the income generated by these investments to you or a beneficiary of your choice, for a determinate period of time. Once this time is up, ownership of the original fund transfers to the charity.

Wanting to help a charitable cause is, of course, a good thing. However, some people seek to take advantage of our good intentions through fraudulent charities. If you want to help ensure that any money you donate to an organization is directly used for a charitable cause, and that your donation will be tax-deductible, you should check to see that the organization is truly tax-exempt. You can find this information from the IRS and/or the agency responsible for taxation in

Do I Need a Wytheville, Virginia 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 efficient attorney in Wytheville, Virginia, who will be able to help you navigate the legal details, making it easier to give effect to your intentions.