In Sequim, Washington, 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 generous donors will sometimes give virtually everything they own to charity. This is a wonderful thing to do, but it's not really practical - after all, just about everyone has bills to pay. One solution to this is to put off such a generous donation until after death. This allows the donor to meet their obligations during life, while having the satisfaction of knowing that a cause they care about will be given a large amount of assistance after their death.

There are many ways you can donate some or all of your property or money to a charity after your death, if you wish to do so. Direct testamentary gifts are the most common and the most simple way to accomplish this. A testamentary gift simply entails donating the money or property directly to the charity, through a provision in your will.

Charitable Trusts in Sequim, Washington

Charitable trusts are typically used for very large donations, and can be made 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 usually only permitted to use the money to advance their organization's charitable mission.

In Sequim, Washington, a "charitable remainder trust" is the most common kind of charitable trust. This permits 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 (usually 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 Sequim, Washington Attorney?

When attempting to establish a charitable trust, or make another charitable donation, the first thing you should do is discuss this with the organization you want to make the donation to. They will probably be able to advise you on how to donate your money in the way that will be most useful to them. And, of course, you should speak with an attorney in Sequim, Washington, who will typically be able to make the process much easier.