Charitable Trusts in Monterey

Start with the order of your goals

Write down the purpose of the proposed gift before choosing a trust structure. Is the central aim to benefit a charity, provide support to one or more noncharitable beneficiaries first, or coordinate both goals in a particular order? A charitable remainder trust can pay noncharitable beneficiaries before a charitable remainder, subject to federal requirements and reporting. The structure should be considered in light of your intended timing and beneficiaries—not as a promise of a particular tax result.

Compare the choices that shape the plan

Use a one-page comparison to make the tradeoffs visible. For each option under consideration, record the giving objective, when support should be available, which charity or charities you are considering, who else may benefit, and who would administer the assets. Note questions about how the charitable remainder is identified and how administration and reporting would work. This is a discussion aid, not a substitute for reviewing proposed terms.

• Giving objective: What purpose should the charitable remainder serve?
• Timing: Should support for noncharitable beneficiaries come before the charitable remainder?
• Charity and other beneficiaries: Which organizations and people should be considered, and in what relationship to one another?
• Administration: Who may serve as trustee, and what responsibilities would that role involve?

Prepare a giving-and-beneficiary worksheet

Before a planning meeting, make a simple table with a row for each possible arrangement and columns for purpose, timing, proposed charity, other beneficiaries, possible trustee, and unresolved questions. Gather the names and contact information for organizations you are considering, any documents that describe your current giving plans, and a list of assets you may want to discuss. Mark assumptions separately from decisions; an organization’s name on your worksheet does not by itself establish the final charitable remainder or trust terms.

Questions to resolve before choosing terms

Bring questions that connect the intended gift to practical administration: How will the proposed arrangement address the order and timing of payments? How will the charitable remainder be defined? What duties and reporting would apply to the trustee? What federal requirements may apply to the proposed structure? What information is needed to assess the assets and beneficiaries being considered? Federal requirements and reporting apply to charitable remainder trusts; deductions or other tax outcomes should not be assumed.

Planning from Monterey

Dale Law Group, PLLC offers charitable trust planning as part of its Tennessee estate-planning services. The firm’s office is in Murfreesboro, not Monterey. You can use the worksheet to organize your priorities and ask about the next step for discussing proposed goals, beneficiaries, charity choices, and administration.