Charitable Trusts

Planned giving generally refers to charitable donations that are made when a person passes away. It is a broad term that encompasses a wide variety of techniques for charitable giving.

The most simple form is a cash bequest in a will. More complex forms include the creation of charitable trusts of various forms, gift annuities, setting a charitable organization as the beneficiary of insurance policies, and others.

Planned giving is often used to create tax benefits for the donor during his or her lifetime, in addition to avoiding estate taxes upon death by transferring assets to charities. These benefits are granted as a matter of public policy to encourage more charitable giving.

There are a number of resources on the web dedicated to the various types of planned giving available to donors. This site is only one resource among many, and is focused on charitable trusts. For other options, a good place to start is the charities themselves. Many offer a variety of services to assist donors with planned giving arrangements, as well as free counseling and advice as to which strategy is best for you.

Another great resource is the