Tampa Charitable Planning Attorney
Incorporating philanthropy into your estate planning is very beneficial. If charitable efforts and contributions have been a big part of your life, you may want to leave it behind as part of your legacy. There are not only many benefits that come with including charitable endeavors in your estate plan, but there are also many ways to do it. Below, our Tampa charitable planning attorney explains more.
Benefits of Charitable Planning
Just as giving back has held many benefits for you during your life, there are also many benefits that come with charitable planning. The main benefits are as follows:
- Avoiding capital gains taxes,
- Reducing the size of your taxable estate,
- The privilege for you and your loved ones of creating an endowment, and
- Personal benefits, which may be received as gift annuity agreements or charitable trusts.
Methods of Charitable Planning
State and federal law provides many different ways to include charitable planning into your larger estate plan. Some of the most common strategies used include:
- Charitable trusts: There are many different types of charitable trusts used including charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts. Any property or funds placed into a trust become a separate entity of your estate and so, they do not have to go through probate and are not subject to the federal estate tax.
- Life estate deeds: If you wish to leave real estate to a charity, a life estate deed allows you to transfer ownership of the property to a charity. You can still use the property during your lifetime and after you pass away, the property is automatically transferred to the charity without the need to go through probate.
- Donor advised fund: Donor advised funds are tools for charitable giving that are administered by a sponsor organization. People donate to the fund and these donors reap immediate tax benefits and can make decisions regarding how the funds are spent or invested. The sponsor organization has the final authority on how funds are distributed, while donors can offer advice and suggestions.
- Private foundation: Creating a private foundation allows you to retain control over who receives funds from the foundation, and how much is distributed at one time.
- Charitable gift annuity: Charitable gift annuities are created by a charity and a donor. The donor provides the charity with funds in exchange for a partial tax credit and lifetime payments of a fixed amount. This strategy requires a contract to be drafted that will govern donations and annuities.
Our Charitable Planning Attorney in Tampa Can Advise You of Your Options
It is a truly selfless act to want to leave part of your legacy to a charity after you pass away. At BBDG Law, our Tampa charitable planning attorney can outline the options that will allow you to do it and advise on which one is right for you. Call us today at (813) 221-3759 or contact us online to schedule a consultation with our experienced attorney and to learn more about how we can help with your case.