How Can I Incorporate Charitable Gifting into My Estate Plan?

For many people, philanthropy is an important part of their everyday life. If you are one of those people, your charity does not have to end when you are gone. On the contrary, with careful planning, your charitable gifting can continue long past the time of your death. The Indianapolis estate planning attorneys at Frank & Kraft explain how to incorporate charitable gifting strategies and tools into your estate plan.

Philanthropy in Your Daily Life

Are you someone for whom philanthropy truly is a way of life?  Whether you give to numerous charities or focus on a single cause, you likely feel strongly about your charitable gifting. As you undoubtedly know, it isn’t always necessary to gift large sums of money to make a difference. Sometimes, a relatively small donation can truly change a life. Moreover, there is a true joy in giving that you also probably recognize. Given the importance of philanthropy in your daily life, it seems only natural to continue that philanthropy after you are gone if possible.

Charitable Gifting Options

There are a number of different ways in which you may be able to incorporate charitable gifting into your estate plan, including:

• Last Will and Testament. Gifts to charity can always be made using your Will; however, there are several drawbacks to using this method. First and foremost, gifts made using a Will do not allow you to retain any control over how the gift is used by the beneficiary. In addition, if you wish to make any changes to the gifts you make in your Will it is usually necessary to revoke your Will and execute a new one,
• Trust. Establishing a charitable trust is a popular way to include gifting in your estate plan. Both charitable lead and charitable remainder trusts, for instance, allow you to make gifts to both a charitable and a non-charitable beneficiary. Gifts are made to the charitable beneficiary for a pre-determined amount of time with the remainder being paid out to the non-charitable beneficiary – or vice versa.
• Donor-advised fund or annuity. A donor-advised fund or annuity may also work for your gifting. It works by transferring gifted funds into the fund. Although you will no longer own the assets, you will be able to direct how the funds are used. If you gift to an annuity, you will also be able to choose the beneficiary who will receive the benefits from the annuity.
• Foundation. Creating a foundation is yet another way to include charitable gifting in your estate plan. This option, however, is best used when you have considerable assets to gift and the time to run the foundation once it is established. The benefits of using a foundation as your charitable gifting vehicle are numerous though, starting with the amount of control you will retain over how your gifts are used. In addition, creating a charitable foundation makes it much easier to involve your children and/or grandchildren in your philanthropic endeavors.  Of course, running a foundation requires a considerable amount of your time and attention, particularly if you plan to grow the foundation by soliciting gifts from other donors as well.

Contact Indianapolis Estate Planning Attorneys

For more information, please join us for an upcoming FREE seminar. If you have additional questions or concerns regarding how to include charitable gifting in your estate plan, contact the experienced Indianapolis estate planning attorneys at Frank & Kraft by calling (317) 684-1100 to schedule an appointment.

Paul Kraft is Co-Founder and the senior Principal of Frank & Kraft, one of the leading law firms in Indiana in the area of estate planning as well as business and tax planning.

Mr. Kraft assists clients primarily in the areas of estate planning and administration, Medicaid planning, federal and state taxation, real estate and corporate law, bringing the added perspective of an accounting background to his work.

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