Donate to Charity through a Charitable Remainder Trust

     Bill Gates has often said that he will leave the bulk of his wealth to charity when he passes away. However, charitable giving can be done on a large and small scale. One way to set up charitable donations is to create a charitable trust. A charitable trust is a trust that is created for the benefit of the community at large rather than an individual person.

     The most common type of charitable trust in the United States is a Charitable Remainder Trust ("CRT"). In a CRT, the charity serves as trustee of the trust, and manages or invests the property so it will produces income. The charity pays you a portion of the income generated by the trust property for a certain number of years, or for your whole life. The term of payments depends on the payment period you select. Then, upon your death, the property held in trust goes to the charity.

    Additionally, if the Charitable Trust qualifies as a non-profit organization under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c) then donations to the trust may be deductible to an individual taxpayer or corporate donor. If you live in California and have further questions about how to set up a Charitable Trust you should consult with an experienced Los Angeles estate litigation lawyer.