Chicago Charitable Trusts Lawyer

There are countless charities located in Chicago and the surrounding areas that rely on the generosity of others. When planning an estate, forming a charitable trust may be a beneficial way to give to some local, statewide, or national charities while helping you take advantage of some of the tax breaks and other benefits that a charitable trust offers. However, setting up and administrating the trust can be quite complex.

With decades of experience helping individuals with their estates, Chicago charitable trusts lawyer James C. Provenza can help you with the full range of estate planning tools that can be used to set up a charitable trust. Over the years, our estate planning attorneys have set up all types of trusts and we boast in-depth knowledge of tax laws and how to implement different estate planning strategies. For a free case evaluation regarding your estate and how a charitable trust may benefit you, call our Chicago law office today.

Benefits of a Charitable Trust

There are many different types of charitable trusts, foundations, and other aspects of charitable giving that may be beneficial to your unique needs and circumstances. In short, a charitable trust allows you to put a portion of your estate’s assets into the trust and generate an income for the charity. There are generally two types of charitable trusts, including charitable remainder trusts (CRT) and charitable lead trusts (CLT). With both types of trusts, however, you can control the timing of your charitable donations while deciding how much your heirs can benefit from either the remainder or the income.

Some other benefits of a charitable trust include:

• Preserving the value of appreciated assets – A charitable trust allows you to take your appreciated assets (including non-income-producing property) and sell it within the trust as tax exempt, and preserve the full market value of the property.
• Income tax deductions – A CRT allows you to make an immediate partial tax deduction, and a CLT may allow the donor an up-front charitable income tax deduction.
• Reducing the estate tax – After funding a charitable trust, the assets are out of your estate for the estate tax purposes.

Contact James C. Provenza & Associates for Help With Your Charitable Trusts

In addition to a charitable trust, there are several other strategies that you can employ to develop a comprehensive and strong estate plan. However, because of the many complexities involved with charitable trusts, it is important to discuss your options with a prominent Chicago trusts attorney.

Nonetheless, a charitable trust can provide numerous benefits to your estate while giving you the opportunity to help out the causes you truly care about. To discuss the benefits of a charitable trust, call James C. Provenza & Associates, PC, today at (847) 729-3939.