Should I consider charitable giving?

A charitable remainder trust is a wonderful way to make an impact and create a reliable payment stream for you and/or the beneficiaries you select. A charitable remainder trust (CRT) can be funded with a wide range of assets, including securities, cash or real estate. A CRT provides annual payments to you and/or other beneficiaries you designate for life or for a selected term of years. You can decide how often you want to receive your payments when you establish your trust. At the end of the trust term, the assets remaining in the trust will be distributed to the charity for the purposes you designate.

• If you establish a CRT, you may receive a current charitable income tax deduction, a bypass of capital gains tax on appreciated assets, and a reduction in estate taxes. You and your beneficiaries will receive regular payments from the trust for the entire trust term. Payments typically range between 5% and 7%.
• If you establish a charitable remainder annuity trust (CRAT), your annual payment will be a fixed percentage of the initial value of your trust. Your trust "annuity" payment will not fluctuate from year to year based on market performance, and you will receive a predictable payment stream during the trust term.

If you instead establish a charitable remainder unitrust (CRUT), your annual payment will be a fixed percentage of the trust's principal as it is revalued each year. Thus, your "unitrust" payment will increase when the trust value increases, allowing you to benefit from strong market performance, but will decrease if the trust value decreases.