How Can Charitable Giving Affect My Estate Plan?
When drafting an estate plan in California, you are usually focused on preserving your assets and accumulated wealth to benefit your heirs and beneficiaries. However, there’s another aspect to this plan that is well understood and familiar to many California residents: leaving a legacy of philanthropy and helping others.
California is well known for the generosity of its residents, and incorporating charitable giving as part of your estate plan can benefit the causes you care about after you’re gone. This act goes beyond financial help and helps those important to you in ways you may never know.
However, as much as you may want to help others, you also need to develop these plans in accordance with your obligations to your family and beneficiaries. A skilled, experienced, and knowledgeable estate planning lawyer can help you achieve this dual goal.
Benefiting your family and beneficiaries is always essential, but adding charitable giving as part of your legacy will help reflect the core values you and your family adhered to.
However, all estates differ in size and scope, and numerous ways exist to structure your charitable giving estate plan strategy. You can simply donate cash or use more complicated methods, such as donating stocks or real estate. However, your lawyer’s advice and guidance will be invaluable in ensuring that you give in a manner that best suits your financial and overall estate plan goals.
What Are Some Examples of Charitable Giving Methods and Strategies?
When you die or become incapacitated, your estate plan is always designed to reflect and provide the means to carry out your precise wishes for the future benefit of your family, business, beneficiaries, and more. Each estate plan is strategically planned for this purpose, and your plan is no exception.
Just some types of charitable giving strategies your lawyer may suggest are;
- Giving direct gifts to the causes you care about – This is probably the most straightforward approach, and it helps the recipient immediately. For example, you could donate cash, assets, securities, or other valuable items to your charity. This simple method also results in immediate tax benefits for your estate.
- Creating a charitable trust – Trusts can financially benefit your family, beneficiaries, and charities. A trust could provide income for your family for whatever time you choose and still donate funds or assets to your charity. For example, a charitable remainder trust will provide income to your family and beneficiaries for a specific time, and any remaining assets will go to your charities.
- Donor-advised funds (or DAFs) – These DAFs allow you to give more freely, contribute to a fund, and then recommend grants to specific charities at specified times. This is a relatively simple way to give and provide immediate tax benefits.
- Setting up a private foundation – If you have substantial wealth and assets and want to control your giving, forming a private foundation could be the best method. Your foundation will follow precise guidelines for your giving and involve family members in future philanthropic decision-making.
These are only a few ways to reach your financial and charitable goals. By discussing your plans and goals with a charitable giving estate lawyer, you can be ensured that all your options will be clearly laid out, and then you can choose the best way to proceed.
What Are Some Benefits to Include Charitable Giving In My Estate Plan?
The benefits of leaving a legacy of philanthropy may be evident to you and your family. Still, significant financial benefits may also exist depending on your estate’s scope and size.
Some of the possible benefits to you, your heirs, and beneficiaries may include;
- Significant tax benefits of various types—Charitable giving often results in major tax advantages, including income tax deductions, estate tax modifications, savings, and the avoidance of capital gains taxes. Your lawyer will strategically plan your charitable giving, which will help you maximize tax benefits while supporting your favorite charitable causes.
- Fulfillment of your family’s values – For many wealthy California residents, philanthropy is a lifelong, fulfilling occupation. Continuing to include giving in your estate plan allows you to maintain this time-honored tradition and leave a meaningful and valued family legacy.
- Continuing family legacy—Including charitable giving in your estate plan will help to foster unity and shared values for your family’s future generations. Allowing your loved ones to participate in these ongoing decisions will instill a sense of purpose and responsibility in managing family wealth for the benefit of others for years to come.
The benefits of charitable giving included in your estate plan may be a favorable decision for you and your family. However, your legacy’s total scope, size, and vision must be fully and thoroughly evaluated. This is why consulting and discussing the overall picture with a Napa estate planning lawyer is necessary and critical to the entire process.
Simply Put, How Do Charitable Contributions Reduce Your Taxable Estate?
You must always note that all estates, their holdings, assets, and liabilities will differ, so your experienced and thorough estate planning lawyer must evaluate all its aspects to draft the estate plan.
That said, most charitable contributions usually allow you to take various deductions rather than paying gift tax, etc., on your donations. When you give money to a worthy cause, you help others and decrease the amount of cash in your estate.
It also does not matter whether you give during your lifetime or in your Will or estate plan; this act still decreases the total amount used as the basis for estate taxes. If you’ve accumulated a significant estate, charitable donations can bring your estate’s value below the $11.18 million estate tax exemption. This commonly saves you a great deal of money and, therefore, protects your planned bequests to relatives.
If you wish to learn all your options for how charitable giving can benefit your estate plan, consult a Napa estate planning law firm and obtain thorough, detailed, and thoughtful estate planning advice.
I Need More Information About Including Charitable Giving in My Estate Plan; How Should I Proceed?
The wise and prudent way of getting the personalized advice you need is to discuss your wishes and all the various and detailed aspects of your estate with a highly communicative, knowledgeable Napa estate planning law firm with the resources in-house to handle all your needs.
The estate planning lawyers at Celaya Law have the expertise and resources to fully explain this highly complex subject matter to you and your family so that you are clear on all available options. Call them today at (707) 754-0977, and you can have all your questions answered clearly. The lawyers at Celaya Law are highly effective communicators but also have the empathy this process requires.