How To Make Charitable Donations Using Your Estate Plan

Many people want to leave a legacy behind after they pass away. For many people, one way to do this is to support philanthropic, ideological, and religious organizations that align with their values. Including charitable donations in your estate plan is an effective way to ensure your property is used for charitable donations after you pass away, while possibly lowering your estate taxes at the same time. Below, our St. Petersburg estate planning lawyer explains the different strategies that can help you do it.

Include Charitable Donations in Your Will 

The most straightforward way to include charitable causes into your estate plan is to name them as beneficiaries in your Will. Your Will informs the probate court in Florida how you want your property managed after you pass away. You can control who receives the property as well as the amount they receive. While most people name their closest relatives as their beneficiaries, this is not a requirement. Not only does including a charitable organization in your Will ensure property goes to a good cause, but it can also reduce the total taxable amount of your estate.

Name Charity as a Trust Beneficiary 

Just as you can name a charitable organization as a beneficiary in your Will, you can also do the same with a trust. Establishing a charitable trust allows you to spread your donations out over a certain amount of time, or outline the specific programs you want to donate to. This can give you better control over how the funds are spent, even after you pass away.

Upon your death, your successor trustee will then manage the trust and ensure the charity receives your donation. There are different types of charitable trusts you can set up so it is important to work with an estate planning lawyer who can help.

Name Charity as Beneficiary on Retirement Accounts and Life Insurance Policies 

Naming a charitable organization as the beneficiary on your retirement accounts and life insurance policies is another strategy to leave a legacy to a charity. It is particularly beneficial to name a charity as the beneficiary of a 401k or IRA because the charity will not be obligated to pay income tax when they withdraw the funds. This is not true with individual beneficiaries. Insurance providers and financial managers can simply transfer the funds after you pass away, without any supervision from the probate court.

Call Our Estate Planning Lawyer in St. Petersburg Today 

Using your estate plan to make charitable contributions is very noble, but there are different ways to do it and some may be better for your situation than others. This is one reason it is so important to speak to a St. Petersburg estate planning lawyer. At Legacy Protection Lawyers, we can advise on which option is best for you and help you create a comprehensive estate plan that includes the charitable contributions you want to leave behind. Call us now at 727-471-5868 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0736/0736.html