Valentine's Day is a great time to count your blessings and make good on your charitable intentions. Why not provide for your loved ones while also providing for a charity that is near and dear to your heart? Clients with an Individual Retirement Arrangement ("IRA") can do just that. Typically, clients name individuals such as spouses and children as beneficiaries of their traditional IRA. However, did you know that you can also name a charitable remainder trust as the beneficiary of your traditional IRA?
Here's how it works. When you pass away, the charitable remainder trust can pay a fixed income amount yearly to a beneficiary of your choosing such as a spouse or a child for his or her lifetime. Then on the death of the beneficiary, the remaining monies will be paid to a charity of your choice.
The trust is income tax exempt because of the charitable component (although some or all of the yearly payment to the beneficiary counts as taxable income). There is also a partial estate tax deduction based on the life expectancy of the beneficiary, which particularly works well if your beneficiary is over age 50.
If you want to provide greater income amounts for your loved ones, this can be done through other estate planning tools such as trusts, outright bequests and Roth IRAs. An ideal plan would name your spouse as the beneficiary of your Roth IRA and a charitable remainder trust as the beneficiary of your traditional IRA, while your children receive taxable accounts and other assets either outright or in trust.
If you like the idea of a charitable remainder trust, but do not have a traditional IRA, not to worry, you can fund a charitable remainder trust with other assets as well. You can also fund a charitable remainder trust during your lifetime.
Funding a Charitable Remainder Trust During Your Lifetime
You might also wish to use a charitable remainder trust to provide for someone with an income stream during your lifetime, such as a life partner. If so, you could fund the trust immediately, providing an income stream to your partner for his or her lifetime, and leaving the remainder to your favorite cause.
With the right planning, you can defer or even avoid capital gains taxes that would otherwise be due on the sale of greatly appreciated assets (such as stocks you hold in a taxable account).
Charitable Options
There are endless possibilities for charitable giving - universities, libraries, museums, cancer research, fighting poverty, veterans organizations and so many other worthy causes. Now is the time to follow your heart. There is room enough to provide both for your loved ones and the worthy causes you cherish.
WHO NEEDS ESTATE
PLANNING? For many people, the value of an estate plan will far exceed its cost due to tax savings. Furthermore, estate planning is not just for individuals who have a net worth in excess of state or federal exemptions (currently set at $1 million for MA, and $5.34 million for the U.S., but subject to change). The following people can greatly benefit from estate planning with experienced legal counsel:
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The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.