Legacy planning is important if you want to have control over how you are remembered and control over what happens to the wealth that you have worked so hard to acquire. The legacy planning process can be complicated, but you should get proper legal help as you make decisions about what to do with your assets. One of the things that many people decide to do is to make a gift to provide support to a charity. If you hope to make a meaningful contribution to a charitable organization, you should explore strategic ways in which to make your gift. 
Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates can discuss all of your options for charitable giving as part of your legacy plan. We can help you to make sure your contributions are used to support causes that you believe in and we can assist you in maximizing the tax benefits which you can receive from giving charitable gifts.
Give us a call today to learn more about options available to you for contributing to a charity as part of your legacy plan.
Legacy Planning Options for Charitable Giving
When you want to make gifts to charities, you will need to decide whether to make an inter vivos gift during your lifetime or whether to make a gift in your will so the charity will receive money or property when you pass. You can also decide to give away money during your lifetime and after your death so you provide ongoing support to the charity over time.
If charitable giving is going to be a part of your legacy, you need to think about the best ways to make your contributions count as much as possible. In the simplest form of giving, you can simply make cash contributions to a charity and can take a deduction for the amount of money given. Your options for giving, however, can go beyond just handing over money which the charity can use to do what it likes in support of its cause.
There are ways to have more control over your donations, to make sure the money works for you, and to maximize the tax breaks for giving. You can, for example, create a charitable remainder annuity trust or a charitable remainder unitrust. Contributions to either involve an irrevocable transfer of property or cash. The assets are held in the trust, and distributions of income or principal are paid out by the trust to named beneficiaries over time. At the end of the lifetime of the beneficiary or when the term for interest income ends, the remaining trust assets are distributed to chosen charities. Fidelity Charitable provides more details on charitable remainder trusts and how this type of trust can be structured to help you to give.
Another option available to you is to create your own foundation, which allows you to direct charitable giving to specific causes you believe in. When you create your own charitable foundation, the foundation could potentially be a vehicle that is used not just to manage your own charitable giving but which could also perhaps some day attract other donors who can help you to do even more good works.
Which Option for Charitable Giving is Right for You?
You need to understand all of the different options that are available to you for charitable giving. This means researching all of the tax breaks associated with the gift and evaluating the complexity of structuring the gift.
By taking these issues into consideration, you can determine what kind of charitable giving is right for you. An experienced attorney can provide help in assessing how much you should give to charity, when you should make your gifts, and what your best options are for making those gifts. Your legacy planning lawyer will also help you to take full advantage of tax breaks you earn through your generous contribution.
Getting Help with Legacy Planning for Charitable Giving
Nirenstein, Horowitz & Associates provides help with legacy planning to clients in Hartford, Westport, and surrounding areas throughout Connecticut. Our legal team helps you to determine what your goals for legacy planning should be, including providing for heirs and making contributions to charity. We also help you to be strategic about your charitable giving.
To learn more about the legacy planning process and about how you can make a strong estate plan that preserves your legacy, download our estate planning worksheet. You can also get personalized help from a Connecticut legacy planning lawyer by giving us a call at 860-548-1000 or us. Call now to learn more.
Mr. Nirenstein is licensed to practice before the courts of the State of Connecticut and the United States District Court. He is a member of the Connecticut and Hartford County Bar Associations, and the Estate and Probate, Elder Law, Business Law and Real Estate Sections of the Connecticut Bar Association.
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