Most people don’t think of estate planning as a tool that can be used for the environment, but they would be quite wrong. Estate planning is not only a great way to invest or to avoid headaches and hassles for your family after you pass away, but it can be a way to support the things you believe in long after you are gone. The most beautiful part is that it’s a win-win for everyone. Spending money on an estate plan will save you money in the long run by cutting out expensive court costs for the administration of your estate. That means that you will have more to give out to your beneficiaries, including any charities that you may want to give to.
There are two main routes to keep giving, even after you have passed away. The first is simply through a direct donation. In either a will or a living trust, you can direct your executor or trustee to give a sum of money to a charity of your choice. This can be as little or as much as you want and can go to one charity or many. There are also no limitations on giving one charity one amount and another a different amount. It is all up to you and you can do just about whatever you want with your money.
If you don’t have a will or trust in place, however, a charity will never become the beneficiary of any portion of your estate. Instead, the money would be split amongst your heirs by the courts, through what is called intestacy statutes. Those statutes are the default distribution and make a lot of assumptions about the individual’s particular circumstances. Not only does this distribute your money in a way that you might not prefer (perhaps to an estranged sibling), it will take a lot of money to take it through the court system to figure out who gets what. Putting an estate plan in place avoids those hassles.
The second route to continue your charitable giving after you pass is to use a living trust to set up a fund to continuously give money to the charity for years or even decades. A living trust is an amazing tool that gives you control over what happens to your assets long after you’ve passed away. Through a trust, you can set aside a portion of your assets for a specific charity and direct that a portion of the trust principal be given to the charity on a monthly or annual basis. By setting up a trust for your favorite charities, you can ensure that there are people protecting the things you love for many years into the future. Such a continuing gift is always appreciated by the charities, too, as it enables them to budget and plan knowing that your donation will always be coming in.
Talk to us today to set up your estate plan. It will make sure that more of your money makes it to who you want, it will make sure that the money goes where you want, and it will make sure that your deeply held beliefs are carried forward into the foreseeable future.
