THOUGHTFUL CHARITABLE PLANNING   IN OKLAHOMA

Charitable Planning in Oklahoma

“No one has ever become poor by giving.”

-Anne Frank, Diary of Anne Frank

Ball Morse Lowe will help you create a lasting legacy and make a positive impact in your community through charitable giving. In addition to the philanthropic reasons for giving, including charitable planning as part of your estate plan can have estate tax and income tax benefits. Imagine the impact on our community if every estate plan included charitable giving.

Charitable Planning options:

• Specific Bequests: Include a provision in your estate plan for a specific gift of property or assets to a charity or charities of your choice. Specific distributions to charity included in your estate plan will mean a reduction in your taxable estate.  A formula can be used in your trust to eliminate your estate tax through charitable distribution(s).
• Charitable Remainder Trust: A Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) is another way to reduce your estate tax and receive an income tax deduction.  Money or property is donated to charity, but you or your beneficiaries receive the income for life or for a certain number of years.  The charity receives the principal upon the expiration of the time period.
• Charitable Lead Trust: A Charitable Lead Trust (CLT) is a way to eliminate or reduce your estate tax and/or provide an immediate income tax deduction.  A CLT can be created during your lifetime and provide an immediate income tax deduction or a CLT can be created upon your death to reduce your estate tax liability. The CLT makes annual distributions to charity and at the end of the term of the CLT, the assets will be distributed to you or your beneficiaries. The term of the CLT created upon your death can be determined by a computation that will satisfy Internal Revenue Service regulations and that can result in eliminating your federal estate tax. 
• Donor Advised Fund: This is a type of account is established within a public charity that allows the donor to make recommendations on investment decisions and distributions to charities. A donor advised fund can be the recipient of your CRT or CLT.

Charitable Planning is a more complex area of estate and tax planning.  Our attorneys will work closely with your tax and financial advisors to make the most beneficial recommendations to you.