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Charitable Lead Trust

If your family expects to pay a heavy estate tax, a Charitable Lead Trust (CLT) may be an option to consider. A CLT allows the donor to avoid gift and estate taxes by establishing a trust which makes distributions to charity first, and then passes the remaining assets onto heirs after a number of years set forth in the trust.

The benefit of a CLT is that it can completely erase taxes owed by an estate, and still pass along assets to children, grandchildren, or other heirs after the charitable gifts have been distributed.

How a Charitable Lead Trust Works

  1. You establish a Charitable Lead Trust with an attorney, and transfer assets into the CLT upon your passing.

  2. The CLT distributes funds (typically a percentage of income generated by the trust) to one or more charities for a number of years. Estate taxes will be reduced or erased by these gifts to charity.

  3. After a set period of time, the CLT will distribute all remaining assets to your heirs.

As with a charitable remainder trust, you’ll need an attorney knowledgeable about this tool to help set this up. If you or your attorney aren’t familiar with this tool, or would like to hear about how it’s helped donors like you, please contact us to learn more.

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Legal Name:
Mission of Our Lady of Mercy, Inc.

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Philanthropic information presented herein is intended for friends and supporters of Mercy Home for Boys & Girls. This material may be helpful in your tax and financial planning, and is based on current laws and recent court decisions. You should consult your own legal, tax, or financial planner to determine how these gift vehicles may apply to your own situation.