On March 30, the Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Procedure 2005-24 adding significant new rules to charitable remainder trust planning. From David T. Leibell and Daniel L. Daniels of Cummings & Lockwood LLC in Stamford, Conn., we have this...
California is a significant force in philanthropy in the United States. In 2001, California's taxpayers contributed $16.5 billion to philanthropy, in a year that saw $122 billion given to charity nationwide. California ranks 10th in the country in...
With a traditional deferred gift annuity, guaranteed annuity payments are made to a donor and/or another individual for life, starting at a specified date more than one year from the donor's transfer to the charity. Typically, a donor who has...
With just two revenue rulings, the Internal Revenue Service established the 5 percent exhaustion rule, which essentially says that if there is a more than 5 percent possibility that a charitable remainder annuity trust (CRAT) will run out of...
In an expos published in 2003, The Boston Globe reported that officers and directors at scores of foundations were themselves the principal beneficiaries of their foundations' assets, receiving compensation packages that sometimes surpassed what...
After a year of scandals, the not-for-profit community might find inspiration in Shakespeare's aphorism: Sweet are the uses of adversity. Charities and private foundations recently vowed to turn public scandals and congressional inquiries into...
Even with the reduction in capital gains taxes and the possibility of a permanent repeal of the estate tax, wealthy individuals are showing increased interest in charitable giving. This new wave of donors typically wants to retain some say-so over...
There are many reasons why husbands and wives might want to create trusts that allow their spouses to withdraw income or principal. The most obvious is that allowing access to a trust confers extra financial security on the spouse. But there's...
When Brian, a successful young North Carolina businessman, notified the planned giving department at a mid-size Southern university that he had irrevocably named them as the remainder beneficiary on his $1 million charitable remainder unitrust...
Throughout its history, an important factor in American life has been the vital role charities and philanthropic institutions have played in an economic, political and cultural mix that includes business, government and private philanthropy. In...