Tampa Charitable Trust Planning Attorney
There are many Tampa residents who see their estate plan as an opportunity to support charitable causes that are important to them. For this reason, Florida law strongly encourages charitable giving through trusts. Such gifts need to be carefully structured, however, to ensure the donor’s wishes are honored and their overall estate plan is not adversely affected.
While charitable giving can be as simple as leaving a bequest in your will, if you are considering a charitable trust, you will need to engage in more complex planning. Our Tampa charitable trust planning attorney can help. Knudsen Law is a dedicated Florida estate and probate firm that can advise you on a full-range of options for creating and enforcing a charitable trust.
What Makes a Trust “Charitable” in Florida?
In broad terms, Florida’s Trust Code defines a “charitable” purpose as one that involves relief for the poor or advancement of some artistic, scientific, educational, religious, governmental, or healthcare-related purpose. More specifically, the beneficiary of a charitable trust is an organization recognized as such under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
A Florida charitable trust requires at least one charitable beneficiary. If for some reason a charitable trust does not designate a specific beneficiary, or even a specific purpose, then a Florida judge may select an appropriate beneficiary consistent with the donor’s intentions. There are a number of different types of charitable trusts that can be used in Florida, which include:
- Charitable Lead Unitrust: This is a charitable trust that pays a fixed percentage of the trust’s assets each year, for a specified period of time, to a specified charitable beneficiary.
- Charitable Lead Annuity Trust: This trust pays a fixed dollar amount–or fixed percentage of the initial value of the trust’s assets–annually to the charitable beneficiary, again for a specified time period.
- Charitable Remainder Unitrust: Instead of making upfront payments to the charity, as with a charitable lead trust, this type of charitable trust pays the grantor (or another non-charitable beneficiary) a yearly fixed percentage of the trust’s assets. After the trust ends, the remaining assets are then turned over to the charitable beneficiary.
- Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust: This is where the grantor receives an annual payment based on the initial value of the trust for a specified period, with any remainder going to the charitable beneficiary.
One thing to keep in mind is that all charitable trusts are considered irrevocable under Florida law. This means that once you create and fund a charitable trust, you cannot alter its terms or reclaim any of the property given to the trustee. You are no longer the effective owner of those assets.
Have Questions? Contact Our Tampa Charitable Trust Planning Attorneys
Each type of charitable trust has significant tax and estate planning implications. Indeed, one of the main reasons people create charitable trusts, aside from giving to a favored organization, is to reduce their income, capital gains, and gift and estate tax bills in the long run. So you need to make sure that any charitable trust you create strictly follows the law.
If you would like to speak with an experienced Tampa charitable trust planning attorney, contact Knudsen Law today at (727) 398-3600 to schedule a consultation.
