Cleveland Charitable Planning Attorney
If you’re planning your estate, you might be fortunate enough to include charity as part of the legacy you’ll leave behind. Donating to charity benefits the greater community and can provide you with tax benefits throughout your lifetime.
Whether you’re looking to make a one-time donation, leave multiple donations in your estate, or establish a charitable foundation, you’ll need the help of a charitable planning attorney to assist in your philanthropic ventures.
If you live in Cleveland, Slater & Zurz has seasoned charitable planning attorneys that can assist you in planning for the legacy you want to leave behind.
It’s no secret that charitable planning can be complex to navigate. Trusts, wills, and large donations require expert planning. If you’re considering turning your assets into charitable donations, consult with an experienced Cleveland charitable planning lawyer.
Call Slater & Zurz at (440) 557-2861. Our attorneys represent clients in charitable planning and estate planning matters.
How to Plan for Donations as Part of Your Estate with a Lawyer -– Charitable Planning
Before making a large donation, you must become familiar with the process of charitable planning. Every philanthropist has a different story, but there are generally two ways to approach charitable donations:
- One or a few donations are given as a lump sum
- Multiple donations are made over a designated period of time
Whichever path you choose will depend on your unique financial situation. Our charitable planning attorney in Cleveland will review your assets and help determine the option that’s right for you.
One-Time Donations
If you live in Cleveland and want to designate a one-time donation as part of your estate, you must understand the fundamentals of charitable planning.
One-time donations can be flexible and allow you to control how your money will be used. For example, you can specify how a charity should spend the funds, leave it up to them, or allow a third party to make that decision.
One-time donations can be an excellent way to support a cause that’s important to you during and after your lifetime.
When you work with a Cleveland charitable planning lawyer from Slater & Zurz, you can rest assured your donations, big or small, will be handled efficiently to best support your cause.
Donations Directed by You
You can always decide how your charitable donation will play out, though you can get the best insight from a lawyer. Charitable planning with directed donations can be very effective.
Using this approach, you can designate the total amount of money you want to donate and to whom. This can generally be to any charity, cause, organization, or institution of your choosing.
You may also designate how the money will be spent within that organization. For example, you might want to give money specifically to repair a baseball field at a local school or allocate funding to support students in the arts.
Our Cleveland charitable planning lawyer understands donations have special meaning to you, your family, and your estate. You may have been a lifelong supporter of a cause, or this may be your first time giving.
Whatever the case, at Slater & Zurz, we have some of the most experienced charitable planning lawyers in Cleveland and across Ohio.
Donations Directed by a Beneficiary
If you choose, you can also leave charitable decisions in the hands of loved ones, friends, or third parties. They’ll choose how and where to distribute your donation.
In this approach, you can still specify the amount of money to be donated, the number of charities you want to support and establish certain rules and limits.
Overall, this scheme is designed to give others the ability to donate in your name but still leaves you plenty of control over your assets.
Long-Term Donations
If a one-time donation is not your preference, you can also designate multiple donations to be distributed over a long period of time.
Our Cleveland lawyers will help you prepare your estate and plan your donations in a way that best fits your needs. Slater & Zurz attorneys are leaders in charitable planning and estate law.
Tax Benefits
If you’re interested in taking advantage of the tax benefits that come from donations, it’s important to consult with our experienced charitable planning attorney in Cleveland. Tax benefits are given when you treat charitable donations as itemized deductions.
As a charitable donor, you can handle two matters at the same time. Not only will you benefit from reducing your taxes, but your money will be used to support the community.
You’ll need to consult a skilled charitable planning lawyer to determine how you can benefit from itemizing your donations. Slater & Zurz have dedicated Cleveland attorneys for charitable planning who can review your assets to determine the best options for you.
Charitable Trusts Explained
Trust-based options exist in charitable planning. If you’re looking to allocate a large sum of your assets toward donations or make numerous donations over a period of time, a trust might be the best option for you.
Many different charitable trusts exist. Some trusts are executed while you’re living and others after your death. Some can even become foundations that will provide long-term support for the cause of your choosing.
Three of the most common types of charitable trusts are:
- Revocable Living Trust
- Charitable Remainder Trust
- Charitable Lead Trust
Our lawyers in Cleveland help in charitable planning and represent estate law clients who want to set up trusts, big and small.
Revocable Living Trust
This option is good if you want to establish a charitable trust within your lifetime. Also, if tax benefits aren’t your top priority, this might be the best approach to follow.
Revocable trusts are a great fit for donors who want to help support a charity or a cause above all else.
Revocable living trusts can also be less work because they never go through the probate system. Additionally, these types of trusts are flexible when it comes to modifying how you want to allocate donations. You can even cancel them at any time.
To ensure your trust is executed how you want it, our attorney for charitable planning in Cleveland can guide you throughout the process.
Charitable Remainder Trust
A charitable remainder trust is the best option if you want to get the most out of tax benefits.
With this option, you set up a trust with a specific amount of money you commit to donating — usually upon your death. Until then, you can receive a yearly income stream from the trust itself. You also benefit from annual tax deductions because you’ve legally committed to donating money in the future.
There are certain restrictions you should be aware of. Any beneficiary in a remainder trust must qualify per the IRS code. Under this plan, you cannot simply donate to a family, friend, or unapproved organization.
Charitable Lead Trust
This is similar to a charitable remainder trust in that you also commit to donating money to an IRS-approved charity or organization.
The difference in this scheme is that you make yearly contributions from the established trust instead of a single donation.
Because of your annual donations, you can still benefit from income tax benefits.
Donating money to a charity can often provide deductions from your annual income. For many, combining multiple assets can be a tax-efficient benefit that also provides a positive service to the community.
There are many ways to plan your estate and donate your assets if you want to serve a public cause through charitable donations.
Charitable planning is a serious legal process that often involves large sums of money.
Because of the financial implications of charitable planning, it’s important to find an experienced attorney who doesn’t cut corners and works hard to plan the best strategies for managing your assets.
Slater & Zurz are seasoned attorneys who can get the job done in Cleveland and across Ohio. Call (440) 557-2861 today to consult with us about your charitable planning needs.
At Slater & Zurz, We Understand Charitable Planning
Our expertise goes to work for you, streamlining and simplifying the planning process. You can feel confident that our attorneys are well-versed in all matters across charitable planning law.
Slater & Zurz knows the ins and outs of charitable donations. Estate planning requires extensive knowledge and training.
Slater & Zurz probate lawyers in Cleveland can advise you if you want to contribute to charity.
Whether you’re a seasoned philanthropist or thinking about making your first donation to charity, you should protect your assets and work alongside a charitable planning lawyer in Cleveland, Ohio.