Estate Planning: Using a Charitable Trust to Benefit Charities

 Posted on September 28,2017 in Estate Planning

You have worked hard your whole life, learning the value of a dollar and a day’s work from a young age. Perhaps you started your own neighborhood lawn care business in your teenage years, worked as a lifeguard at the city pool, or bagged groceries at a local store, setting about to secure your position in the world. Later on, you received a college education and pursued a career, putting in the work, day by day, week by week, month by month. 

That, as you know so very well, is the way most Americans support themselves, provide for their families, and save for the future. After many years of labor, you deserve an enjoyable retirement, as well as the opportunity to contemplate a meaningful distribution of your assets when the time comes. 

In addition to bequeathing financial assets, personal property, and real property to loved ones, you may wish to benefit a favorite charitable institution. Charitable causes are many – secular, religious, healthcare-related, devoted to the stewardship of our planet, working in the interest of socioeconomic equality, and so much more. If one or more charities are of great personal importance to you, the question, then, is how to ensure that they will indeed benefit from the resources you intend for them to receive. The answer to this question is estate planning.

The Doctrine of Cy Pres is Designed to Protect Charitable Intentions

Working in consultation with an experienced Illinois estate planning attorney, you can create a charitable trust to distribute income or other assets to one or more charities when the time comes. The distribution may be a one-time sum or a series of payments. Whatever your intentions may be, proper estate planning will work to ensure that your wishes are respected and put into action by complying with all relevant legal formalities. 

If a particular charitable institution changes over time or completes its charitable aim, the legal doctrine of Cy Pres is there to support your charitable intentions. Under this doctrine, courts will ensure that your assets are directed to a charitable purpose that is as near as possible to your intentions. This ensures that the causes you care about will continue to benefit from your generosity.

Creating a Charitable Trust in Illinois

If you wish to create a charitable trust to benefit one or more of the causes that are important to you, the attorneys at Ariano Hardy Ritt Nyuli Richmond Lytle & Goettel P.C. can work with you to ensure your wishes are carried out correctly. Contact our experienced Kane County estate planning attorneys at 847-695-2400 to schedule a free consultation.

Sources:

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2117&ChapterID=61