Trust

Cash, securities, real estate and other property (including investments yielding tax-free income, but not tangible personal property) may be used to fund a Charitable Remainder Unitrust (CRUT). Each CRUT is managed as a separate legal entity and is never co-mingled with other funds. Donors or their designated income beneficiaries receive a specified percentage of the full market value of the trust's assets, as valued annually.

The donor will eliminate the capital gains tax liability which would have been incurred had he/she sold the donated property at its appreciated value, and federal gift and estate taxes are completely avoided for the full amount of the gift. Furthermore, an important advantage of a trust over a gift by Will is that the donor receives a charitable deduction for income tax purposes in the year of the gift. This deduction is based on IRS formulas and is less than the face value of the gift.

A Net Income Charitable Unitrust ensures that the trust principal need never be invaded in order to make the periodic payments to income beneficiaries. This type of trust provides that in a period when the trust does not itself realize income equal to the pay-out percentage specified in the trust agreement, only income actually realized by the trust will be paid to the beneficiaries.