Charitable Giving Trusts

Experienced Rockford Illinois Charitable Trust Lawyers

When it comes to an estate plan, people have different needs and desires that an experienced estate planning attorney will take into account. For those interesting in protecting themselves while helping others in need, a charitable giving trust can be an important strategy in their estate plans.

Throughout northern Illinois, individuals and families have counted on the Rockford law firm of Howard, Hardyman & Worden, LLP for estate preservation assistance for over 30 years. An experienced charitable trust attorney at our firm will help you protect the valuable assets in your estate for the benefit of charities and others in need.

Charitable Giving Options to Fit Your Needs

Perhaps the two most important questions for many clients looking for effective charitable giving options are:

How can I give to the charity of my choice?
What strategies are available for reducing my estate tax?

A charitable giving trust is an effective way to put a portion of your estate's assets into a trust and generate an income for a charity, with the remainder going to a beneficiary upon your death. We work with investment planners to best structure charitable trusts to meet your needs, including:

Charitable remainder annuity trusts - the income generated is a fixed dollar amount
Charitable remainder unity trusts - the amount of income created is a fixed percentage
Charitable lead trusts - a charity receives income for a specified time, followed by a beneficiary, such as your children

Federal tax codes allow some estates exemptions up to $1,000,000 dollars for charitable giving, with yearly increases until 2010. We help establish charitable trusts that offer clients long-term tax benefits as well as meet their charitable giving or other estate planning needs, both today and in the years ahead.

In addition to establishing charitable trusts, we also assist clients with other charitable planning options such as replacing charitable gifts with insurance policies paid for with the tax savings, donating property or to medical research, environmental groups, and much more.

Protect Your Legacy Today

Secure, charitable planning is an important and effective way to support the causes you believe in while taking advantage of available tax exemptions. Contact Howard, Hardyman and Worden in Rockford and discuss how we can help with your estate planning or estate administration needs.