Generally, the purpose of a trust is to set aside money or other assets to provide an income for yourself or another person. Charitable trusts have the additional advantage of establishing a tax-deductible gift for nonprofit organizations. With a Charitable Remainder Trust, you irrevocably transfer cash or appreciated marketable securities to a trust during your lifetime or via your will. If you fund with appreciated securities, you may avoid the payment of capital gains taxes on the appreciation. Since the trust is tax-exempt, it will not have to pay capital gains taxes on the appreciation when it sells. You may designate yourself and another individual to receive income for your life (lives) and, at the conclusion of the income payments, the remainder of the trust principal will be paid to St. Dunstan’s Church. The Charitable Remainder Trust is a flexible instrument that combines charitable giving with personal financial planning and generally requires an attorney who is familiar with this type of arrangement and, possibly, the services of a trustee.

A Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust may be attractive if you like the security of receiving a fixed dollar amount that does not change throughout the term of the trust. You may not make subsequent additions to this type of trust but you may create additional Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts.

The Charitable Remainder Unitrust may be more appealing if you prefer to receive a fixed percentage of the annual value of the principal. Subsequent additions may be made to your Charitable Remainder Unitrust and the investment strategy may be modified to meet your changing financial needs.