Can a charitable lead trust make its annual distribution to a donor-advised fund?
Yes. The donor or grantor must designate the charitable beneficiary when the CLT is created, or provide a method for designating the charity that is beyond his or her legal control so the CLT will not be counted in the grantor’s taxable estate. The IRS has ruled privately that the grantor may designate a donor-advised fund at a public charity. Even if the grantor is the advisor on the fund, he or she is not considered to have maintained control over distributions. See Private Letter Ruling 198146072.
Will you serve as trustee of my client's charitable lead trust?
No, we feel there is a potential conflict between charity’s lead interest and the interest of the individual in the remainder.
Will you serve as Trustee of my client's charitable remainder trust?
Where the remainder will come to us for a purpose we have approved, we are happy to consider serving as trustee. We will need to review the proposed trust agreement, the proposed asset to be contributed, the payout terms, and likely duration of the trust. Please contact Carrie Trowbridge to discuss.
