Charitable Remainder Trusts
30. 5-Step Action Plan
A charitable remainder trust should be part of your overall estate plan. If you're wondering where to begin, just follow our five-step action plan:
1. Inventory your assets and debts. Find out the current market value of your assets and what you paid for them, so you can determine which of your assets would be best for a charitable remainder trust. Remember, assets that have appreciated greatly since you purchased them are the best ones to use.
2. Write down your objectives. Decide whom you want to receive the income and which charity or charities you would like to help.
3. Select a professional to help. This should be someone with whom you will be comfortable sharing this information and who can answer your questions, help with your decisions and help you put your plan in place.
4. Have the legal documents prepared.
5. Put your plan into action, by transferring the asset into the charitable remainder trust, and setting up and funding an irrevocable life insurance trust if you choose to use one.
Now, I'd like to leave you with one final thought...