If charitable giving is an important part of your life in North Carolina, then you may like knowing that when you die, you can make a plan to continue giving. Forbes explains that you can set up your estate plan to allow for charitable giving. You can give either assets or money to the charity or charities of your choice. How you incorporate this into your estate plan, though, is important.
If you have concerns about taxes, then a trust is probably the best option. If you leave something to charity in your will, that is fine, but your heirs will face tax consequences. Using a trust enables you and the charity to avoid the tax penalties.
In addition, leaving something directly to a charity in your will limits your control over the use of the asset. Perhaps you have a specific desire of how you want the charity to use your gift. If so, a trust can make this easier to communicate and to ensure it will happen the way you want.
Beyond that, you want to be sure that whatever asset you choose to give is something the charity can and will accept. Some charities will not take anything other than money. So, knowing the charity well is important.
You should also let your heirs know about your gift to charity. It can help prevent any objections that one of them may have after you die and your estate hits probate. This information is for education and is not legal advice.
