Establishing a Charitable Remainder Trust

Benefits:

• You receive an immediate income tax deduction for the gift, which you can use in the year of the gift, and, if necessary, for five additional years. 
• You retain full control over the investment decisions for the assets int he trust, whatever they are. 
• You avoid all the capital gains taxes on any trades, sales, or transfers of assets within the trust.
• You receive an income for the rest of your life (or the lives of other people as well) based on the value of the assets in the trust.
• You have the satisfaction of knowing that your investment skills will benefit you now and Canterbury School later.

How to establish a charitable remainder trust (with yourself as a possible trustee):

1. Consult your attorney to draft a trust document.
2. The trust should name Canterbury School as the "remainder beneficiary" (that is, the charity that will benefit from the trust when it terminates).
3. If you wish to control the investments within the trust, the trust should also name you as the trustee, with steps clearly outlined to pass control to a successor trustee (perhaps a bank or other fiduciary organization) when or if you wish to relinquish your duties. You may also name a fiduciary organization as trustee from the beginning. 
4. Once the trust is drafted and the terms are clear to all parties, you transfer whatever asset you wish to use to fund the trust (cash, securities, real estate) into the trust. Your attorney can help to ensure that this transfer is completed satisfactorily.
5. You receive a charitable income tax deduction for a percentage of the value of the assets transferred.
6. For the entire trust term (your lifetime, the lives of one or more individuals, or a term of years not to exceed twenty), whomever you name as beneficiary (including yourself) will receive a regular income as determined by the trust document.
7. If you are the trustee, you can invest assets completely without capital gains tax.
8. At the end of the trust term, the principal of the trust will be available to Canterbury School. 

If you would like to learn more about these kinds of gifts of if you would like to see a confidential example designed specifically for you, please send an email to mperry@canterburyschool.org.