A Charitable Remainder Trust is a legal instrument into which you transfer irrevocably the ownership of assets such as securities or real estate. In return you receive an immediate charitable income tax deduction and the right to receive an income. The income payments may be made to you and/or one or more other loved ones for life or for a limited number of years.
When the trust ends the property remaining in the trust (the charitable remainder) passes to the Nebraska Community Foundation to be used according to your directions to benefit your hometown or other favorite charities.
You can elect to receive a fixed-dollar amount of income called an Annuity Trust. Or, choose to receive a specific percentage of the property in the trust, called a Unitrust. If the value of the property in this type of trust increases, the income will increase. If the value of the property in this trust decreases the income will decrease.
A Charitable Remainder Trust requires a trust document outlining how the trust will operate. Your legal advisor should draft this document to assure that it complies with current laws.
In addition, you may serve as the manager, or “trustee,” of your own trust. However, many Nebraskans choose to engage the services of a professional trustee to handle the details of managing their Charitable Remainder Trust.
Lloyd and Naomi Geweke of Ord used proceeds totaling $286,000 from the sale of a home in Arizona to fund three permanent endowments for Valley County.
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