A Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) is a giving tool that allows you to transfer appreciated assets into the trust, avoid taxes on the sale of the assets, and receive an immediate income tax deduction.  The asset is then liquidated and can be reinvested to produce income that goes to you or others designated by you for a specified period of time. 

At the end of the trust period, the remainder balance goes to your favorite charities.  Your LCF Giving Fund can be named as the trust’s charitable beneficiary – thus, giving you the flexibility of changing charitable recipients as often as you need to.

When it comes to determining how much income from your trust goes to you or people you designate, you have two choices:

• You can lock in the amount of annual payments from the trust.  This is called a "charitable remainder annuity trust."  The amount that you lock in can be based on dollars or a fixed percentage of the fair market value of the trust when you open it.  However, keep in mind that if you elect to open a charitable remainder annuity trust, you do not have the option of adding to the trust.
   
• You may elect to have the amount of annual payments vary each year by creating a "charitable remainder unitrust."  In this case, income paid by the trust to you or your designees is a fixed percentage of the principal of the trust – but that principal is re-valued each year based on market conditions.  You may, however, add to the trust over time.

Either way, you establish the trust, take an immediate tax deduction (in most cases), set the terms for your payments, and then give the remainder of the trust to your favorite charities after your trust period is up. 

Remember: You will need the help of your financial advisor and/or independent legal counsel to open a trust.