Charitable Lead Trusts
Discover which type of charitable trust best fits your estate plan with the FREE guide Trusts: Choose From 2 Win-Win Ways to Donate.
View My Free BrochureIf you have an extremely valuable asset that you want to keep in the family, you may find that a lead trust can allow you to make a series of gifts to St. Mark's and avoid the gift and estate taxes that could reduce the asset's value in the future.
Far and away the most popular type of lead trust, a charitable lead annuity trust, pays a fixed amount each year to St. Mark's and is more attractive when interest rates are low.
A charitable lead unitrust pays a variable amount each year based on the value of the assets in the trust. With a unitrust, if the trust's assets go up in value, for example, the payments to St. Mark's go up as well.
Since gift and estate taxes do not begin to apply until an estate exceeds $5.4 million per individual (and $10.8 million per couple), lead trusts only provide valuable tax benefits under rare circumstances, but in those instances, the benefits can be significant. Lead trusts work best with assets that:
- Exceed the gift/estate tax exculsion in value or are likely to exceed that amount in the future
- Are likely to appreciate significantly over time
- Produce an income large enough to make a regular payment to St Mark's
- You would like to keep in the family and pass on to future generations