Estate Planning: Three Part Series
October 24, 2007

Estate Planning with a philanthropic twist. How can you control your dollars today, provide for your family after your death and minimize your estate tax? As many estate planning lawyers will tell you, adding a gift component to your estate plan may be just what the balance sheet needs. Through the use of charitable tools, you can effectively leave more to your heirs than if you were to pay the estate taxes. How can that be? In this three part series, we will outline a couple of options. The first has been coined by the phrase, ?charitable stock bailout?. Upon death, a stock owner in a corporation (preferable a C-corporation) gifts her shares to a charitable remainder trust (CRT). There is an estate tax charitable deduction for the fair market value of the shares of stock. Corporation then offers to redeem shares from all share holders. Notably, all shareholders, CRT included, must be offered the same deal. The Corporation then redeems out the CRT for fair value and retires the shares. The family retains control of the Corporation, the stock bequeathed to the CRT is deducted for estate tax purposes and the CRT is funded with cash.

If you have questions, please contact:
Charles B. Jones, Esquire

(410) 752-2468