Thinking about a private foundation? Maybe you should consider an alternative. In this article, Los Angeles attorneys David Wheeler Newman and Jose Silva examine the roles that public charities, common funds, and supporting organizations can play accomplishing donors' philanthropic goals.  MORE »

When considering their charitable options, many donors overlook giving assets that can provide the greatest tax benefits. In this article from the Journal of Practical Estate Planning, Orange County, California attorney Joy Gibney Berus discusses several factors to consider and requirements that must be met to obtain and maximize the benefits from donations of art, antiques and collectibles.  MORE »

Earlier this week, Treasury released the Bush Administration's Fiscal 2006 Revenue Proposals which include a provision that, if adopted, would impose a 25% excise tax on distributions from certain investor owned charitable life insurance contracts. In this article from the January 2005 issue of Estate Planning Journal, Stephan Leimberg describes these plans and why they represent a "dangerous and disturbing" trend.  MORE »

Life settlement, in which life insurance policies are sold in a secondary market, has become a major financial market and viable opportunity for policyowners to convert unneeded policies for more than their cash surrender value (CSV), often with favorable tax treatment. In this article from the Journal of Accountancy, appraiser Alan Breus, CLU, ChFC reviews the history of the life settlement marketplace, emerging regulation, income tax consequences, tips for safe transactions, and charitable applications.

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A few years ago, insurance advisers Michael Brink and Bryan Clontz wrote an article for the Planned Giving Design Center that discusses ten creative charitable uses of life insurance and their tax implications in planned giving. It has now been updated for current law, so we thought you might enjoy taking another look.
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In February of this year, Congress passed the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. Included in this bill is a provision for up to 130 million taxpayers to receive tax rebates. In this special report, Robert Sharpe, Jr. and Barlow Mann from The Sharpe Group discuss what they believe to be a tremendous opportunity and advantage for taxpayers to donate their rebates to charity.
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Gifts of life insurance policies to not-for-profit organizations can benefit both the organization and the donor, the latter in the form of an often sizeable income tax charitable deduction. However, under the requirements of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA),
determining the fair market value of policies requires the help of an appraiser with the appropriate expertise and experience. In this article from the Journal of Accountancy, appraiser Alan Breus, CLU, ChFC reviews current appraisal requirements and appraiser qualifications.  MORE »

As its name implies, a bargain sale occurs when a donor, who intends to make a charitable contribution, sells property to charity for less than its fair market value. This memorandum reviews the various types of bargain sales, the technical requirements for qualification, taxation of bargain sales, computation of charitable contribution deductions, and the application of the bargain sale rules to various types of planned giving vehicles.  MORE »

A charitable gift annuity is described generally as a transaction in which an individual transfers cash or property to a charitable organization in exchange for the charity's promise to make fixed annuity payments to one or two life annuitants. This comprehensive report discusses the origin of gift annuities, how they are designed and regulated, how charitable contribution deductions are determined, taxation of distributions to annuitants, taxation of gift annuities to issuing organizations, and creative planning opportunities for donors.

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Writing on behalf of the American Council on Gift Annuities, Lindsay Lapole and Frank Minton have announced the State of New York has issued new reserve requirements for charities that issue charitable gift annuities in New York.  MORE »