Charitable Planning

Charitable Planning

At Marshall Law Offices, we believe charitable planning represents a powerful intersection of personal values and thoughtful estate planning. Our charitable planning practice helps clients create meaningful philanthropic legacies while optimizing tax benefits and ensuring financial security for loved ones. Charitable giving is deeply personal, reflecting your values, passions, and desire to make a lasting difference. We begin by exploring what causes matter most to you, whether supporting education, advancing medical research, promoting the arts, protecting the environment, or addressing social inequities. Understanding your philanthropic vision allows us to recommend strategies that maximize your impact.

For many clients, charitable planning serves multiple objectives—reducing income taxes during lifetime, decreasing estate tax exposure, creating family giving traditions, and leaving a meaningful legacy. We design comprehensive approaches that balance these goals, integrating charitable elements with broader wealth management and estate planning strategies.

Private foundations offer one powerful vehicle for family philanthropy, allowing for significant control over grantmaking decisions and creating a platform for family involvement across generations. We guide clients through foundation establishment, governance structures, compliance requirements, and succession planning to ensure your foundation fulfills your charitable vision long-term.

Donor-advised funds provide an alternative with reduced administrative complexity while still offering meaningful input over charitable distributions. We help evaluate whether this increasingly popular option aligns with your objectives and assist in establishing and managing these relationships. Charitable remainder trusts allow you to support favorite causes while retaining income for yourself or other beneficiaries during your lifetime. These split-interest arrangements can provide income tax deductions, capital gains tax advantages, and estate tax benefits while ensuring your charitable intentions are fulfilled. Conversely, charitable lead trusts provide income to charitable organizations for a specified period before assets pass to family members or other beneficiaries. These sophisticated vehicles can be particularly effective for transferring assets to the next generation with reduced gift or estate tax exposure.

We also assist clients with direct charitable gifts of complex assets—closely-held business interests, real estate, intellectual property, artwork or appreciated securities—each requiring specialized structuring to maximize tax benefits and charitable impact. Our expertise ensures these transactions are executed properly and documented appropriately for tax purposes. For clients interested in supporting their communities directly, we provide guidance on local giving circles, community foundation partnerships, and strategic grantmaking approaches. These localized strategies often create the most visible and personally meaningful philanthropic impact. Legacy statements often complement charitable planning by communicating the values and intentions behind your philanthropy. We help clients articulate these important messages to guide future generations in continuing your charitable legacy.

Whether you're just beginning your philanthropic journey or refining an established giving strategy, our team provides the technical expertise and compassionate guidance to help you create lasting positive change while achieving your broader estate planning objectives.