September 19, 2016

Gene Wilder recently passed away from Alzheimer’s disease. His legacy as an actor was almost certainly tied to his iconic role as Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but he was also significantly generous in his philanthropic efforts to raise awareness for ovarian cancer after his third wife, Gilda Radner, passed away from complications associated with ovarian cancer.

It is believed by some estate planning experts that his philanthropic efforts were inspired by a genuine desire to help the cause as well as the fact that he had no children to leave assets to. There are many different reasons that you may consider leaving behind assets to a charity. Those individuals who plan to give to charity for altruistic purposes may still be able to reap tax benefits while using appropriate estate planning techniques.

Charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts allow the grantors to support charities the grantor is passionate about as well as providing estate tax and income tax charitable deductions as well as being able to benefit family members at what’s known as a reduced transfer tax cost. The timing of the charitable gifts can be an important consideration and this is why it should be included in the conversation with your estate planning attorney.