There has been a continued increase in the amount of charitable giving by Americans over the last five years. Many of these donations have included very large “mega gifts” that are over $200 million. There are many charitable institutions that compete with each other to court these wealthy philanthropists. Clients will often coordinate their charitable giving while keeping wealth and estate planning objectives in mind. When charitable giving is structured the right way the client can enjoy many tax and wealth transfer benefits. It is important for the client to carefully review the terms of the gift agreement by meeting with an experienced estate planning professional. They should clarify any naming rights and understand the strategy that they are going to adopt.
See Julia Chu, The Prevalence and Best Practices of Mega Gifts, Wealth Management, December 24, 2015.
Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse for bringing this article to my attention.
