Charitable Remainder Trusts

Charitable remainder trusts are special trusts that allow you to make a significant impact on the future of Woman's Missionary Union, while providing income and other benefits to you and those you love.

A trust is a vehicle that allows you to provide an income for yourself or someone else for a specific time period, or for life. You may have assets managed by a professional, a trusted friend, a family member for a specific time period, or for life. You may delay a distribution of money or other asset until some future date.

What are Charitable Trusts?
Charitable trusts are a specific group of trusts that combine charitable giving with an individual's other financial goals.

What are Charitable Remainder Trusts?
Charitable remainder trusts are trusts that pay an income to you, your spouse, or other individuals, for a specific time. The trust distributes the assets to charitable organizations, like WMU, at the end of the trust term.When you create a charitable remainder trust, it is sometimes said that you make a deferred gift. This is because you have made an irrevocable gift of a future interest in property. A future interest means that the charity does not immediately have possession of the property. The charity's possession is temporarily deferred until the end of the trust term.

Benefits of a Charitable Remainder Trust ?

• You can make a significant impact on the future of Woman's Missionary Union.
• You receive an annual income at a rate chosen by you (the minimum rate by law is 5%).
• You receive an immediate income tax deduction for the value of WMU's remainder interest (assuming the trust is created during your lifetime).
• You avoid capital gains tax on any appreciated assets you place in trust.
• You receive charitable gift and estate tax deductions.

A Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust provides you a fixed, unchanging income. You determine the payout rate (not less than 5%) when the trust is created, and that payment continues until the trust terminates. Because the trust is only valued once -at the date it is established-you always know what your income will be.

Annuity trusts are typically funded with liquid assets such as cash, certificates of deposit, or publicly traded securities.

What is a Charitable Remainder Unitrust?
The unitrust is similar to the annuity trust in many ways, but it also has a few significant differences. A major difference is in how your income amount is determined. The payout rate must still be at least 5%, but the amount of income you receive from the trust will fluctuate from year to year. This is because the unitrust is re-valued annually. Like the annuity trust, the unitrust is valued upon its creation, and your income for the first year is based on the trust's initial valuation and your chosen payout rate.

However, in the second and all following years, the unitrust is re-valued and you are paid your specific percentage of that new year's valuation. Unitrusts can also be structured to pay out the lesser of your chosen trust percentage or the actual net income earned. Because there are variations on how unitrusts can operate, the unitrust is considered a more flexible trust.

Making Your Goals Become Realities
As you can see, charitable remainder trusts provide many ways to accomplish your goals and substantially benefit Woman's Missionary Union and missions. If you would like more information about gift opportunities through charitable remainder trusts, please call or write:

There is no obligation, of course, and all inquiries are kept strictly confidential.

This information is not intended as specific legal advice. Consult your attorney when considering any legal matter.