Business succession planning: Four questions and one word of caution
At the Lenawee Community Foundation, we work with a wide range of individuals, families, and businesses for whom charitable giving is a priority, especially those who want to support causes in our community that improve the quality of life for everyone. In many cases, we’re helping business owners structure their personal and family philanthropy. A natural extension of that work is to explore ways a business owner’s succession plan can incorporate gifts to favorite charities and causes. Some attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors are surprised to learn how many charitable planning options may be available in connection with a business succession event. Our team is here to help.
IPOs and charitable clients: Three scenarios for impact
If you keep an eye on initial public offerings, it’s been an exciting few weeks, especially if your clients are involved. As you work with clients who may hold stock that’s going public, or if your clients are considering investing in companies involved in IPOs, be sure to look at all angles of the client’s financial and estate plan that may be impacted—including charitable planning.
Worth a read
The Lenawee Community Foundation team keeps an eye on trends, research, legislative developments, and thought leadership at the intersection of charitable planning, estate planning, and wealth management. Here are three recent articles we think are especially relevant for attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors serving charitable clients.
Backdrop required: Informing your work with charitable clients
As attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors, you’re dedicated to helping charitable clients navigate technical planning opportunities ranging from donor-advised funds and Qualified Charitable Distributions to charitable trusts and gifts of complex assets. The Lenawee Community Foundation is here to help, every step of the way! Tackling the details is important. Effective charitable planning also requires […]
Good news keeps coming: Retirement plans and charitable giving
You’ve no doubt noticed that Qualified Charitable Distributions (“QCDs”) continue to gain traction as one of the most practical and effective charitable planning tools for clients over age 70 ½. By allowing eligible clients to transfer funds directly from an IRA to a qualified charity without recognizing the distribution as taxable income, QCDs can help reduce adjusted gross income while supporting charitable priorities. For many clients—especially those who do not itemize deductions—a QCD is particularly appealing.
Wake-up Call: OBBBA Changes and Client Conversations
For many attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors, the tax law changes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are old news. That is not the case for many of your clients! While you’ve been busy reading dozens of articles and evaluating how the changes will impact your clients, many of your clients are just now learning about the changes, especially as issues came to the forefront for them during tax season. Even if you’ve been talking with clients about the changes for months, don’t stop. For many clients, now is the first time they’ll really be listening.
Getting creative: Unusual noncash assets can make great gifts to charity
If you’re like many advisors, you may have discovered that often charitable giving conversations begin (and end!) with cash or appreciated stock. And of course, you understand appreciated stock is an excellent choice for your clients to fund a donor-advised or other type of fund at the Lenawee Community Foundation because it may avoid capital gains tax while also possibly triggering eligibility for a charitable deduction at fair market value.
Calling it Splits: What Happens to Charitable Assets in a Divorce?
As you work with charitable clients over the course of your career, you’ll likely help dozens of married couples establish donor-advised funds and other types of funds at the Lenawee Community Foundation, structure charitable gifts in wills and trusts, establish charitable remainder trusts, and everything in between.
Case study: Charitable giving in a down market
As you guide clients through ongoing market uncertainty, you may be noticing that conversations are becoming as much about perspective as performance metrics. While headlines may or may not ultimately signal a prolonged downturn, the mere possibility of a bear market can influence how clients think about everything from retirement timelines to charitable giving. As an advisor, you have an opportunity to help clients stay grounded and intentional, even when emotions are running high.
Serving charitable clients: Dual strategies emerge
As tax laws and market dynamics continue to shift, it is important for attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors to be aware of two increasingly distinct groups of donors. On one hand, the high federal estate tax exemption and new restrictions on itemizing charitable deductions are creating unique needs for your clients whose assets exceed $30 million. On the other hand, the new charitable deduction for non-itemizers offers an entry point and incentive for your clients who are just starting out in their careers or still building wealth.