Estate Planning Newsletter

Charitable Trusts

It is possible to set up a trust for charitable purposes. Charitable trusts are quite common, but certain requirements must be met.

Purpose of a Charitable Gift

Reasons for charitable gifts funded through a trust include the desire to:

• Help relieve poverty
• Help the elderly
• Advance a religion
• Benefit educational establishments
• Aid with the construction or maintenance of public property (such as a park)
• Prevent animal cruelty

How Are Beneficiaries Designated?

In general, beneficiaries of charitable gifts must have a broader scope:

• Cannot be specifically named people
• Can be a class of persons
• May be institutions

In some cases, a charitable gift may be given to a non-charitable organization. However, there must be a charitable intent; otherwise the trust is invalid as a charitable trust.

Supervision & Regulation

In some states, the office of the Attorney General oversees charitable trust activity. The Attorney General’s duties in this regard include:

• Maintaining a register of charitable corporations, trustees, and trusts
• Investigating transactions relating to charitable trusts
• Enforcing charitable trusts
• Recovering property on behalf of a charitable trust

Cy Pres Doctrine

If your charitable wishes cannot be fulfilled for some reason, the appropriate court will attempt to carry out your wishes by giving the property to an organization with a related charitable purpose. For example, a charitable trust set up to eradicate polio may instead be given to aid a pediatric foundation.

© 2026 NextClient.com, Inc. All rights reserved.

• Irrevocable Funeral Trusts
  If you are concerned that the cost of skilled nursing care or other long-term care will exhaust your savings and saddle your heirs with your funeral and burial expenses, then you may want to consider adding an Irrevocable Funeral Trust... Read more.
• Court-Imposed Transfers: Constructive Trusts
  A constructive trust is a remedy imposed by a court when a person has wrongfully attained property in an inappropriate way. The court will undo the transaction and order that title to the property go to the rightful... Read more.
• Taxation of Long-Term Care Insurance
  People are living longer, but for many a reality of aging is that at some point they are unable to care for themselves. The costs of retirement homes and in-home care are rising, generating concerns for many on how to pay for the cost... Read more.
• Enhancing Retirement Lifestyles Through Reverse Mortgages
  Many are familiar with the concept of a mortgage, where an individual makes monthly payments to a lender. However, for those who qualify, there is another type of mortgage called a “reverse mortgage” (RM), where the lender makes... Read more.

• Sean Combs Appeals Sentence as Court Weighs Early Release Bid
• Apollonia Settles Trademark Dispute With Prince Estate Over Rights to Her Stage Name
• Andra Day Wins Early Ruling as Dispute With Former Manager Moves Forward
• John Deere to Pay $99 Million to Settle Right-to-Repair Lawsuit Over Farm Equipment
• Lawsuit Claims Washington’s 9.9% Income Tax Violates State Constitution