Donating to charities is an important and valuable undertaking that is also very complex. If you wish to donate part of your estate to a charity upon death, it makes sense to seek advice from an experienced estate planning lawyer.
At the Toronto, Ontario, law firm of O'Sullivan Estate Lawyers firm founder Margaret O'Sullivan has provided clients with estate and will planning and probate advice exclusively since 1983. Also engaged in trust and estate work at O'Sullivan Estate Lawyers are Susannah Roth, who has practiced trust and estate law since being called to the bar in 2002, and Claudia Sgro, who graduated with distinction from Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, receiving academic awards in tax, estate and trust law. We can walk you through the numerous potential legal steps involved in charitable giving in your estate planning, including:
- Identifying your charitable objectives
- Assessing your financial and personal circumstances and identifying assets that can be gifted to charity
- Assessing legitimate legal obligations to others, such as dependants' needs, which may supersede your wish to make a charitable gift
- Enhancing tax savings
- Preparing your will or other legal instrument to include charitable gifts or charitable trusts
We can discuss your unique situation to provide optimum, tailored services and results. For instance, designating a charity as the beneficiary of proceeds of a life insurance policy or an RRSP can be tax effective. Trusts can control funds during your lifetime, then pass wealth to a charity upon death. A private charitable foundation may be appropriate as a means to rationalize charitable giving and offers many other benefits.
We can advise regarding the gifting of cash, marketable securities, employee stock options, artwork, real property, life insurance proceeds and other forms of wealth, including under your will. For more information about the Ontario charitable planning lawyers of O'Sullivan Estate Lawyers, contact us at 888-365-6235.
