Philanthropic Legacies, Exempt Organizations and Charitable Giving
Charitable giving is an important value for many of our clients. From creating new organizations to funding major gifts, charitable planning can raise complex issues across a number of legal disciplines including corporate and tax law. Cochran Law Group draws on the extensive experience of our attorneys in these areas to implement the philanthropic goals of our clients and help them build meaningful legacies.
Aen Webster and Gosia Bochenek have formed and shepherded various types of charitable organizations including charitable Trusts, private foundations, donor advised funds and operating charities. Our attorneys are also skilled in structuring major gifts from the perspective of income tax planning. On the organization side, we advise on operational matters such as gift acceptance policies, conflicts of interest, governance and compliance.
Representative matters include:
- Supporting multi-generational family philanthropy
- Sophisticated tax-wise giving strategies for gifts during lifetime or at death
- Planned giving involving charitable lead Trusts and charitable remainder Trusts
- Charitable naming opportunities and gifts of art works
- Formation of private family foundations and supporting organizations
- Advice regarding donor-advised funds
- Governance, compliance and succession planning for family foundations
- Design of bequests and gift agreements to protect long-term goals of donors
Whether representing donors or charitable organizations, our work is a blend of practical advice, creative solutions, technical expertise and problem solving. We can assist you with the entire planning process and help you choose the most advantageous options based on your personal goals and priorities. We handle the business aspects of establishing an exempt charitable organization as well, from formation and compliance to exit planning.
We can also assist with making a significant charitable gift to an existing exempt organization – from due diligence and charity selection to working with the charity to ensure the gift will be used as you intended.