Zero Tax Plan - It may be possible to set up a charitable lead trust that will allow you to transfer assets to your family with zero gift taxes. The IRS assumes that a lead trust is only earning at the current low federal rate. If the actual investments of the trust produce a higher return than the payments made to Father Joe's Villages over the term of the trust, the full value of the trust may be transferred to your family with no gift tax liability.

FLP/Lead Trust Plan - To discount your gift to your family members even more, you may consider first transferring your real estate or other assets into a family limited partnership (FLP), which will fund your charitable lead trust. The combination of the FLP, the lead trust and a gift exemption can permit the lead trust to pay income to Father Joe?s Villages for a number of years and potentially transfer substantial assets tax-free to your family.

Increasing Payment Lead Trust - With increased volatility in the stock market, you may also want to consider creating a charitable lead trust that makes fixed payments of increasing amounts to our organization over time. Because the payments to us are fixed, your family ultimately benefits from any growth in the trust. Low payouts in the early years allow the trust to grow, thus allowing protection should the economy produce below-average returns in the future.

Grantor Lead Trust - A grantor lead trust permits you to transfer your cash or assets to a trust that will make gifts to charity for a number of years. At the end of the trust term, you receive the assets back from the trust.