Nancy and I had just about decided we would do a Charitable Remainder Unit Trust. The benefits to us were significant: transfer low-yielding shares of stock with large capital gains into the trust, thereby avoiding the capital gains tax, and converting the low yield to a substantial monthly amount, at a lower tax rate!

The only disadvantage would be that at our death, the reminder of the trust would go to the charity, rather than to our heirs. If we planned to make a bequest to that charity anyway, it would make no difference.

A further consideration was to be sure the charity’s mission would continue to be what we want it to be after our death, not just now. After reviewing all of the organizations we customarily give to, we found the Leelanau Conservancy to be the only one we were sure would be carrying out our wishes after our death.

An additional reason for choosing the Conservancy was that our children will always have a Leelanau County presence, hence the work of the Conservancy will continue to benefit them after our death, thus providing compensation for the reduction in their direct inheritance.

So there you have it: Increase our income, lower our tax rate, avoid capital gains, and provide a benefit to our children. All this, and make a substantial contribution to the wonderful Leelanau Conservancy. How could we not do it? So we did it!