Our Director Contact us Donors should always seek independent financial and legal advice when making a planned gift. Charitable Lead Trusts Charitable Lead Trusts allow a donor to provide the University's professional schools, library or museum with an income stream over the donor's lifetime or for a fixed term of years. Charitable lead trusts in combination with charitable remainder trusts can make powerful estate planning tools. A lead trust is usually funded with income producing property, so that the trust can pay income to the institution without invading the trust principal. A grantor lead trust generally provides that the property used to set up the trust will revert to the donor or the donor's spouse.
Income earned by the trust is taxable to the donor.
The donor also receives an income tax deduction for the amount of income going to the charity. However, lead trusts are not generally established for income tax purposes. The income of the trust is not taxable to the donor. There are no income tax deductions generated by a nongrantor lead trust. A nongrantor lead trust can be used to transfer wealth or property to successive generations at substantially reduced gift and estate tax costs.