Estate Planning News

Planned Giving And Legacy Planning

Is planned giving, or legacy planning, a growing practice with “silos” of expertise that do not yet communicate with one another in an optimal way? Yes, according to “Enhancing the Legacy Planning Field: An Environmental Scan With Preliminary Analysis,” prepared by Jeff Grossberg of Guidestone Consulting in Boulder, Colo., for Houston, Texas-based Inspired Legacies.

The 24-page report, which is based on interviews with 35 key influencers (donors, philanthropists, advisors and thought leaders in philanthropy), reveals that donors, fundraisers, philanthropic consultants, foundations and tax, legal and financial advisors all “understand philanthropy,” but their own interpretations of this understanding of philanthropy vary widely.

According to the report, the legacy-planning field is not as effective as it could be. “The field and other parallel interests have been slow to realize the potential impact sound legacy planning can have on benefiting both a family’s legacy plans and society in general, through increased philanthropic resources better aligned with donors’ interests and social needs.”

The report also found the following trends:

• The desire to improve legacy planning resonates with many from all sectors, and can be seen taking form on a relatively small scale.
• The critical factors to increase the scale of improved legacy planning still need to be addressed.
• Generational differences also herald change as we move from measuring only money to measuring other indicators of value as well.
• Donors will be taking more ownership of the process, and advisors responding to this will practice more donor-inspired planning.
• The growth of community foundations, donor-advised funds and family foundations shows promise.

Contact our Plano estate planning attorney now.

	Did You Know?
	A "Living Trust" can be used to hold legal title to and provide a mechanism to manage your property You can select the person or persons you want -- often even yourself -- as the Trustee(s) to carry out the instructions you want in the Trust and name one or more Successor Trustees to take over if you cannot. Unlike a Will, a Trust usually becomes effective immediately, continues in force during your lifetime even in the event of your incapacity, and continues after your death. Most Trusts are "revocable" which allows the person who creates the Trust to make future changes, modifications and even to terminate it.