A Commitment

to Each Client.

Doing Well While Doing Good For Others

We Help Our Clients Make Optimum Use Of Charitable Donations

The generosity of Americans is borne out every day through substantial donations made to nonprofit organizations that serve a wide variety of needs. Charitable gifts are one of the best ways for individuals or families to do well while doing good for others. Gifts can be an effective means of reducing estate taxes, avoiding capital gains taxes, and helping children or grandchildren pay for college.

The estate planning attorneys at Lesser Lutrey Pasquesi & Howe, LLP in Lake Forest, Illinois, provide comprehensive guidance on the most effective means to make charitable donations. We can ensure that your gift is set up to perform optimally from a philanthropic and tax-planning perspective.

Finding The Strategy That’s Right For You

Our lawyers have a thorough understanding of the full scope of estate planning tools that can be used to make charitable donations. Life insurance policies, retirement accounts, trusts and other assets can be structured so that your values are reflected in how your assets are distributed while you are alive, as well as the directions that are provided in your will.

There are many ways to pass assets to individuals or organizations, including:

  • Charitable lead trust — Allows an individual to contribute to a designated charitable organization for a fixed amount of time. This allows the user to receive a tax break and eventually transfer assets to family members. Charitable lead trusts can be established during your life or at your death.
  • Charitable gift annuity — Allows the user to donate to a nonprofit organization, get a tax deduction and receive guaranteed income for life, some of it tax-free.
  • Charitable bequest — Allows an individual to transfer assets to an organization or an individual only upon a condition being met or an event occurring (i.e., a benefactor’s graduation from college or the completion of a drug rehabilitation program).
  • Retained life estate — Allows an individual to transfer real estate to a charity while retaining rights to live or use the property for the rest of his or her life. The property immediately transfers upon death without going through probate.

Serving North Shore Clients For Nearly 20 Years

Our firm has served a wide variety of clients in Lake County and beyond since 1996. Our skill level is on par with any of the large, downtown Chicago estate planning firms, but those big firms have difficulty matching our personal approach and our focus on providing every client with five-star service.

We welcome the opportunity to answer your questions regarding planned giving or any estate planning issues. Call 847-235-6745 or use our online contact form to schedule a meeting.