Reverse Mortgage Guide

Maybe instead of a reverse mortgage an alternative idea is to give away your property to charity — and get income for the rest of your life.

While not a choice for everyone, charitable remainder trusts have some interesting benefits, explains Vivian Marino in The New York Times. “Donors,” she says, “can receive what amounts to a lifetime stream of income. They can also get a tax deduction equal to the value of the property (less the income interest to be paid), and can avoid the federal capital-gains tax (now a maximum 15 percent rate) as well as capital-gains taxes in many states. When the donors die, the remaining assets in the trust are transferred to the charity. In some cases, income can pass on to heirs. The trusts, which are irrevocable, can be based on the annual valuation of the assets.

“Options for giving can be devised to pay a predetermined annuity (at least 5 percent annually of a property’s fair-market value, and typically higher for an older donor). There are also charitable funds that allow an individual to pool donated assets with those of other donors.”

Marino’s article provides a solid introduction into the world of remainder trusts. For details, of course, you’ll want to speak with independent legal and tax professionals.

For the complete article, see: Giving to Charity Through Real Estate.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 11th, 2007 at 1:58 pm and is filed under Reverse Mortgage . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.