Development Office

The Foundation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo

Trusts are not just for people with great wealth. Trusts are vehicles which provide many options and which often may bring tax advantages to the donor and the donor’s family. A carefully crafted trust can change money that otherwise might go to taxes to monies that support the Diocese, parish, school or program of your choice.

Trusts are designed to generate income which can be constant or variable over a specific number of years. With certain trusts, at your death or the death of the designee, the remainder (the amount still in the trust) can go to your estate for distribution or go to the Diocese, school, church or other charity of your choice.

Consult a trust specialist to determine the program that best suits your needs, and to assure that the trust is designed to properly reflect your wishes.

CHARITABLE LEAD TRUSTS allow you to make a meaningful gift to your parish, but enable you to eventually leave your estate to your family. It’s a special kind of planned-giving that allows you to "lend" your assets to an endowment for a specified period of time, after which they pass to you or your ultimate beneficiaries.

Your assets are transferred to a trust that pays a fixed income to the endowments of your choice, for as long as you specify. At the end of that time, the trust ends, and the assets are returned to you, or to any other beneficiary you name.

It’s one of the few ways you can reduce the gift and estate taxes that might normally be due on assets you leave to children and grandchildren. And, in certain cases, you may be entitled to an income tax deduction for a portion of your trust.

EXAMPLE

A long-time supporter and board member of his parish left his wife a substantial amount of property. Their two sons were provided for in his will, but the grandchildren were not. Her tax advisor informed her that her estate would probably owe a large amount of estate tax.

The wife told her advisor that she wanted to continue her husband’s devotion to their parish and to create college funds for her grandchildren. Her advisor created a charitable lead annuity trust with the Foundation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, containing property worth $250,000. The trust will pay the parish endowment $20,000 annually for ten years. After that, the property will pass to her grandchildren.