For philanthropic clients, year-end tax planning often involves charitable contributions. Many donors have specific purposes in mind and, understandably, want to ensure that the contributions they make achieve their charitable goals. To this end, they may want to restrict the gift or earmark it for a specific purpose; however, an impermissible restriction could risk their charitable deduction. Attorneys should take special care in drafting gift agreements that ensure the client’s wishes will be respected while protecting their tax deduction.

Let’s take a closer look at three common restrictive pitfalls – use restrictions, reversionary interests and deferred gifts – and review some considerations when drafting such agreements.

In my previous blog, Part II – Decanting, I addressed the option where a trustee exercises his or her discretion in making distributions for the benefit of a beneficiary and, rather than distribute the property from the trust outright, the trustee distributes property in further trust. This modification provides an alternative when the results intended by the original trust instrument cannot be successfully achieved as the trust is actually administered.

As a further safeguard to ensure a grantor’s intent is fully and faithfully executed, we now move to the top step in our ascending staircase of Trust Modification options: modification by Trust Protectors. 

In Part I of this blog series on Trust Modification, I addressed the first three (the simplest) modification options: Reformation, Procedural Modification and Equitable Deviation. Let’s continue up the stair steps to Part II and the more complex option of decanting.