The charitable lead trust (CLT) is a trust arrangement under which the annual income obtained from the trust is paid out to a qualified or designated charitable organization for a specified duration or period of years. During this time period, the principal of the trust is passed to non-charitable beneficiaries, such as the donor’s children or grandchildren, when the trust is terminated. The lead trust is a technique utilized by donors for creating a temporary gift of income to a charitable institution that eventually passes the property to individual beneficiaries. The value of the income interest is tax-deductible for federal gift and estate tax purposes, the lead trust is often utilized to decrease taxes while ultimately passing ownership of the property to family members or other beneficiaries. Among other advantages to the charitable lead trust is that it can be utilized as a shelter property from federal gift and estate taxes and a grantor lead can yield an immediate federal income tax deduction for the present value of the charity’s interest. Lastly, federal estate and gift taxes to the donor can be avoided on the appreciation in the value of the property between the date of the gift and the date of the death of the donor. If you are interested in a charitable lead trust, American Kids Cancer Fund is a worthy organization that will appreciate your donation so that we together can help the kids with cancer and their families.