Generation to Generation

If you already understand what a typical estate plan looks like, you can skip to the next paragraph. Put simply, it is more than just a will. Instead, a typical estate plan contains four documents: a will, revocable trust, health care proxy and power of attorney. The health care proxy and power of attorney are designed to operate during your lifetime, while the will and revocable trust control how your property is dealt with after your death. The will tends to be a relatively simple document by which you give away your personal belongings and name the personal representatives who are to administer your estate. The trust, on the other hand, distributes the balance of your assets among the people (and charities) you care about and names the trustees who will administer the trust property according to your wishes. The trust is necessarily more complex than the will, because it is where the tax planning provisions are found.

Foundations are effective vehicles for families who want to make a collective philanthropic impact now and for generations to come. Traditionally, foundations have achieved this impact solely through strategic grantmaking. A growing number of foundations are looking for ways to go further, however. These foundations seek strategies that will allow them to deploy their investment portfolios – in addition to grantmaking – to advance their charitable missions without hurting the value of their endowments long-term. One such strategy, using “mission-related investments” or MRIs, is trending in the press and at sector conferences, but most foundation directors and trustees have yet to jump on its bandwagon. New guidance from the IRS may change that.