Charitable Giving - Galloway Collens

We all have family and financial issues to deal with that often keep us from supporting the organization or charity we would like to see succeed. The right kind of charitable giving tool is an excellent way to provide for your favorite causes, even after you have died.

You Aren’t Always Able To Give All You Want During Your Lifetime

Based in Royal Oak, Michigan, Galloway and Collens, PLLC, lawyers can help you meet your charitable giving goals through a variety of legal and financial tools, including:

Bequests — Often estate holders have supported a religious congregation or nonprofit charity for many years, but other financial obligations have prevented full financial support. Provisions can be written into a last will and testament or trust to leave any amount of money or property to a particular nonprofit organization. The gift can be a set amount of your estate or a percentage. It can be unrestricted or directed. The gift can create an endowment or be paid to an existing fund.
Real estate gifts— Many charitable organizations benefit from the gift of real property. Our lawyers can help you determine the fair market value of the property you wish to donate. We can assist you in making gifts during your lifetime or after death.
Gifts of appreciated stock — Donors who have significant holdings of securities such as stocks and bonds may donate all or a portion of the holdings to designated charities. For tax deduction purposes, the stock donation is calculated against a basisvalue of the stock or the stock value at the time of purchase or receipt. This is often an excellent charitable giving option for individuals or families who hold significant stocks with a low basis and a high share value.
Charitable gift annuities — We can help you carry out your lifetime charitable intent by establishing a charitable gift annuity with your favorite charity. It can provide you with a current charitable income tax deduction for making the gift and then you are guaranteed a locked-in rate of return on the gift you have made.
Irrevocable charitable remainder trust — A type of trust the donor funds with irrevocably placed assets. During the donor’s lifetime, beneficiaries may benefit from distributions from the trust. Upon the death of the donor, the remaining assets go to the charities established as the final beneficiaries. The trust must be administered by an independent trustee. The IRS allows the donor to take a tax deduction for the year the trust is funded. The tax savings are often used to purchase a life insurance policy to pay beneficiaries upon the death of the estate holder.

Huntington Woods Real Estate Gift Attorneys

Contact us to discuss your charitable giving options with attorney Howard H. Collens. Our offices are in Huntington Woods, Michigan, and we represent individuals and families throughout the Detroit metro area.

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Howard Collens helped us establish and maintain our family trust and was instrumental in finding a solution to an inheritance issue. We highly recommend him as a trustworthy attorney of good character and integrity. Jo & Art Mondrala

Art Mondrala

July 16, 2023

Scott Galloway and Howard Collens are very knowledgeable in the areas of probate, estate planning, elder law and real estate. They are actively involved in the legal community and work hard to stay on the cutting edge of their practice areas. And, they are very kind - I really enjoy working with them.

Katie Lynwood

June 30, 2023

Galloway and Collens has been my go-to law firm in the Detroit Metro area for years. Pleasant and easy to deal with, my experience with each of their attorneys has always been very good. They've helped me with various real estate issues such as title changes, land contract forfeitures, and now property management issues. Best of all they are very responsive and reasonably priced. I highly recommend.

John Plewa

May 30, 2023

An attorney’s attorney!!! I consulted with Howard on a pending case and his advice and knowledge was excellent. His suggestions verify his keen knowledge of the courts, judges, and the law. I strongly recommend him to anyone in need of probate court representation.

danny weberman

March 16, 2023

Our law firm consulted Howard on a case and he was great to work with; provided expert advice, helpful and very knowledgable. His clients are in good hands!

lori weberman

Howard is a delight to work with. His sincerity is evident and the clarity he provides in explaining challenging topics is reassuring. Our work with him was simple, but he gave us his full focus and mastery of details.

Paulette Spagnuolo

January 18, 2023

Loved working with Howard Collens, he explained everything really well and made sure we were taken care of throughout the process. More than glad to have chosen Galloway and Collens!

Carly Spagnuolo

January 13, 2023