Charitable remainder unitrust
A charitable remainder unitrust is an irrevocable trust created under the authority of Internal Revenue Code § 664 ("Code"). This special, irrevocable trust (known as a "CRUT") has two primary characteristics: (1) Once established, the CRUT distributes a fixed percentage of the value of its assets (on an annual or more frequent basis) to a non-charitable beneficiary (which is considered the settlor of the trust); and (2) At the expiration of a specified time (usually the death of the settlor), the remaining balance of the CRUTs assets are distributed to charity. The trustee determines the fair market value of the CRUT's assets at the time of contribution, and thereafter on the applicable valuation date. The fixed annuity percentage must be at least 5% and no more than 50% of the fair market value of the assets in the corpus. The remainder (the amount expected to go to charity) must be at least 10% of the fair market value of the assets contributed to the CRUT. Code Section 664(d)(1) sets the federal income tax requirements for a charitable remainder unitrust.
Example
Assume an individual, Mr. Smith, has $1 million of publicly traded stock and would like to establish a CRUT. Assume the CRUT is set up to pay the annuity to Mr. Smith over his lifetime. Mr. Smith selects a 10% CRUT. The CRUT will pay Mr. Smith 10% of its assets (initially $100,000) per year until Mr. Smith dies. At that time, any balance remaining in the CRUT will be distributed to charity. The term "unitrust" means the annuity percentage is fixed; the CRUT will distribute 10% of the value of the CRUT's assets each year, the CRUT's value may increase or decrease over time.
Code § 664 (authorizing CRUTs) was added to the Code in 1969, as part of the Tax Reform Act of 1969 (Pub. L. No. 91-172).
A charitable remainder unitrust is a trust that meets both: (1) The applicable rules under state law for a valid Charitable Trust; and (2) the requirements set forth in Code Section .
First, a CRUT is formed like any other kind of trust, and must be valid under state law. Most states require CRUTs to be registered with the state. For example, California requires charitable trusts to be registered by filing a form CT-1 with the state attorney general. This is because the state attorney general represents the charitable interests involved with CRUT. However, California Govt. Code Section 12585(a) [1] provides that "A trustee is not required to register as long as the charitable interest in a trust is a future interest, but shall do so within 30 days after any charitable interest in a trust becomes a present interest."
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