John and Betty Brown have 3 grandchildren, ages 17, 18 and 20. They wanted to provide funds to cover a portion of each grandchild’s college education over the next 6 years and were hoping there was a tax-advantaged way to do that. I suggested using a charitable remainder annuity trust (CRAT) that would provide a set amount of funds to each grandchild each year for the next 6 years for their college education expenses, with a gift of the remainder of the trust to the childcare organization they have supported for many years at the end of the 6-year term of the trust. Funding the CRAT with two vacant parcels of land the Browns have owned for many years, which have appreciated in value, allowed the Browns to avoid the capital gains tax they would have had to pay if they sold the land. And, the Browns were able to take a charitable deduction for the value of the remainder interest in the CRAT that will pass to the childcare organization at the end of the 6-year term of the trust.
