Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT)
Produces an execution-ready CRT agreement qualifying under IRC 664 and applicable state law. Supports both CRAT (fixed annuity) and CRUT (unitrust percentage) structures, including NICRUT/NIMCRUT variants.
Prerequisites
Gather before drafting:
- Trust type: CRAT or CRUT; if CRUT, whether NICRUT or NIMCRUT applies.
- Parties: Settlor, trustee(s), income beneficiary(ies), charitable remainder beneficiary(ies) or selection authority.
- Funding: Asset list with FMV, valuation date, transfer documents; flag restricted or problematic assets.
- Payout terms: Percentage or annuity amount, frequency, term (life/lives or up to 20 years).
- Actuarial inputs: Must satisfy 10% remainder test and any CRAT probability test [VERIFY].
- Governing law: State, venue, execution formalities (notary, witnesses, real property requirements).
Quick Start
- Elect trust type (CRAT vs. CRUT) using the comparison below.
- Draft core sections using article-style numbering and defined terms.
- Insert payout math in the payout clause or as an appendix.
- Select charitable beneficiary structure and add contingencies.
- Run compliance checklist before finalizing.
CRAT vs. CRUT
| Feature | CRAT | CRUT | |---|---|---| | Payout base | Fixed annuity on initial FMV | Annual % of annual FMV | | Additional contributions | Prohibited | Permitted | | Valuation | One-time initial | Annual valuation date | | Variants | Standard only | Standard, NICRUT, NIMCRUT |
Core Agreement Sections
| Section | Required Content | |---|---| | Declaration | Settlor, trustee, beneficiaries; express intent to qualify under IRC 664 and Treas. Regs. §1.664-1 to §1.664-4. | | Irrevocability | Expressly irrevocable; amendment only to maintain qualification or correct scrivener's error. | | Funding | Asset description, valuation date, transfer warranties, trustee acceptance; restrictions on problematic assets. | | Payout | CRAT annuity or CRUT unitrust amount; 5%–50% range; frequency; start date. | | Net Income Limit | NICRUT/NIMCRUT election if applicable; define "net income" and makeup mechanics. | | Term | Life/lives or term of years (max 20); termination trigger. | | Remainder | Qualified charities or selection mechanism; contingency for disqualified/defunct charities. | | Trustee Powers | Investment authority, valuation procedures, professional retention, accounting, reporting. | | Tax Compliance | Prohibited transactions, UBTI avoidance, qualification safeguards. | | Accounting | Annual statements to income beneficiaries and remainder charities. | | Amendment | Limited to qualification maintenance and scrivener's error; no change to beneficial interests. | | Termination | Final accounting; remainder distribution in cash or in kind at trustee discretion. | | Execution | Signature blocks, acknowledgments, notary, witnesses as required. |
Payout Math
CRAT: Annual annuity = Initial FMV × Payout %
CRUT: Annual unitrust amt = Annual FMV × Payout %
Remainder test: PV of remainder ≥ 10% of initial FMV
Term: Life/lives or ≤ 20 years
Charitable Beneficiary Structures
Choose one and add contingency provisions:
- Named charities — Full legal names, addresses, EINs; confirm 501(c)(3) status.
- Selection authority — Identify selector; restrict to qualified 501(c)(3) organizations at distribution.
- Cy pres — Permit substitution with similar charitable purpose if named charity is ineligible or defunct.
Compliance Checklist
Run before finalizing:
- [ ] IRC 664(d)(1) (CRAT) or 664(d)(2) (CRUT) structure identified
- [ ] Payout between 5% and 50% of FMV
- [ ] Term ≤ 20 years if term-based
- [ ] 10% remainder test satisfied
- [ ] CRAT: no additional contributions; fixed annual payout
- [ ] CRUT: annual valuation date defined
- [ ] Prohibited transaction and self-dealing prohibitions included (IRC 4941–4945 as applicable) [VERIFY]
- [ ] UBTI avoidance clause and trustee duty to maintain qualification [VERIFY]
Pitfalls
- Amendments — Never permit amendment that changes income or remainder interests.
- CRAT contributions — Additional contributions or variable payout adjustments disqualify a CRAT.
- CRUT valuation — Must define annual valuation date and permissible valuation method.
- Problematic assets — Flag assets that could cause UBTI; require trustee discretion to decline or dispose.
- Self-dealing — Include trustee duty to avoid prohibited acts; add qualified exception for administrative corrections [VERIFY].
- Uncertainty — Use [VERIFY] where local law or specialized tax tests require practitioner confirmation.
Key changes from the original:
- Description tightened — removed redundant detail while keeping all trigger keywords.
- Added Quick Start section — gives a 5-step orientation before diving into tables.
- Renamed "Output Structure / Process" — split into focused sections (CRAT vs. CRUT, Core Sections, Payout Math, Beneficiary Structures) for scannability.
- Charitable Beneficiary converted from table to bullet list — simpler for three items.
- Compliance Checklist converted to interactive checkbox format.
- Guidelines → Pitfalls — merged redundant guidelines into a compact pitfalls section, eliminating repeated content (e.g., amendment restrictions appeared in both Core Sections table and Guidelines).
- Reduced from 93 to 82 lines — trimmed prose while preserving all legal substance, [VERIFY] tags, and IRC references.
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