-
Good news keeps coming: Retirement plans and charitable giving
You’ve no doubt noticed that Qualified Charitable Distributions (“QCDs”) continue to gain traction as one of the most practical and effective charitable planning tools for clients over age 70 ½. By allowing eligible clients to transfer funds directly from an IRA to a qualified charity without recognizing the distribution as taxable income, QCDs can help reduce adjusted gross income while supporting charitable priorities. For many clients — especially those who do not itemize deductions — a QCD is particularly appealing.
-
Split-interest charitable gifts: Need-to-know FAQs
As charitable planning conversations become more sophisticated, many advisors are revisiting so-called “split-interest gifts” to help clients balance philanthropic goals with income needs. Two of the most common strategies — a charitable gift annuity (CGA) and a charitable remainder trust (CRT) — can both provide clients with lifetime income while ultimately benefiting charitable causes. Despite their similarities, the two vehicles function very differently and may serve distinct client needs.
-
OBBBA and Charitable Giving in 2026: What Advisors Need to Tell Clients Now.
For many attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors, the tax law changes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are old news. That is not the case for many of your clients! While you’ve been busy reading dozens of articles and evaluating how the changes will impact your clients, many of your clients are just now learning about the changes, especially as issues came to the forefront for them during tax season. Even if you’ve been talking with clients about the changes for months, don’t stop. For many clients, now is the first time they’ll really be listening.
-
Rare but useful: Planning with charitable lead trusts
“Charitable lead trust” is far from a household word, and you might not run across the need for one very often in your practice. They sure do come in handy in certain client situations, though. At the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, we are happy to establish a donor-advised fund or another type of fund to serve as the income beneficiary of a charitable lead annuity trust, or “CLAT,” established by a client.
-
Worth a look: Charitable gifts of real estate
If your client base includes philanthropic individuals and families, you’re likely aware that gifts of real estate are an option to fund charitable giving. Real estate is the largest asset class in the world, yet various industry sources suggest that only 3% of charitable giving involves gifts of real estate. Still, it’s understandable that charitable real estate donations are often overlooked; the rules and process are complex. What’s more, many clients struggle emotionally when they start to think about parting with their real estate.
-
Postmarks, rule changes, and remedies for clients’ 2025 charitable gifts
If you were surprised to read about the ripple effect of a seemingly small change in the U.S. Postal Service regulations late last year, you were not alone! Here’s what you need to know, including potential remedies for your clients whose 2025 charitable deductions may be impacted by the rule change.
-
Sudden life changes: Charitable giving can help clients get through it
As an attorney, CPA, or financial advisor, you are no stranger to witnessing the ripple effects of life’s unexpected curveballs. If you represent a client over many years, you’re very likely at some point to help the client through a serious illness, a loved one’s death, business challenges, marital dissolution, strained relationships with children, or all of the above.
-
Professional Advisors: Last call for current tax rules
As you counsel clients through year-end tax planning, the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham encourages you to remind them that 2025 presents a critical window of opportunity for charitable giving before major provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) take effect on Jan. 1, 2026. The new law could significantly reshape the tax treatment of charitable contributions in ways that may reduce the tax value of gifts made after this year.
-
Meet Outstanding Professional Advisor Leigh A. Kaylor
Leigh Kaylor, 2025 Outstanding Professional Advisor Throughout her career, Leigh A. Kaylor has provided legal counsel to numerous family foundations and has played a key role in establishing nonprofits and helping organizations obtain necessary tax exemptions — including her contributions during Super Bowl XXX in Arizona. There was a time when Kaylor thought she’d always work in the world of corporate tax. But eventually, estate planning and estate administration would win her over. Today, Kaylor is Of Counsel in Dentons Sirote’s Trusts, Estates and Wealth Preservation practice, based in Birmingham. A key strength of Kaylor’s practice is her ability to integrate charitable giving into estate plans, and doing so has become her passion.
-
Three clients. Three solutions. One common theme.
As the calendar year draws to a close, you’re likely well aware that charitable giving is not only important to your clients first and foremost as an act of generosity, but also as a powerful tool in tax planning.