Private Foundations in Estate Planning: Overcoming IRS Scrutiny, Structuring Tax-Efficient Charitable Legacies
Minimizing Tax in Diversified Estates, Maximizing Charitable Impact, Navigating IRS Private Foundation Rules

Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Estate Planning
- event Date
Thursday, July 10, 2025
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
-
This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
This CLE/CPE webinar will provide estate planners with a thorough and practical guide to structuring private foundations as a component of an integrated estate plan. The panel will describe the federal income tax treatment of private foundations, detail operational requirements for maintaining a foundation, and discuss both inter vivos and post-mortem strategies for using a private foundation.
Description
Estate planners and advisers TURN to private foundations as a legacy tool for charitably minded clients. The increased control over distributions and enhanced income and transfer tax advantages make private foundations an ideal estate planning vehicle.
Setting up a private foundation involves creating a separate exempt organization and contributing assets to the foundation. Once established, contributions to the foundation remove the assets' value from the donor's gross estate and qualify for a current-year charitable deduction.
For some assets, particularly IRAs and other retirement accounts and those that generate income for a decedent, the tax impact is significantly reduced compared to assets passed through a will or trust.
Operating a private foundation does not lack burden or risk: the entity must file an annual Form 990-PF return. The foundation may be subject to excise tax on unrelated business taxable income.
Additionally, there are rules against "prohibited transactions" and "self-dealing" with related persons. However, structured correctly, a private foundation may pay compensation--even to family members of the donor--so long as the compensation is "reasonable."
Listen as our experienced panel provides a thorough and practical guide to the operations, benefits, and potential risks of using private foundations as estate planning tools. The panel will offer techniques in managing private foundations.
Outline
- Income and transfer tax benefits and treatment of contributed property
- Ideal assets to contribute and not contribute to a private foundation
- Establishing a private foundation
- Reporting requirements, operational risks, and opportunities
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- Which asset transfers provide the most income and transfer tax benefits when gifted to a private foundation?
- What are the tax treatment differences between private foundations and donor advised funds?
- Scenarios for post-mortem planning using private foundations to lessen the impact of income in respect of a decedent
- What are the operational challenges for a private foundation?
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- Best for new attorneys
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