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Purposeful planning for the heirs and causes you cherish

April 2025

Estate planning decisions often include questions about your beneficiaries. Who gets what – and when? Will they embrace your charitable legacy as you wish? What about the taxes?

Among the wide range of charitable solutions, a testamentary charitable remainder unitrust (TCRUT) can help address many of the questions donors have before the trust goes into effect, which means you can change your mind if new questions arise.

Maintain Charitable Legacy

Holly and Jim are in their 60s and still working in healthcare. They are active volunteers in their community and at their church. Over time the couple established a charitable gift annuity to provide retirement income. When they both pass, the remainder will go to their donor-advised fund at Thrivent Charitable, and grants to charities will continue into perpetuity.

With this mindful planning in place, Holly and Jim also wanted to provide for their heirs. They want their kids to share their love of giving and instill those values in their own children. The remainder of the TCRUT will make it possible for the family to make charitable decisions together for decades to come.

“We like the idea that we are maximizing what we can give to family and charity and minimizing the taxes,” Holly said. “It isn’t what you start with, it’s where you’re going.”

A TCRUT helps solve the tax implications adult children could face when inheriting their parents’ 401(k)s or IRAs. Those assets will now be dispersed as income from the TCRUT over 20 years or life, rather than the 10 years allowed for inherited qualified assets under current law.

Maintain Control Forever

Gwenn recently retired and moved across the country to be closer to relatives. An inheritance from her uncle left her with choices.

“I never had extra money to do something with, and I was looking for advice,” she recalls. “I wanted control of the outcome, and a trust seemed to be a perfect solution.”

Gwenn wants her children and grandchildren to receive their inheritance over time. She also wants to make decisions about which charities will receive the remainder of her funds after the 10-year period she outlined.

How a TCRUT Works

You can establish a TCRUT as a provision in your will using life insurance, annuities, retirement assets or a portion of your estate. Upon your death, the trust then makes regular income payments to heirs calculated annually using a set percentage rate and the value of the trust’s assets.

When the trust terminates, the remainder goes in a donor-advised fund you established for charitable giving. You can change your mind about charities or who may select them until the trust takes effect at your death.

What are your unique priorities for sharing your legacy with your family and your causes? Talk with your financial advisor about how a TCRUT could be the solution you want or contact our Charitable Giving Services team to learn more.

Thrivent provides advice and guidance through its Financial Planning Framework that generally includes a review and analysis of a client’s financial situation. A client may choose to further their planning engagement with Thrivent through its Dedicated Planning Services (an investment advisory service) that results in written recommendations for a fee.

This donor’s experience may not be the same as other donors and does not indicate future performance or success. Payout rates, charitable deductions and other benefits vary based on a number of factors.