Rethinking the Toolbox: Charitable Giving with Noncharitable Trusts

Kim Kamin, Chief Wealth Strategist at Gresham Partners LLC, co-presented “Rethinking the Toolbox: Charitable Giving with Noncharitable Trusts” for the 2026 Estate Planning for Large Estates Program, that she was co-chairing for the third consecutive year. She was accompanied by Brad Bedingfield. This session examined discussed how increasingly planners are including charities as potential beneficiaries of both old and new family trusts. Making distributions to charities from these trusts can help manage income taxation, correct for overly successful trust planning, and provide alternative vehicles for family philanthropy. However, continued IRS hostility to the 642(c) deduction, as well as recent changes in tax law, may cause unexpected headaches for trustees and beneficiaries. The speakers discussed possibilities and pitfalls in utilizing the 642(c) deduction, as well as alternatives for trustees and beneficiaries looking for options to allow their trusts to have impact beyond family wealth.

Established in 1981, Estate Planning for Large Estates is the longest-running and most respected advanced educational program devoted to estate planning for substantial wealth. For more than 45 years, the program has provided sophisticated, practical guidance to attorneys, trust officers, accountants, family office executives, and other advisors serving ultra-high-net-worth clients and multigenerational families.

The 2026 Estate Planning for Large Estates Program was presented in collaboration with: The UHNW Institute, an independent, non-profit think tank and learning exchange focused on elevating the family wealth industry – https://www.uhnwinstitute.org. Gresham Partners LLC, a wealth management firm serving as a multi-family office for select UHNW clients, and Gordon, Fournaris & Mammarella, P.A, a law firm based in Delaware.

If you would like additional information, please contact Kim Kamin at kkamin@greshampartners.com, or 312-960-0200.