ProSpeak: It's Time for a Two-way Street

• You can donate both the cow and the milk.
• You can donate just the milk (and keep the cow).
• You can donate the cow (and keep the milk).

Of course, if the individual isn’t currently considering making a donation, we can point out a fourth option:

• You can keep the cow and the milk and wait for the IRS to come along, butcher half of the cow, haul off the meat, and maybe leave you with a glass of milk.

We had a client recently who was looking at that last option. The family had an estate-tax exposure of $8 million. Rather than give $4 million to the IRS, we found a way to re-direct it to their favorite charity in a way that lets the family get all $8 million at the end of a set term. In other words, they got their cow back.

Marc Sheridan is president of Sheridan Wealth Advisors, and Don Tolep is senior vice president at the firm, which works with major nonprofits across the United States. For more information, visit www.sheridanadvisors.com.