Charitable Planning for High-Net-Worth Families in Louisiana

Wealth Planning Law Group is a New Orleans law firm handling estate planning, tax, asset protection and business succession for owners of operating businesses in Louisiana and across the country. For families with a charitable goal, the mistake we see most often is treating that goal as a separate project from the estate and tax plan, when it’s really one decision made in two parts.

Why this belongs inside the estate plan, not next to it

A charitable gift made without looking at the rest of the estate can create a tax result nobody intended, deductions that go unused because they weren’t timed against income, or a structure that conflicts with what’s already in the trust. Charitable planning works best when it’s priced and timed alongside everything else: the business sale, the lifetime gifts, the exemption you’re planning around.

CRT, donor-advised fund, or private foundation: the real difference

A charitable remainder trust converts an appreciated asset into a stream of income for you, an immediate income tax deduction, and a way to avoid capital gains tax on the sale of the asset inside the trust. It fits best when you want income back.

A donor-advised fund is simpler to set up and gives you an immediate deduction with ongoing control over which charities receive the money over time, but no income comes back to you.

A private foundation gives the most control over investments, grant-making, and even family involvement across generations, at the cost of more administration and less flexibility once it’s set up.

None of these is the “right” one in the abstract. The right one depends on whether you want income, simplicity, or control, and on what else is happening in your estate the same year.

Appreciated stock and real estate

Giving appreciated stock or real estate directly to a trust or fund, rather than selling it and giving the after-tax proceeds, avoids the capital gains tax on the sale entirely and still gets you a deduction based on the full value. This matters most in the same year as a business sale or a large liquidity event, when the tax bill is otherwise largest.

A Louisiana example

Consider a Covington business owner selling a company for $7 million with no charitable structure in place. Layering in a charitable remainder trust before the sale closes, not after, can offset a meaningful share of the gain, produce an income stream, and reduce the taxable estate left behind, all from the same transaction. (This is an illustrative scenario, not a description of an actual client matter.)

How this fits with the rest of your plan

The fee is set before the work starts, and the first consultation is free. The firm designs the plan (the trust, the fund, or the foundation) and coordinates it with your existing estate and tax structure, and Fountainhead Global, Todd M. Villarrubia’s own family office, executes it, with the legal fee fixed before the work starts.

For a deeper look at the specific vehicles available, see our Charitable Planning page.

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