Troublesome Trust Topics

State Bar of Texas, Governance of Nonprofit Organizations Course, Austin, Texas, (co-presented with David Rosenberg)

What is a charitable trust and how does it operate?  Can you modify a charitable trust and with whose permission?  How can a charitable trust be converted to a nonprofit corporation, and vice versa?  Charitable trusts can serve useful purposes in the world of tax-exempt organizations, particularly as private foundations and endowments.  However, they are unique in many ways and that uniqueness can create troublesome situations.  Curious about charitable trusts?  This paper and presentation are for you!

Who Would Have Thought: Charitable Trusts as a Viable Entity

Who Would Have Thought: Charitable Trusts as a Viable Entity, State Bar of Texas, Governance of Nonprofit Organizations Course, August 23-24, 2012

This seminar paper explores charitable trusts as an entity structure for Section 501(c)(3) organizations. Many practitioners have moved away from charitable trusts and focus exclusively on nonprofit corporations (and to some extent on newer forms of nonprofit entities including L3Cs and B Corporations). However, the charitable trust, the oldest form of nonprofit entity, still has viability in certain circumstances. This paper explores those circumstances, particularly under Texas law.