You work with your clients to identify their philanthropic goals, the causes they want to support, and the most appropriate vehicles for making charitable gifts. Then your job is done, right? Not so fast. If the strategy is poorly executed, it can undermine the impact of those gifts.

Some traps are easy to fall into, such as mistakenly directing funds to a charity with a different yet similar name. Other mistakes may not be realized for some time, which may happen when setting up a donor-advised fund or a charitable remainder trust. So, how can you help clients avoid common charitable planning mistakes?

View this SlideShare to learn more about what could go wrong—and what you should recommend that your clients do instead.

Planning Ahead

Many clients today want to develop structured giving plans that not only provide potential tax benefits today but also help make a difference for others tomorrow. By educating them on common charitable planning mistakes, you'll be able to execute their plans as intended while fostering a trusting client-advisor relationship.

At Commonwealth, our advisors lean on the expertise of our Advanced Planning team to help them think through regulatory and tax-related consequences of charitable plans and other planning issues. Learn how you can put their knowledge to work for you.

Heather Zack, JD, LLM, MSFP, CAP®, contributed to this article.

Commonwealth Financial Network® does not provide legal or tax advice. You should consult a legal or tax professional regarding your individual situation.