Charitable purposes and estate donations
Estate planning is an exercise in time travel. It is impossible to predict the future, especially when the time gap between planning and death is often decades. Fast forward 25 years, a charity may not exist when the estate is distributed.
How long is perpetuity?
“Is perpetuity 21 years?”, asked a charity colleague. “Well, no, it’s forever. Or until the end of time, or as long as we collectively exist,” I answered. Despite my emphatic response, the question is a good one because it underscores the inherent meaninglessness of the phrase “in perpetuity” in relation to charitable donations, trusts and endowments.