A trust used to make donations of property or money to a charity so the person making the gift or donation can obtain an income tax deduction and help a charity(ies).  With a CRT, the donor reserves the right to use the trust property during his lifetime (i.e., the donor retains an income interest) or some other specified time period, and when the agreed period is over the property passes to the charity.  The CRT’s assets are not excluded from the grantor’s taxable estate for estate tax purposes. 
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