This Year's Most Generous Billionaire Philanthropist Has Been Dead Since 2006

1. Charitable Giving Delayed Is Not
Charitable Giving Denied
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This Year's Most Generous Billionaire Philanthropist Has Been Dead Since 2006
LAW OFFICE OF DAVID PARKER PLLC
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 To receive top honors in the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s list of
America’s 50 most generous donors is an impressive
achievement, and it’s even more impressive to do this from five
years beyond the grave. But as of 2011, five years after her
death in 2006, that’s what the late Margaret Cagill has done. A
recent article in Forbes described what happened. As it turns
out, the way Ms. Cagill achieved such high posthumous honors
for her philanthropy involves some fairly intricate estate
planning and financial arrangements, plus a quirk of stock
ownership.

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 Cargill was the heir to a massive fortune from the agribusiness
company of the same name. The Cargill Company topped the
list of America’s largest privately-owned companies for almost
a quarter-century. In her will, Ms. Cargill left all of her shares
of the company to be divided between two charities, the Anne
Ray Charitable Trust and her own Margaret A. Cargill
Foundation. But because Cargill is privately-owned, its stock is
more difficult to evaluate and liquidate than the stock of a
publicly-traded company.

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 For that reason, the beneficiaries didn’t receive the value of this
stock until Cargill sold its shares in another company, which
gave the charitable trust and the charitable foundation the
opportunity to exchange their shares of Cargill stock for those
of the other company, which could be traded on the stock
exchange. This exchange netted the two charitable
organizations the combined sum of $6 billion, and won Ms.
Cargill her top billing as 2011’s most generous philanthropist.

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 While most people are not in a position to make donations on
this scale, the same principles can apply to smaller holdings and
make a difference for NY estate planning, charitable giving, and
New York asset protection. A bequest that takes the form of
shares of a privately-owned company can be difficult to realize
in monetary terms. Nor do all beneficiaries have the time and
resources to make the most of such a gift as Ms. Cargill’s two
charitable beneficiaries did. All of these are considerations that
should be kept in mind for estate planning purposes.

6. Law Office of David Parker
Estate Planning and Elder Law
 www.parkertrustlaw.com