Reader Lisa in Palo Alto asks:
I’m updating my living trust, and would like to set aside some of the funds from my estate for charities. However, over the past several years, I’ve heard or read about instances of money being donated to a charity, but as little as 10% to 20% actually gets to the cause itself — the rest might go to “unscrupulous people,” which infuriates me. Is there any way I can find out which charities can be absolutely relied upon to use at least 80% of the money donated to helping the specific cause?
Many of us have charitable instincts, but might not know where to direct them. Andrew Katzenstein, a tax and estate planning attorney and lecturer at USC Gould School of Law who works with high-net-worth clients, said one client came to him with a conundrum: He had $50 million he wanted to give away. But he didn’t know who to give it to. He liked the idea of seeing his name on a building on his drive home from work…