Q I plan to give most of my assets to charities on my death. I appreciate the work some charities do to further causes I am interested in supporting. When I asked my estate attorney to include a bequest to a political organization, she said it was not allowed. I feel very strongly that I want to support my party, any suggestions?

A As an individual, we can make contributions to a candidate running for office, the committee of a political party, a political action committee, or a super PAC and the limits on the amounts we can give are defined by the Federal Election Campaign Act (FEC). The FEC has consistently held that the estate or trust of a deceased individual is also considered a “person” and is, unfortunately, subject to the same limitations.

While your attorney may not have been absolutely correct when she said it is not allowed, it could be that the complexities involved in making political donations from your trust or estate after you die are significant. Many rules apply and violations of the rules can result in significant penalties.

Since trusts are bound by the same limitations as individuals, you can set up your trust to give within the limits allowed to a certain party each year. This means that your trust could go on for a very long time until the entire corpus is donated. Also keep in mind that the limits to political organizations are the limits in effect in the year the donation is given. So, if you were to die this year, the limit that can be given to an individual running is $3,300 per election. Next year, it may be $3,400, so your trust could donate that amount in 2026 and so on.

Also, it is important to identify the recipient of the gift. If you leave it to your trustee and simply say, “give it to the Democratic candidate who clearly stands for reproductive rights,” the receiving party may consider the gift to be from your trustee, and not you. This may not be important to you, but you should be aware of this possibility.

Finally, and another reason why your attorney may have shied away from allowing political contributions in your trust, is that violations of campaign finance laws can be punitive.

The FEC can fine the trust and the trustee could receive a civil penalty of up to 200% of the amount of the violation. The trustee could also be subject to criminal investigation resulting in imprisonment for up to five years. So, you need to ask yourself if the risk is worth it.

There are charities that will make donations to political parties to further the charity’s mission. For example, if a local land trust believes a certain candidate values the conservation and preservation of lands, the land trust could make donations to that candidate.

You could donate to the land trust which, in turn, would continue to support politicians with these beliefs.

If you decide to go this route, speak with the charity and make sure your donation will be used for political contributions and not for the charity’s operating budget or their other programs — if this is your goal.

Q I understand that, by law, all the beneficiaries of my trust will receive a copy of the trust when I die. I am leaving cash to numerous friends and in differing amounts. If they all see what everyone else is getting, I think some will get their feelings hurt. Can I state in my trust that they are not to get a copy of the document?

A Unfortunately, no. According to the California Probate Code which governs trusts, the beneficiaries of your trust are entitled to receive a copy of the document.

While I have not seen it done, I believe that if you were to establish a separate trust document for each of your beneficiaries, then they would be entitled only to that one document. This “idea” seems to be very complex not to mention expensive. It also would present problems about how your assets get into each trust and each trust would have its own tax filing requirements.

I would suggest that you write a letter to each friend and let them know how much you care for them and why you are giving them a gift.

The letters could be delivered after your death. You could say something like, “I am leaving money to those friends who I have cherished and who have brought me much happiness in life. The amounts are different, but this should not be taken to reflect the depth of my gratitude for your friendship.”

Liza Horvath has over 30 years of experience in the estate planning and trust fields and is the president of Monterey Trust Management, a financial and trust Management Company. This is not intended to be legal or tax advice. If you have a question call (831) 646-5262 or email liza@montereytrust.com