Tax Exempt Organizations
Nonprofits and exempt organizations are focused on delivering upon their mission, however complicated regulations dictate every structure of their life-cycle. It’s crucial nonprofits know how to stay in compliance with government rules and regulations. Our attorneys understand the important work these organizations provide and realize they can ease the burden of compliance.
We work with public charities, private foundations, social service organizations, and family trusts from their inception – preparing organizational documents and tax exempt applications – through ongoing maintenance and daily operations. Specifically services include:
- Incorporation and corporate structures
- Nonprofit board governance
- Mandatory filings
- IRS issues
- Tax-exemption applications
- Legal audits
- Charitable solicitation registration
- State and local tax matters
- Charitable gifts and fundraising
- Unrelated business income tax (UBIT)
- Board governance
- Employment
- Investment and endowment policies
- Reasonable compensation
Our lawyers also counsel section 501(c)(3) organizations in fundraising and donor-related activities, providing advice on matters such as:
- Compliance with charitable solicitation laws
- Availability of income tax deductions for donors, and substantiation requirements
- Creation of donor advised funds, field of interest funds and endowment funds
- Creation of charitable remainder and lead trusts
- Creation of gifts annuities and pooled income funds
Founded in 1920, Ruder Ware provides business, employment, estate planning, and litigation services through its offices in Wausau, Eau Claire, and Green Bay, Wisconsin. A full-service law firm, over 40 attorneys provide clients with a one-stop approach to their legal needs. Ruder Ware, Business Attorneys for Business Success.
Posted on December 13, 2021 by Ashley L. Hawley
Drafting an estate plan allows a person to put into writing their wishes for division of assets upon death. Sometimes this means making a choice to give more to one child over the other, or to completely write out natural heirs of law. An uncle whose nephew is like a son to him may bypass […]
Posted on November 22, 2021 by Shanna N. Yonke
Last week, I provided a brief overview of the gift tax in a vlog. You can view the vlog here. In this blog post, I’ll expand on basic gift tax concepts, just in time to make your holiday gifts. What is the gift tax? Basically, the gift tax is a tax imposed on the gratuitous […]
Posted on September 20, 2021 by Linda M. Danielson
So you’ve received an inheritance and you’re married. The person who left you the inheritance probably intended for it to benefit you, not your spouse, if you get divorced. How do you protect the inheritance? Wisconsin law provides limited protection. Under Wisconsin’s Marital Property Act, which governs the classification of assets during marriage and on […]
Posted on September 1, 2021 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Estate planning is a process that must be customized to fit each individual’s unique situation. Each individual has their own priorities and issues to address. The priorities and issues for an unmarried individual are often different than those for married couples. Some of the common priorities and issues that arise in estate planning for unmarried […]
Posted on August 4, 2021 by Ruder Ware Alumni
If you’re preparing to send a child off to college this fall, you should add two documents to your back-to-school checklist: (1) a power of attorney for health care, and (2) a durable power of attorney for finances. Without these two documents, you may not have the authority to make health care decisions or manage […]
Posted on July 22, 2021 by Ashley L. Hawley
“Probate” is a legal term for the Court process of transferring assets out of a deceased person’s name and to that person’s heirs and/or beneficiaries. The difference between the term “heir” and the term “beneficiary” is that an heir is someone who is entitled to receive the assets of a deceased person who died without […]
Posted on June 16, 2021 by Shanna N. Yonke
Summertime is a special time of year in Wisconsin. It brings many families to cabins where they create memories and traditions that will be cherished forever. However, many problems arise if families do not create a plan for the future ownership and management of the family cabin. The cabin may be subject to the claims […]
Posted on April 19, 2021 by Mark D. Munson and Ruder Ware Alumni
Ruder Ware’s Trusts & Estates blog has featured several posts (for example, Call to Action: Review Your Estate Plan in Light of the SECURE Act and Why SECURE Act Matters to You) on the SECURE Act, a federal law effective January 1, 2020, that made significant changes to the payout provisions of inherited retirement benefits, […]
Posted on April 9, 2021 by Mark J. Bradley and Shanna N. Yonke
In the United States Congress, there is an arduous journey before a bill becomes law. See the classic School House Rock! video, “I’m Just a Bill.” But there is a common theme running through some gift and estate tax bills that have been introduced in Congress this year. That is: an appropriate way to raise […]
Posted on March 17, 2021 by Ashley L. Hawley
Our team here at Ruder Ware has focused previous blogs and other educational materials on ways to avoid adult guardianship (see Related Articles section at the end of my post); however, there may be some instances where guardianship is unavoidable. Earlier this month, I attempted to simplify the guardianship process in my vlog. This blog […]
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