A charitable lead trust is reviewed when a donor wants a charity to receive lead payments for a period of time before the remaining trust property passes to family or other beneficiaries. It is a split-interest charitable trust and is usually compared directly with charitable remainder planning because the order of the interests is reversed.
Last reviewed: March 9, 2026
Reviewed against: trust and estate planning references listed on the sources page.
Publisher: Larry Trustee AI Editorial Team | hello@larrytrustee.ai
Assets are contributed to the trust, the trust makes lead payments to charity during the term, and the remainder interest later passes under the trust design. The charitable organization benefits first, which is the main distinction from charitable remainder planning.
A charitable lead trust is a split-interest trust reviewed when a charity receives lead payments first and the remainder later passes to family or other beneficiaries.
A charitable lead trust pays the charity first and the remainder later, while a charitable remainder trust usually pays non-charitable beneficiaries first and charity receives the remainder.
It is advanced because it combines split-interest trust design, valuation issues, payout terms, and charitable goals in a single structure.