"Life estate" in book royalty contract?

So here's a request for best way to handle the following situation:

Author, healthy but nearing 80, published a large technical tome in 1986 which still sells maybe 600 cc/year, bringing in circa $1K/year in royalties. Tome could keep doing this for another decade, maybe longer (the technical field will certainly continue active).

Author would like to continue receiving this royalty income while still alive (more out of financial caution than current financial need), but wants to transfer all subsequent rights to the income to a nonprofit scientific society (OSA), doing this in such a way as to get this asset entirely out of his estate, or at least out of any probate activities following his death -- and maybe get some modest tax deduction against other current earned income for doing this now.

What could be a simple, low-cost, fully legitimate way to implement this

-- including getting some current tax deduction if that's reasonable? (Author and spouse already have an estate plan with the usual array of lower-middle-income type individual and family trusts)

  • Donate royalty contract to OSAO?SA Foundation now: they collect royalties, send me a payment as long as still alive?

  • Keep receiving royalties myself, but put something in the files irrevocably donating the asset to them on death?

  • Donate royalty contract now and OSA puts the royalties in an OSA Foundation fund which can be used, among things, to reimburse me for occasional society-related incidental professional and travel expenses, as nontaxable reimbursements?

  • Or, some other approach?

Anyone have any good ideas on this? (I'm somewhat partial to first or third options.)

Reply to
AES
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There are ways, but simple and low cost they may not be.

The one thing that strikes me that he could satisfy all his requirements would be to find a nonprofit that will take assignment of his royalties in a charitable remainder trust that they already have set up. Some nonprofits do that - you've seen ads for nonprofits advocating "investing" money with them with interest to you for life and then to the charity after? Same thing.

That would be difficult to enforce, and it would likely remain in his estate.

That would still remain in the estate, though there'd be a charitable deduction for the gift.

If they'll agree to that.

Reply to
Stuart A. Bronstein

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