It can be hard to think about others when we're faced with our own problems. And these past few months haven't been easy. When I last checked, the U.S. unemployment rate was still above 9 percent and many people were devastated by a series of natural disasters — including an earthquake, a hurricane and severe flooding. But, even when times are tough, we shouldn't turn our backs on charitable giving. Our “Charitable Giving Supplement” this month features two articles that we can use to help our clients implement their philanthropic goals. “Charitable Giving at Death,” by Jonathan Tidd (p. CGS 5), explains the planning and drafting issues to consider to minimize the federal income tax and to achieve non-tax goals for at-death charitable gifts. And in her article, “Negotiating Charitable Pledges and Restricted Gifts” (p. CGS 14), Julia Chu shows us how to balance the needs and concerns of donors and charities when structuring either of these charitable vehicles.

We also have two other philanthropy-related articles to round out our coverage. “Lifetime Versus Testamentary Giving,” by Roger D. Silk (p. 29), explores the non-tax benefits of giving during one's life, and “Family Office Management of Private Foundation Funds,” by Eric L. Johnson and Ryan E. Thomas (p. 33), suggests how to properly structure a compensation arrangement when a family office provides services to its private foundation. And check out Conrad Teitell's invaluable “Guide to Tax Benefits for Charitable Gifts (updated September 2011),” which appears on our website. Conrad has been a contributing editor for Trusts & Estates on the topic of philanthropy since 1980 and is the chair of Cummings & Lockwood's National Charitable Planning Group.

Finally, I'm pleased to announce that David H. Lenok has joined the Trusts & Estates team as our new associate legal editor. David received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University and his law degree from Fordham Law School. He's admitted to practice in New York and has a passion for all things trusts-and-estates-related.