A grantor lead trust provides a donor with a charitable income-tax deduction for the present value of the payments Marist is to receive from the trust for a specified period of time. The donor, however, continues to be taxed on the income earned by the trust each year—including the amount distributed to Marist. (To avoid this negative tax result, donors often fund grantor lead trusts with tax-exempt securities.) At the end of the trust term, the assets are returned to the donor.
