By using the charitable lead trust estate tool, you may provide valuable income to La Plata Open Space Conservancy now, while holding onto the assets you prefer to gift to your heirs. This is a great way to help LPOSC maintain day-to-day operations and to see the benefits of your gift during your lifetime, while preserving the trust property for your heirs. With this tool, you can transfer assets, such as cash, stocks and artwork, to a trust for a set term of years. Each year, payments are made from the trust to La Plata Open Space Conservancy. It is called a lead trust because the charity (the Land Trust) is entitled to the lead (or first) interest in the trust asset, and the noncharitable beneficiary (your heir) receives the remainder (or second-in-line) interest. Once the trust’s term expires, what is left goes to your heirs. Handling assets in this way can shelter the assets’ appreciation from estate taxes.