Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: An Ed. Trust as non-profit.

In short, the answer is yes. In order for a corporation or an individual to get a tax deduction, the trust will have to be tax exempt under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3). California has adopted most of the federal tax provisions in this regard. So, you will need to file, or have an attorney file, both a federal Form 1023 and a California Form 3500. You may also need to file a CT-1 and CT-2 with the California Attorney General's Registrar of Trusts. In my experience, the IRS has become much more difficult to work with in the area of educational nonprofits, and you might wish to consult an attorney who regularly works in this area for advice. If you file a Form 1023 and the IRS has questions, they will come back for more information; however, eventually, they will deny your application and you will have to go through a long appeals process; so it is important to get it right the first time.