Are charitable trusts set up during the life of a person or is it set it up as part of a will or trust after death?

A charitable trust can take on a number of different forms and can benefit a wide range of causes.  Generally, a charitable trust can be set up either during the life of a person (also known as an inter vivos trust) or after the death of the trust donor.  The hallmark of a charitable trust is that it is set up for the benefit of an institution or charity and does not specify individual people as beneficiaries.  Charitable trusts can pay installment payments or lump sums to the beneficiary institutions, and can also invest the trust funds to grow the size of the trust and collect dividends.  The trust can be set up for a set number of years, or can continue to exist so long as the beneficiary exists.  In the event that the charitable purpose for which the trust was set up ceases to exist, the remainder of the money in the charitable trust would go back to the donor or the heirs of the donor.