Jimmy Carter, who died in December 2024 at 100, planned his legacy years in advance: a trust for his business, a home donated to the National Park Service instead of his children, and a modest post-presidency by choice. His approach shows how lifetime giving and clear property decisions shape a legacy as much as a will does.
Carter was the longest-lived American president, and his approach to money and legacy planning stands apart from many of his successors. Whatever you think of his presidency, his handling of property, business interests, and charitable legacy offers genuinely useful lessons for anyone building an estate plan.
The Peanut Farm Trust: Not Quite as Blind as Advertised
Before taking office in 1977, Carter placed his family's peanut farming and warehouse business into a trust, intended to prevent conflicts of interest while he served as president. According to reporting on the arrangement, the trust was managed by Charles Kirbo, a close personal friend and advisor who continued visiting Carter regularly at the White House, meaning it functioned more as a supervised arrangement than a true blind trust with an independent, disinterested trustee. When Carter left office in 1981, Kirbo informed the family the business was over a million dollars in debt after drought years and management troubles, and the family ultimately sold the farm. The lesson here is a practical one: a trust only accomplishes its intended purpose, insulating you from a conflict of interest or from day-to-day management, if the trustee is genuinely independent and the terms are drafted to match that goal.
Other Presidents Used Similar Structures
Carter was not alone in using a trust to manage business interests while in office. Other presidents have used comparable arrangements for their own investments, each with different levels of independence built into the structure. The variation across these examples underscores the same point: the value of any trust depends entirely on how independently it is actually managed, not just on what it is called.
Choosing Not to Cash In
After leaving office, Carter chose not to give paid speeches or join corporate boards, unlike some of his successors who built substantial post-presidency income through books, speaking fees, and business ventures. He instead spent decades writing and teaching, living in the same modest ranch house he built in 1961, according to the Washington Post. This was a deliberate choice about how he wanted to be remembered, not a financial necessity, and it illustrates a broader estate planning point: your lifestyle and spending choices during your lifetime shape what is actually left in your estate as much as any document does.
Donating Property Instead of Passing It Down
Carter and his wife Rosalynn built their Plains, Georgia home in 1961 and lived there for the rest of their lives. Rather than leaving the property to their children, the Carters arranged to donate the home and surrounding land to the National Park Service, meaning it will become part of the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park rather than passing to their heirs. This is a clean example of a broader estate planning option worth understanding: you are not required to leave property to family. A specific charitable or institutional bequest, clearly documented while you are alive, can direct an asset exactly where you want it to go instead.
How to Leave a Charitable Bequest in Your Own Plan
If you want to leave property, cash, or another asset to a charity or institution rather than to family, your will or trust needs to name that charity clearly and specifically, including its legal name, to avoid any ambiguity about your intent. You can direct a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate, or a particular asset like real property, exactly as the Carters did with their home. See our guide on using life insurance as part of your estate plan for another way to direct a specific asset to a chosen beneficiary or cause. Confirm the organization is properly registered and able to legally accept the type of gift you are planning, particularly for real estate, which often requires more coordination than a cash bequest. As the case of Roman Blum in our article on estate planning versus retirement planning shows, leaving no instructions at all is far worse than any specific bequest, however unconventional.
The Broader Lesson
Carter's estate planning choices were not really about complex legal instruments. They were about clarity: a trust with real independence built in, a deliberate choice about post-career income, and a specific, documented decision about where his family home would go instead of leaving it as an open question for his heirs to sort out. That kind of clarity is available to anyone, regardless of estate size, through a properly drafted will or trust.
How FastWill Helps You Plan a Clear Legacy
Whether you want to leave everything to family, direct specific gifts to causes you care about, or some combination of both, FastWill's online will builder lets you specify exact bequests with the clarity Carter's estate plan reflects. If your estate includes a business or significant property you want managed a specific way, our trust package can help you build that structure properly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I leave my house to a charity instead of my children?
Yes. You can direct real property to a charitable organization or institution in your will or trust, exactly as the Carters did, as long as the recipient is clearly identified and able to accept the gift.
What makes a trust actually "blind"?
A genuinely blind trust is managed by an independent trustee with no ongoing communication to the person who created it about specific holdings or decisions, which is different from simply naming any trustee to manage assets.
Do I need a lawyer to leave a charitable bequest?
Not necessarily, but you do need to name the organization precisely and confirm it can legally accept the specific type of gift, particularly for real estate, which can involve more coordination than a cash gift.
Does lifestyle during my lifetime really affect my estate plan?
Yes. What you spend, save, and give away while alive directly determines what your estate actually contains when your will or trust takes effect.
Can I combine a charitable bequest with gifts to my family?
Yes. Most estate plans balance both, directing specific assets or percentages to charity while leaving the remainder to family members or other beneficiaries.
Plan your legacy with the same clarity Jimmy Carter brought to his own. Build your will with FastWill and specify exactly where your assets should go.
