One of your long-time tax clients, Douglas, calls you looking for advice. His wife of 40 years recently passed away, and Douglas plans to retire to a small condo in the Virgin Islands. Douglas and his wife owned a successful business and owned a 5,700 square foot home. Douglas plans to sell the home and give a few special items to his three children. However, he wishes to donate everything else remaining in the home to charity, including clothing, furniture, appliances, artwork, and household items. Many of these items represent the accumulation of a 40 year marriage and raising three children; he has no idea when he acquired the items or how much he paid for them.

For this assignment, prepare a tax research memo to advise Douglas. Your memo should be two to three pages, include a minimum of two scholarly or peer-reviewed sources, and address the following.

In your paper,

• Explain the tax rules surrounding charitable contributions including any relevant limitations.
• Provide suggestions for documentation and value assessment for various categories of charitable contributions.