Legacy Estate Planning
Jesus said, “A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." Our lives consist of laying hold of that which is Life indeed, and bearing witness of this unshakeable truth as we share our lives with our families, our friends and our community.
With this in mind, Legacy Estate Planning addresses the God-given mandate for us to provide for our families (1 Timothy 5:8), while also looking forward to that incorruptible, imperishable inheritance that awaits us in Heaven.
It has been said, “You can't take it with you, but you can send it on ahead.” We do this by building into the lives of others while here on earth and continue this work by providing a financial legacy to those ministries which God has lead us to support through the years.
• Your Family's Plan –
At Benefit Design Corporation, our first priority is to listen to you in order to understand your family's values, needs and goals. We then discuss the proper roles of wills, trusts – including special needs trusts - powers of attorney and pro-life medical directives, and how they may be utilized in your personal planning. We also look at asset wealth preservation strategies which can be addressed quite economically through the proper titling of assets, and through appropriate beneficiary arrangements.
You may also incorporate with your estate planning documents a Family Mission Statement, expressing to your family your love for Christ and sharing your encouragement for each one to live a Christ-centered life and to finish strong! We also share the various planned giving options available to you - helping you to identify those concepts most appropriate for your giving goals. Legacy giving may provide enhanced income for you during your lifetime and potentially substantial tax savings as well.
• Family Mission Statement –
More and more Christians are including in their estate plans a written testimony that lifts up their Christian values and inspires their family to make a similar commitment to their faith. By including a family mission statement in your estate plan you can impart to your loved ones your faith and other important life lessons that you wish to pass onto your family. Such a mission statement can provide a helpful moral compass to guide your loved ones long into the future.
• Positive Incentive Distributions To Your Loved Ones –
One of the common concerns of Christians who have been especially financially blessed is avoiding spoiling their children and grandchildren with excessive lump-sum estate distributions. “Affluenza” is a term used to describe the frivolous and unproductive behavior by heirs that often results from a large inheritance. Alternatively, you can use estate distribution arrangements that encourage good behavior by heirs. As an example, you can have a “matching distribution” provision that enables heirs to receive as much income as that which they have generated through their own efforts. You can have a “work for ministry subsidy” that provides an annual stipend for a child who is called to work in ministry, in order to help reduce the financial disincentive of charitable works. Or you can provide a stipend to children/grandchildren who pass up career opportunities in favor of staying home to raise young children. Another example of incentive distributions includes paying for college tuition for the student who is enrolled at a Christian College . Common to all incentive distribution provisions is a desire to be a wise steward of your resources by making sure estate distributions achieve worthwhile objectives, rather than promoting the wrong type of behavior.
• Pro-Life Medical Declaration –
With the tragic death of Terri Schiavo, followed by the faith-filled passing of Pope John Paul II, it is not surprising that end-of-life issues were one of the top 10 Christian stories in 2005. What is surprising is the number of Christians who continue to use pro-euthanasia Living Wills in their estate plans even after the evil nature of euthanasia was revealed by the Schiavo story. One of the main reasons for this is that many Christian estate planning professionals continue to use boiler plate Living Will forms that are contrary to Christian Pro-Life values. You can help protect yourself from euthanasia by reading the medical treatment documents in your estate plan before you sign them and being wary of documents that have death accelerating language like “quality of life”, “heroic measures”, “artificial means”, and the like. The good news is that pro-life medical forms are available to informed Christians, but you usually cannot rely on the typical estate planning attorney to let you know about this faithful estate planning alternative.
• Tax-Wise Support For Christian Ministry –
The faithful steward realizes that all he or she has is a blessing from the Lord and it makes sense to return a portion of your blessings to support His work on earth. Charitable gifts from one's estate plan are called “planned gifts” and such gifts can often be made in a way that provides current financial and tax benefits. Planned gifts can include estate gifts from wills or trusts, gifts of insurance policies and retirement plans, gift annuities, charitable trusts and donor advised funds, to name just a few. Often times, Christians make gifts to secular charities without first considering the many worthy Christian charities that are also able to receive planned gifts.
These faith-based estate planning strategies can help Christians be a true blessing to their family and their faith community. No matter what one's financial position or family situation, every Christian should consider implementing some of these strategies when they get their estate planning done. Doing your estate plan faithfully is sufficient satisfaction by itself. Further, you have the added bonus of knowing that when your time finally comes you will more likely hear the words “Well done, good and faithful servant!” due to your faithful stewardship.
• Planned Gift From a Will or Trust
• Charitable Gift Annuity
• Gift of Interest in Retirement Plan or Insurance Policy
• Charitable Remainder Trust
• Family Foundation
• Family Giving Fund (Donor Advised Fund)
We can help you decide which of these strategies may be appropriate to meet your lifetime income goals, as well as your planned giving goals. We can also help your church leadership incorporate these concepts through a teaching ministry that will encourage a culture of generosity in your fellowship.
*With thanks to our friend Mark Henry, JD, CPA, for his contribution to this portion of our website, with references from Finish Faithful, How to Create a Lasting Christian Legacy for Your Family, Christian Legacy Press, P.O. Box 25505 Scottsdale, Arizona 85255 / Tel. 480-783-9273 and Estate Planning: Christian Values , published in The Faithful Steward , February 2006, Winter Edition, National Association of Christian Financial Consultants.
Please note, changes in tax and estate planning laws may occur at any time and could have a substantial impact upon each person's situation.
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