Get Inspired

5 Best Ways to Bless Your Family’s Future

1. Get a Will. When people start adding up the value of their home, life insurance, retirement accounts, and other property, they begin to see that even with a modest middle class estate, a plan is needed that provides for their families and the ministries they love.
2. Reduce (or eliminate) unnecessary taxes and court costs. A Will can help you reduce probate hassles and costs, avoid certain taxes, and decrease other administrative expenses – freeing up more resources to your heirs and the Lord’s work.
3. Decide who will manage your stuff after you pass away. Without a Will, a court decides how to distribute your estate. On the other hand, when you name your own representative in your Will, you decide who will distribute the money and things God entrusted to you.
4. Decide who will take care of your kids. If you have minor children, a Will allows you to name the guardian of your children and a Trustee of the assets to provide for the children. If a court is left to make these decisions for you, the spiritual component may be disregarded.
5. Include “ministry” in your family. Your Will can be powerful a testimony to family and friends. Including your extended “family” in your Will – namely your church and favorite Christian charities – is a wonderful way to express your values for generations to come

Get a Will

Get Help in Person

Save time and money by filling out our Christian Wills Guide on your own before you see a Christian estate planner. You can download the guide or contact us for a copy.

Christian Wills Guide

How Do I Find a Christian Lawyer?

If you decide to use a lawyer to create or update your Will – or review your Online Will – you’ll want to find an attorney who shares your Christian values and is knowledgeable in estate planning.

There are 3 sources you can check for a referral to a trusted Christian estate planning attorney:

1. Christian Legal Society. You can go online for a referral from the Christian Legal Society, a national network of approximately 3,000 legal professionals committed to loving and serving Jesus Christ in the practice of law.
2. Contact Us. You can contact our office for a referral.
3. Your Pastor. Pastors are connected to a wide network of people which may include an estate planning attorney. Even if your pastor doesn’t already know an attorney, he or she can likely ask others for a trusted referral to send your way.

Have Peace

“We will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and His mighty wonders.” Psalm 78:4

Use the information below to multiply the blessing of your Will to you, your family, and the ministries you love.

Legacy Love Letter

• Beliefs and Values. What do you believe about God? What are your guiding principles when it comes to marriage, raising children, church and ministry, handling money, etc.?
• Life Lessons. What were some of the defining moments of your life, and what did you learn from them? What experiences and people are you most grateful for?
• Message of Hope. What are some of the most meaningful passages of Scripture to you? What message of hope and encouragement do you wish to leave to your family and friends?

Other ways to give

• Charitable Gift Annuities
  CGAs are a simple arrangement that involves a charitable gift and an annuity. You simply make a gift (part of which is tax deductible), and receive fixed annuity payments each year for the remainder of your life. At the end of your life, the charitable gift goes to support our work.
• Stock Giving
  Did you know appreciated stocks, bonds, and mutual funds in a taxable investment portfolio can be transferred as gifts to support Kingdom work? Giving stocks provides a significant opportunity to avoid capital gain tax, receive a deduction and simplify your giving.
• Charitable Trusts
  A charitable trust allows you to bless a ministry you care about while still providing an income for you or your heirs. With a charitable lead trust, money is paid first to the ministry of your choice for a specified amount of time. Then at the end of the trust period, the balance goes to a designated beneficiary. A charitable remainder trust reverses that order, paying your heir first.
• Retirement Assets and IRA Giving
  Designating a ministry as the beneficiary of your retirement account offers a number of tax advantages. Unlike individual beneficiaries, ministries are not required to pay income tax on withdrawals from these accounts, plus the sum you give will not be included in your adjusted gross income.
• Gifts In Kind
  Gifts in Kind refer to the practice of giving actual goods or services to a ministry versus donating the money to buy them. These types of gifts can be as creative as the person giving them!
• Real Estate Gifts
  Properties that can be given to us include personal residences, vacation homes, commercial property or land. Many people like to give gifts of real estate because the inherent value of the property far exceeds that of any other single asset. It’s very popular because even individuals with modest estates typically own real estate.
• Point of Death Transfers
  POD Transfers are a way of designating beneficiaries to receive your assets automatically at the time of your death, without having to go through probate court. They also allow you to specify the percentage of assets each person or entity will receive.
• Donor Advised Funds
  One of the simplest ways to give real estate, stocks, mutual funds or commodities is through a Donor Advised Fund. This is an account you create directly with us for setting aside money or assets, receiving immediate tax benefits and allowing you the flexibility to distribute gifts over time. It’s like having your own charitable giving account.