May 2008

What Do I Want To Do With My Estate

Where do I start? What do I want to do with my estate? How do I give a share of my estate to the Lord's work? Which assets are the best to give to the Lord's work?

These are all questions I hear everyday. I suspect questions like these are the reason many people do not have a Will or Trust.

Where do I start? I have developed a questionnaire that helps me get you started. I lead you through a process that allows you to communicate with the attorney what it is you want your Will to say. Who do you want to name as your beneficiaries, and executor? I will not answer these questions for you, but will encourage you to make the decisions. This is the first step in completing your estate plan.

What do I want to do with my estate? Many times people are really unclear how to move their estate to the next generation. We will spend as much time as necessary to help you arrive at a decision that you will be comfortable with. We may even bring in the children in a family meeting to discuss the plan. The plan may be very simple or, depending on the type of assets, very complex. Most of the time it is not necessarily the size of the estate as much as it is the type of assets in the estate.

Most people I work with do want to leave a share of their estate to the Lord's. Many people don't realize it may make a great deal of difference which assets go to the Lord's work. I will make you aware of the various tax laws that affect the particular type of asset you have. With good planning, the gift to the Lord's work may be a very bad asset for your children, but a very good asset for the church. With that type of planning, we can increase the amount going to the children and to the church.

I am here to serve you and help you accomplish what you want to accomplish with your estate. I will help you do what you want to do. Please feel free to call my office at 785-357-4441 Ext. 101 for this free service provided by your church.