Estate Planning/Charitable Gifting

Many of us share concerns regarding our estates at the time of our deaths.
• Will my family be cared for?
• Will my wishes be honored?
• Will my financial arrangements be kept private?
• How much of my estate will go to pay probate and taxes?
• How can I leave a gift to the church that will have a lasting impact?

We have a program to share that will help answer these questions.
 
• We believe that God has placed a Lifetime Plan for Giving in each Christian’s heart. 
• Deep down inside, each of us wants to leave something behind. We want to leave a legacy. We want to be significant. We want an epitaph with substance. God put this desire in us because it is one of our purposes in life.

Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) Biblical Stewardship Principles Speak to God’s Plan for our Lives

Christian Stewardship is:
• The free and joyous activity of the child of God
• Managing all of life and life’s resources for God’s purposes.

God’s stewards are managers, not owners. God’s stewards have been entrusted by God with life and life’s resources and given the privilege of responsibly and joyfully managing them for Him.  There is no part of our life that is not of interest to God. For example, God is not only concerned about that portion of financial resources we contribute to His church in offerings, as generous as they may be, but about how we manage 100% of the financial resources He has entrusted to us. His plan for our lives covers how we earn, spend, give, invest and bequeath the financial resources we like to call our own.

The Lifetime Plan for Giving program was developed by the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Foundation to assist Christians make the best possible decisions regarding estate planning. A brief overview of the plan follows.

Lifetime Plan for GivingTM Overview 

The Lifetime Plan for GivingTM process is organized into four parts and five P’s

 Part I: The Discovery; this is a survey that measures your current situation and identifies your goals for your Christian estate and gift plan.
 Part II: The Proposals; these are presented to you for selecting the plan that best meets those wishes and goals.  The proposals combine the objective information in the survey, information gathered through the personal interview and recommendations from the LCMS Foundation.  The proposals also contain educational information about estate planning tools and the LCMS position on various topics.
 Part III: The Summary; an outline of your Lifetime Plan for Giving which will be provided to your attorney.  The assistance of your attorney is needed to implement the plan. The LCMS Foundation does not provide estate planning or legal advice, and does not provide legal documents other than charitable trust and endowment agreements managed by the Foundation.
 Part IV: The Implementation; your attorney will advise you regarding your plan and prepare and review the necessary legal documents.  The summary that we provide to your attorney will assist considerably in this process.  The LCMS Foundation will continue to be available to help as needed, including offering our services to compare the final legal documents to your plan summarized in part III.

The Five P’s of the Gift Planning Process

 Prayer: Ask for God’s guidance in putting together a plan that will Transfer the Blessings entrusted to you on to your family, heir, friends, and the Lord’s work in a way that it will bear fruit that will last.
 People: Discuss who is in the family and what the special needs are that need to be taken into consideration in the planning.
 Property: Record the assets that God has entrusted to your care to determine the size of the estate and understand how laws affect your plan.
 Plans: Talk about the Lifetime Plan for Giving that God has placed in your heart for your family and the Lord’s work.
 Planners: List others you may need assistance from to complete your plan, such as an attorney, CPA, insurance representative, etc.

Our development team is ready to assist you and help you work through the Lifetime Plan for Giving Process.

“The Lifetime Plan for Giving that was developed for Riley and me will allow us to do far more for both our family and those ministries that have nurtured our faith then I would have ever thought possible.  We can wholeheartedly recommend this plan to anyone who wants peace of mind regarding estate planning issues.”

      Randy & Riley Middaugh

If you would like more information please contact our development team through the school office at 501-663-5117.   For more information online we have provided the link below.

 LCMS Gift Planning

The above information is provided as a service by The LCMS Foundation.