Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Stewardship Truths- #1

A 12 part series discussing stewardship.

By: Barry G. Allen


Acknowledge with all your heart what the Psalmist declared in Psalm 24:1 and what the prophet Haggai said in Haggai 2:8, namely God is the owner of everything; we are his stewards/trustees.

Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it….”

Haggai 2:8 “The silver is mine and the gold is mine, declares the Lord Almighty.”

This is where stewardship begins – acknowledgment that God is the owner of everything, and He has entrusted it to us to manage in His behalf. So, that car you drive to church is not yours, it’s the Lord’s. That house you live in, that brokerage account, that retirement plan – they are not yours; they belong to Him. Until you can acknowledge this biblical truth, you will not be able to receive the benefits He has promised His faithful stewards.

Monday, January 27, 2014

Legacy Giving 101

By: Laurie Valentine-COO & Trust Counsel

Did you know the average person with net worth has only 9% of that in cash; the other 91% is in non-cash assets like the equity in their home, life insurance and retirement benefits?

And, did you know that 60% of Americans die without a will and 70% of those with a will don’t have a current will?

For churches wanting to encourage their members to practice their financial stewardship at a deeper level and educate them about ways to make over-and-above gifts to the church those are key facts of which to be aware. The reason? You can’t put non-cash assets in the offering plate and many over-and-above gifts to charity are made through bequests in wills.

That over-and-above giving is known as “legacy giving”.

A legacy gift is a gift that can’t be put in the offering plate because it is a gift out of assets, rather than income. Tithes and offering giving generally comes from income.

Legacy gifts are made in light of the giver’s overall estate and financial plans. They may require a professional adviser to prepare documents to complete them. And, because such gifts can save taxes, the giver may be able to give more than they initially thought they could or at an earlier time.

Including a legacy gift in your estate plan can be as simple as including a bequest in your will or trust to your church or designating the church the primary or contingent beneficiary of all or a portion of a life insurance policy or retirement account. Since such gifts don’t happen until death, you keep complete lifetime control and use of the assets.

Life income legacy gifts---charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts---are ways to set up a future gift to charity now while keeping an income stream for life or a term of years. The amount that will be paid to you and/or others depends on the value of what is given, the ages of those that will receive the income stream and how long it will be paid to them.

Legacy gifts to your church or other Christian cause allow you to make a lasting difference for the cause of Christ in this world.

For more information, please call us at (502) 489-3533 or toll free in KY at 1(866) 489-3533.

The information in this article is provided as general information and is not intended as legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should seek the advice of an attorney or other professional adviser.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Providing for Family and the Kingdom

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

The remarkable story of the KBF comes to life not in its impressive financial statements, but through the men and women who trusted the KBF and committed to it for administration all or a portion of the resources God entrusted to them for the benefit of their families and the Kingdom causes near and dear to their hearts. It’s a story of Christian stewardship that linked these men and women together with the KBF in a sacred trust.

Among those men and women are a couple with two adult children both of whom are in second marriages and both of whom have serious health challenges. This couple wanted to provide (1) both adult children with income for the rest of their lives without giving the children ownership and control of any of their assets and (2) for their church.

During the time this couple was revisiting their estate plan with their personal attorney, their church had invited KBF trust counsel Laurie Valentine and me to present an estate planning and legacy giving seminar. From the seminar they learned about an idea they thought might accomplish their goal so they arranged for a private, confidential consultation session with Laurie to explore that idea. From that session they decided to include a testamentary charitable remainder unitrust in their wills, with the KBF as the trustee, which will receive the remainder of the surviving spouse’s estate. This unitrust will pay their two children for their lifetimes 5% of the value of the trust as revalued each year. After both children are deceased, the unitrust will terminate, and the remainder will be distributed to the couple’s church.

By using this approach this couple will assure whatever remains at the surviving spouse’s death will be administered by a third party fiduciary, namely the KBF, with the care, skill and prudence necessary to accomplish their goal of providing a flow of income to their children for their lifetimes and then providing for Kingdom advancement through their church.

What a joy it was to assist this faithful couple in accomplishing what they understood to be God’s plan for that which He entrusted to them. We want to help you accomplish what you understand to be His plan for what He has entrusted to you. Please give us that privilege. Call now toll-free.

For more information, please call us at (502) 489-3533 or toll free in KY at 1(866) 489-3533.

The information in this article is provided as general information and is not intended as legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should seek the advice of an attorney or other professional adviser.


Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Twelve Steps For Christian Estate Planning- Step 1

By: Laurie Valentine- COO & Trust Counsel 

A Christian estate plan is one you develop by determining how God wants you to: (1) provide for your family and other “dependents” at your death and (2) have your finances managed and decisions made for you if you became incapacitated and no longer able to do those things for yourself.

Step #1- Determine What You Own. The first step in developing a Christian estate plan is to make a list of all of your assets [bank accounts, investments, life insurance, retirement accounts/benefits, real estate, business interests, collectibles, jewelry]; each asset’s current market value [what you would get for it if you sold it or it paid out its full face value]; and how each is titled [is it just in your name or jointly-owned or beneficiary-designated].

The kinds of assets you own guide decisions about who should be named to serve as executor of your estate; how assets should be left to family and others at your death; and who would be best-equipped to manage what you own if you became incapacitated during your lifetime.

The value of what you own guides decisions about the type of estate tax and gift tax planning you should consider.

And, the way those assets are titled determines what document will govern how each asset will pass at your death.

Next Month- Step #2 Make a Written Plan

For more information, please call us at (502) 489-3533 or toll free in KY at 1(866) 489-3533.

The information in this article is provided as general information and is not intended as legal or tax advice. For advice and assistance in specific cases, you should seek the advice of an attorney or other professional adviser.