Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Why Are Churches Overlooked?

By: Barry G. Allen

Why do church members overlook their churches when making planned gifts? Planned gifts are gifts church members can’t put in the offering plate; they are gifts out of assets, not income; gifts made in light of the church member’s overall estate and financial plans; gifts that use tax-advantaged methods to accomplish the church member’s philanthropic objectives; and gifts that may require professional adviser assistance to complete.

Churches are the most overlooked charities in estate stewardship and planned giving. Church members are more likely to include in their estate plans or make a planned gift to a college, children’s ministry, human need ministry, the arts or a museum, but not a church.

We have discovered through assisting individuals and families the most likely reasons church members overlook their churches are these. First, they are never asked by their church leadership even to consider including the church in their estate plan or to make a planned gift during life. Second, most church members, even those who tithe out of their incomes, understand tithing as something one does during life, but not at death. Third, they lack confidence the church has the ability to administer such a gift. Fourth, they were unsatisfied with the effectiveness on the church’s ministry. Fifth, they did not have the level of esteem for the church’s leadership required to make such a gift.

Let me encourage you not to overlook your church in your estate stewardship. To the extent Laurie Valentine, our trust counsel, can be of assistance to you, please give her that privilege. Call her toll-free. There is no cost or obligation for this consultation service. Furthermore, she can suggest proven solutions for consideration in overcoming the obstacles others have mentioned as reasons they did not include their church in their plans.

Also, let me encourage you to visit our website at www.kybaptistfoundation.org for valuable charitable gift planning information, including an interactive estate plan organizer, which is a terrific secure and private data gathering, tutorial, decision-making tool.

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

Barry Allen is the retired President and CEO of the KBF and currently serves as a consultant to the interim management team. This article published in this week's Western Recorder also appeared in a previous edition of the paper. 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.

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

12 Creative Giving Ideas for 2015- #4

By: Laurie Valentine-Acting President, CFO & Trust Counsel

Using life insurance to make a legacy gift allows you to make a larger gift than you may have ever dreamed possible. That’s because the premiums you pay are generally significantly less than the life insurance death benefit.

There are two ways to make a legacy gift with life insurance. You can name the charity the primary or contingent beneficiary of the policy or you can transfer ownership and all rights in the policy to a charity.

Naming one or more charities as the primary or contingent beneficiary of a life insurance policy is simple. Doing that provides no current tax benefits to you, but does set up a plan to fund a potentially significant gift to the named charitable beneficiaries at your death for which your estate would get an estate tax deduction.

Transferring ownership of a life insurance policy to charity is a charitable contribution for income tax deduction purposes. If the policy is paid-up, the charity holds it until you die and collects the death benefit. If premiums are still due on the policy, cash gifts you make in future years to the charity to provide the funds for premium payments are additional charitable gifts. If you get to the point you can no longer provide funds for future premiums, or don’t want to do that from the outset, the charity can cash in the policy or adjust the death benefit to take it to “paid up” status.

Leverage your legacy giving through a life insurance gift.

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, April 7, 2015

Give to God and Caesar

By: Barry G. Allen

Legacy giving by us Christians is unique and distinct because it is a spiritually motivated, not a tax motivated decision.

However, much of the legacy giving in the USA is driven by tax avoidance, not biblical stewardship principles. As Americans we still enjoy the most favorable tax system in the world in terms of encouraging and facilitating charitable giving. So without question we should seek to maximize the available tax benefits in our giving. But, at the end of the day we christians must recognize we shall be held accountable by God for how we steward what He has entrusted to us. And, a legacy gift is a gift you can’t put in the offering plate; it is a gift out of your assets, not your income, and it is made in light of your overall estate and financial plans.

It is important to remember charitable giving in America preceded all of our current tax systems. Many charitable organizations were created and continuously funded through generous outright gifts, bequests in wills and life income gifts before the establishment of the modern federal income tax in 1913, the federal estate tax in 1917 and the federal gift tax in 1935.

I am pleased to acknowledge those whom the KBF has had the privilege of assisting have demonstrated their primary motivation to give was not the tax savings opportunities, but the opportunities to make an impact, to make a lasting difference, to leave a legacy of their love for Christ and His mission in this world through their churches and other christian ministries near and dear to their hearts.

Having said that, taxes can play an important role in the size and the timing of legacy gifts. Inherent in the mission of the KBF is to facilitate the making of legacy gifts by simplifying the process and ensuring each giver is maximizing the tax savings opportunities available. To that end the KBF makes available to all Kentucky Baptists confidential estate and charitable gift planning consultation.

Please call toll free Laurie Valentine, our trust counsel, for assistance in fulfilling the teaching of Jesus to “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21).

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

Barry Allen is the retired President and CEO of the KBF and currently serves as a consultant to the interim management team. This article published in this week's Western Recorder also appeared in a previous edition of the paper. 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.