Life Decisions

When composing or updating wills and estate documents, a couple will naturally discuss how to divide their estate. Many questions arise during these discussions. Do you leave equal amounts to your children? Will each child be a wise steward of the inheritance or have they proven irresponsible with money? Do you include any provisions for legacy gifts to the charities with which you are connected?

These are difficult questions, and adults often delay creating or updating a will to avoid answering them. As we wrestle with these questions, keep the following in mind:

• During their lifetimes, parents often give unequal amounts to children based on different needs – but they hesitate to leave unequal bequests, for they don’t want their last words to seem to convey unequal affection. 
• If you do plan to leave unequal bequests to your children, talk to them while you are living: explain what you are doing and why. 
• You can treat children and family members fairly without providing for them in the same way. For example, a prudent way to provide for a family member who is unsophisticated with money is through a trust from which the family member will receive regular income but have limited access to principal of the trust. 
• Your Christian values can be a part of your estate legacy. By including Christian ministries in your estate plan, you set an example to your family and community of your commitment as a Christ follower. 

The Kentucky Baptist Foundation staff works to help clients achieve their personal and charitable goals, including how to provide for their families and support their church and other Baptist causes. We cannot relieve you of the hard choices you have to make when dividing your estate among children and other family members, but we can assist you with ways to make estate gifts to fulfill your family and charitable objectives. To make intentional plans for your family and the ministries God is inspiring you to support, call upon the Kentucky Baptist Foundation as a helpful partner.

Richard Carnes is president of the Kentucky Baptist Foundation, PO Box 436389, Louisville, KY 40253; www.KYBaptistFoundation.org

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.

Your Christian Legacy

By: Richard Carnes

Your legacy – have you ever thought about what that will be? Most of us would like to make a difference in the lives of our loved ones and the ministries important to us. We take steps to make sure they will be taken care of when we are no longer here on this earth. We have the opportunity to provide this care by putting plans in place through proper planning of our financial estate. But have you also thought about memorializing your Christian faith through the written statement of your last will and testament?

Estate documents can present a wonderful opportunity to leave behind a written testimony of your faith in Christ. Evangelist Dwight L. Moody’s Will contained this great example as a lasting expression of his eternal confidence in Christ. “You may have heard that I died. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am alive and well, enjoying the presence of God for eternity. It’s my hope that you will take great joy in my recent promotion. It’s also my prayer and request that if you haven’t discovered the truth about God sending His son to die on the cross so that none should perish, you will seek His truth with great urgency as a personal favor to me.” Another enduring, clear statement was left by Patrick Henry, one of America’s Founding Fathers, who said, “If I had all the goods this world can offer but had not faith in Christ, I would amongst all men be poor indeed.”

You can create your own letter to loved ones, affirming and encouraging them. Consider joining the many Christians who, as a part of their estate planning, have made such statements either by incorporating them into the text of their planning documents, or in letters to be found with their documents following their deaths. Such statements would be a your positive witness of the importance of going the distance in trusting Christ, to those loved ones you leave behind.

Richard Carnes is president of the Kentucky Baptist Foundation, P O Box 436389, Louisville, KY 40253; www.KYBaptistFoundation.org

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.

A Christian’s Estate Plan

By: Richard Carnes

As with most things, the world’s way of approaching estate planning is profoundly different from God’s way. Estate planning affects literally everything we consider ours. Because of that, it is the single most important act of stewardship we will ever undertake. 

Sometimes an event causes a person to confront their mortality, and they engage in introspection about their relationships and values. Possibly the person is stimulated to complete an estate plan they have long postponed and finally take the steps to ensure that their wishes are fulfilled. Maybe they start thinking about the ways they can use lifetime accumulations to make a difference for God’s Kingdom in the lives of the next generation.

As believers we understand that God is the owner of everything; in estate planning we are merely arranging to transfer stewardship responsibility, hopefully in a way that would please the One who has created and who owns all things. God said in Psalm 50:10-12, “… for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.”

In preparing our estate we are faced with a number of fundamental considerations that go to the heart of creating an estate plan that reflects God’s priorities. How shall I provide for my family members? What kind of eternal impact do I want to make through ministries that have been important to me and my loved ones over the course of our lives?

At the Kentucky Baptist Foundation, we emphasize that a complete estate plan is an affirmation of the meaning of your life – what you ultimately value, your affections, and the ways in which you want your life to have made a difference for God’s Kingdom.

Because the tools and techniques available to the believer are equally available to the non-Christian, there can inherently be nothing about the tools themselves that make an estate plan “Christian”. Rather, it’s the design of the estate plan. It is the prayer and careful thought put into it that will determine how well it reflects Biblical priorities.

Richard Carnes is president of the Kentucky Baptist Foundation, P O Box 436389, Louisville, KY 40253; www.KYBaptistFoundation.org

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.

A Christian’s Estate Plan

By: Richard Carnes

As with most things, the world’s way of approaching estate planning is profoundly different from God’s way. Estate planning affects literally everything we consider ours. Because of that, it is the single most important act of stewardship we will ever undertake.

Sometimes an event causes a person to confront their mortality, and they engage in introspection about their relationships and values. Possibly the person is stimulated to complete an estate plan they have long postponed and finally take the steps to ensure that their wishes are fulfilled. Maybe they start thinking about the ways they can use lifetime accumulations to make a difference for God’s Kingdom in the lives of the next generation.

As believers we understand that God is the owner of everything; in estate planning we are merely arranging to transfer stewardship responsibility, hopefully in a way that would please the One who has created and who owns all things. God said in Psalm 50:10-12, “… for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine.”

In preparing our estate we are faced with a number of fundamental considerations that go to the heart of creating an estate plan that reflects God’s priorities. How shall I provide for my family members? What kind of eternal impact do I want to make through ministries that have been important to me and my loved ones over the course of our lives?

A complete estate plan is an affirmation of the meaning of your life – what you ultimately value, your affections, and the ways in which you want your life to have made a difference for God’s Kingdom.

Because the tools and techniques available to the believer are equally available to the non-Christian, there can inherently be nothing about the tools themselves that make an estate plan “Christian”. Rather, it’s the design of the estate plan. It is the prayer and careful thought put into it that will determine how well it reflects Biblical priorities.

Call upon the Kentucky Baptist Foundation as a helpful partner in these vital planning decisions.

Richard Carnes is the president of the Kentucky Baptist Foundation, P O Box 436389, Louisville, KY 40253; toll-free (866) 489-3533; KYBaptistFoundation.org.

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.

Give Your House and Live In It Too

By: Laurie Valentine

Joe and Linda decided they wanted to do something significant for their church and they hoped they could use their house to accomplish their giving objectives. They considered making a current gift of their house, but decided against that because they hope to live in it for many more years.

The logical solution seemed to be to add a gift of the house to their church in their wills to take effect after both of them are deceased.

Then Joe and Linda heard about a way to make a gift to their church now, get a sizable current income tax deduction and still be able to live in their home for the rest of their lives. This solution---a retained life estate gift----sounded like the right plan for them.

To make a retained life estate gift homeowners deed their personal residence or farm to a charity through an irrevocable retained life estate agreement. The deed includes a provision reserving to the owners the right to use the property for the rest of their lives. At the death of the last life tenant, the charity becomes the full outright owner of the property.

The value of a retained life estate gift for income tax deduction purposes is the current market value of Joe and Linda’s house reduced by the value of their lifetime right to use the house.

Joe and Linda, as the life tenants, will be expected to maintain property insurance, pay the property taxes and pay for typical maintenance and repair items.

Laurie Valentine is COO and Trust Counsel for the Kentucky Baptist Foundation, PO Box 436389, Louisville, KY 40253; (502) 489-3533 or 1-866-489-3533 (Toll-free, Kentucky Only); KYBaptistFoundation.org

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.

Christian Estate Planning Basics

By: Laurie Valentine

A Christian estate plan is one that has been developed by prayerfully determining how God wants you to provide for your family and other “dependents” at your death and how your finances will be managed and decisions will be made for you if, at some point in the future, you are no longer able to do that for yourself because of a stroke, dementia or accident.

To accomplish God’s plan for who is to receive what you own when you die you need a will designating how your probate estate assets (individually-owned assets and amounts payable to your estate or executor at your death) will pass at your death.

The distribution plan in your will should be coordinated with life insurance and retirement plan beneficiary designations.

And, you must also look at how your assets are titled as assets titled as joint tenants with rights of survivorship do not pass under your will; they pass to the surviving joint owner.

God’s plan for asset management and decision-making in the event you become incapacitated can be accomplished by making a durable power of attorney. Using a durable power of attorney allows you to empower someone of your choosing to make decisions for you and manage your finances if you become incapacitated.

To assure the appropriate person(s) have authority to make healthcare decisions for you if you are incapacitated a healthcare surrogate designation should also be considered. And, by making a living will directive you can put in writing your wishes regarding the continuation of life-prolonging medical procedures in the event of a terminal condition diagnosis.

Be a good steward of all with which God has blessed you by taking time to do Christian estate planning.

Laurie Valentine is COO and Trust Counsel for the Kentucky Baptist Foundation, PO Box 436389, Louisville, KY 40253; (502) 489-3533 or 1-866-489-3533 (Toll-free, Kentucky Only); KYBaptistFoundation.org

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.

Questions You Should Ask

By: Richard Carnes

George Kinder, author of the personal financial planning book Seven Stages of Money Maturity, asks his clients the following three questions to help focus the client’s goal planning.

Question 1. Imagine that you have all the money you need now and in the future. What will you do with this financial abundance? How will you live your life? What if anything will you change in your lifestyle? Let yourself dream by describing a life that for you is complete and richly yours.

Question 2. You have just come from a doctor appointment and your physician told you that you have five years to live. The good part is you won’t ever feel sick. The bad part is that you will have no notice of your death. How will you live your life in light of this knowledge? What, if anything, will you change?

Question 3. You have just come from a doctor appointment and this time your physician tells you that you have only one day left in your life. The question you have now is not how to spend the hours that remain. Instead, ask yourself what am I feeling? What are my regrets and longings? What dreams will be left unfulfilled? What do I wish I had finished that is incomplete?

As I reflected on these three life scenarios my thoughts turned to Jesus’ parable found in Luke 12:16-21 of the rich man who decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones, with the intent to take it easy; eat, drink and enjoy himself. God says to the man “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself.” This is a tragic consequence of storing up treasure purely for self while not being rich toward God.

The Kentucky Baptist Foundation staff is honored to assist numerous Kentucky Baptists that have sought God’s direction on how they should consider planning their financial matters in order to provide for their families, their church and other Baptist ministry causes. These thoughtful Christian stewards have followed a very different life path to that of the rich man in Jesus’ parable.

If you have questions about Christian estate planning topics or want to request a private estate stewardship consultation, please contact the Foundation’s trust counsel, Laurie Valentine, or me at our toll-free number (866) 489-3533.

Richard Carnes is the president of the Kentucky Baptist Foundation, PO Box 436389, Louisville, KY 40253; toll-free (866) 489-3533; KYBaptistFoundation.org

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.

12 Creative Giving Ideas for 2015- #8

By: Laurie Valentine- COO & Trust Counsel

A charitable remainder unitrust (“CRUT”) is legacy giving plan that provides you and/or other family members a potentially growing distribution stream during the term of the trust, with the remainder set up to benefit one or more charities at the end of the trust term.

You set up a CRUT by creating an irrevocable trust and transferring cash, appreciated securities or real estate to it. The CRUT will pay you and/or others an amount each year equal to the payment rate designated in the trust agreement multiplied by the value of the trust assets, as revalued on January 1 each year. The minimum payment rate is 5%.

The trust term can be for the lives of the non-charitable “income” beneficiaries or a fixed term not to exceed 20 years.

The payment out to you and/or other non-charitable beneficiaries each year will vary---if the trust assets increase in value from one year to the next, the payment amount will increase; if the value goes down, the payment amount will decrease. The goal is to select a payment rate that will allow some growth in the value of the trust assets from year to year so that the payments grow, thereby creating a hedge against inflation over time in what you are receiving from the trust.

When the trust term ends, whatever remains in the trust is distributed to the charities you have named in the trust agreement.

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.

Do You Know?

By: Richard Carnes- President & CEO 

Do you know that the average person’s net worth consists of 9% in cash and 91% in non-cash assets (home equity, life insurance, retirement assets, investments and business interests)? Do you know that 60% of Americans die without a Will, and of those who do have one, 70% have not reviewed it within the past three to five years? Do you also know that Americans are currently in the midst of the largest ever generational transfer of wealth? Estimates project that $41 trillion will pass from one generation to the next during the period of 1998 through 2053.

In view of this data it is vital for each of us to be faithful in our “estate stewardship.” As Christian Stewards (Managers) we should hold certain convictions regarding the resources God has entrusted to us for our use and oversight:

1. God is the creator and owner of all things, and we are instructed to be God’s managers.

2. How we plan our estates likely will be the single most important act of financial stewardship we shall ever make.

3. Through thoughtful estate stewardship, each of us can care for our families and impact the world for Christ.

Whether we are considering our estate plan for the first time or reviewing plans already in place, we benefit from identifying our objectives, approaching them realistically, and avoiding hazards through seeking knowledgeable counsel. Appropriate counsel helps us know where to begin, what to look for, and what we might expect in the process. Ultimately, we can turn this stewardship task into effective, God honoring plans that support and provide for our families and support the building of God’s Kingdom.

The Kentucky Baptist Foundation staff stands ready to assist you by providing private estate stewardship consultation. You may contact the Foundation’s trust counsel, Laurie Valentine, or me at our toll-free number (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.

A Strategic Time

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

Although the KBF has been serving Kentucky Baptists since 1945, its time has just arrived.

Given the significant challenges of financing in the future the missions and ministries of every component of our larger Baptist family, and given the demographic, economic, social, cultural, technological and denominational trends and their collective impact on charitable giving, the role of the KBF in the future of Kentucky Baptist life will be ever more critical.

It takes money to do missions – and – it will take more in the future than in the past. Our churches, the Cooperative Program and other Kentucky Baptist related ministries, including associations, are where money is transformed into ministry. And, more than any other time in our history there is a tidal wave of opportunity in securing legacy gifts, but the window of opportunity for many will not be open for long.

Therefore, before it’s too late, the older generation of Kentucky Baptists must be challenged to leave a legacy through their churches and other Kentucky Baptist and Christian ministries that have been near and dear to their hearts. The younger generation of Kentucky Baptists must be taught how to live according to the biblical principles of the Christian discipline of financial stewardship.

We Kentucky Baptists are involved in the greatest business in the world – the Great Commission business! Amen? The late A.M. Vollmer, the first full time executive of the KBF, said it best in his final report to the board of directors upon his retirement in 1964 after 18 years of service: “the Foundation has been in the past and will continue to be in the future my first love among all of our Kentucky Baptist projects. This is true because it lives to strengthen all the rest.”

The KBF believes every adult Kentucky Baptist should have a Christian estate plan the fruits of which will make a lasting difference in the world for the cause of Christ through one’s church, the Cooperative Program and one or more of his/her favorite Baptist cause(s).

Please give us the privilege of assisting you and your church in facilitating your estate stewardship plan. Laurie Valentine, our trust counsel. Is awaiting your toll-free call.

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.

Plan for Death Taxes

By: Laurie Valentine-COO & Trust Counsel 

Christian estate planning may be the single most important act of financial stewardship a Christian may take. Not planning to defer, reduce or eliminate your death tax liability is poor stewardship----assets that could have been preserved for family must be sold to raise funds to pay those taxes and less estate value remains to pass to family and other beneficiaries.

There are two death taxes that may be owed at the death of a Kentucky resident----federal estate tax and Kentucky inheritance tax.

Federal estate tax is owed if the total value of all of your assets at your death, whether individually-owned, jointly-owned, or beneficiary-designated and wherever situated, exceeds (for 2014) $5,340,000. Federal estate tax assets include life insurance, retirement accounts and assets in trusts. Gifts to a surviving spouse or charity at your death provide federal estate tax savings because their value reduces the portion of your estate subject to such taxes.

Kentucky Inheritance Tax is a death tax owed by some beneficiaries, no matter where they live, on the value of what they inherit from a Kentucky resident. Your spouse, children, grandchildren, siblings and charitable beneficiaries are exempt from having to pay Kentucky Inheritance Tax, no matter how much they inherit from you. All other beneficiaries will have to pay inheritance tax if what they inherit from you exceeds very modest exempt amounts----$1,000 for nieces, nephews, children-in-law, aunts, uncles; $500 for all other individuals and non-charitable organizations.

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.

Somebody’s Gonna Get Your Stuff

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

Laurie Valentine uses this Jane Bryant Quinn quote in our Christian Estate Planning seminars, which we conduct in churches throughout the year. “You own stuff, you will die, someone will get your stuff.”

We all have stuff of various kinds with varying values, but lots of stuff. Our stuff can be in the form of furniture, clothing, jewelry, automobiles, collections and the like, and in the form of cash, stocks, bonds, mutual fund shares, ETFs, real estate, life insurance and retirement accounts. Whatever stuff we have, and regardless of its value, it all belongs to God, and He has entrusted it to us to manage and to use (a) for our enjoyment, (b) to help others and (c) to invest in eternal things (I Timothy 6:17 – 19).

We all shall die. Some of us are concerned about dying too soon while others of us are concerned about living too long. We human beings are the only ones of God’s creatures who tend to hold on to our stuff to the end.

When we die, someone will get our stuff. In the disposition of our stuff, we Christians have a duty to God, the owner of our stuff, to our families and to those who are in need. To fulfill that duty responsibly, each of us needs a plan. The plan we need will depend upon what kind and how much stuff we have to manage. As citizens of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the Commonwealth has a plan for the disposition of your stuff if you have not taken responsibility to have your own plan. Let me assure you the Commonwealth’s plan does not include any provisions for any of your stuff to benefit the “Commonwealth of our Lord.” To fulfill our duty to the One who entrusted our stuff to us, we must take the initiative to have a plan. The basic document in that plan is a last will and testament. With it you can ensure not only who will get your stuff but also who will be in charge of its disposition.

Call Laurie Valentine toll-free for assistance. She is available to give you ideas on how to make a plan that disposes of your stuff in a way that gets it to the someone you want to receive it and in a manner that honors our Lord.

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.

Our Time Has Arrived!

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

The Kentucky Baptist Foundation was formally conceived by a motion from the floor of the 1943 annual meeting of the General Association of Baptists in Kentucky, now the Kentucky Baptist Convention, meeting in Bowling Green. It was created in 1944 when the GABK approved its charter. It was incorporated under the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky on March 8, 1945, almost seventy years ago. The first meeting of its board of directors was held June 19, 1945. Dr. J. W. Black, the General Secretary of the GABK, convened the meeting and agreed to serve as the Secretary-Treasurer of the KBF until other staff arrangements could be made. The late A. M. Vollmer was elected the first full-time executive leader of the KBF effective July 1, 1946. Previously he had served as the superintendent of the Louisville Orphan’s Home. Dr. Vollmer retired August 31, 1964. In his final report to the KBF board of directors, Dr. Vollmer said, “the Foundation has been in the past and will continue to be in the future my first love among all of our Kentucky Baptist projects. This is true because it lives to strengthen all the rest.”

No one has said it any better than Dr. Vollmer. Today, the KBF still exists not for itself but for the rest of our larger and extended Kentucky Baptist family of churches, associations, educational institutions, children’s homes, hospitals, camps and conference centers, mission boards and missions support organizations.

Although the KBF has been serving Kentucky Baptists for almost seventy years, its time has just arrived! Given the significant challenges of financing in the future the missions and ministries of every component of our Kentucky Baptist family, and given the demographic, economic, social, cultural, technological and denominational trends, and their collective impact on charitable giving, the role of the KBF in the future of Kentucky Baptist life will be ever more critical.

Please give Laurie Valentine and me the privilege of facilitating your desire to make a lasting difference in the world for the cause of Christ through your estate 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.

Name All Intended Beneficiaries

By: Laurie Valentine- COO & Trust Counsel 

Efficient and effective distribution of assets at death is a key goal of Christian estate planning. To accomplish that goal you must make provision for each and every beneficiary with whom you intend to share your estate.

Leaving everything to one beneficiary with the hope and/or expectation he or she knows what you want and will share your estate with the persons to whom you actually want your estate to pass is not a good idea. Legally, the named beneficiary has exclusive rights and full ownership over anything left to him or her by will or beneficiary designation at your death.

Even if your named beneficiary has every intention of carrying out your wishes, he or she could be in a situation at your death that prevents them from giving away what they inherit from you.

Unintended gift tax liability can also result from the “inheritor” giving away too much, all at once, to the others with whom you wanted your assets shared when you die.

Assure what you own at death will pass to the beneficiaries you intend by naming and including them specifically in your estate planning documents.

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.

An Income For Life, a Legacy Beyond Life

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

I recently received a letter from a 96 year old donor who had set up a charitable gift annuity 16 years ago when she was in her 80’s. She stated “I am 96 years young and want to give a gift to my church that will live on in my memory.” And she wanted to set up another charitable gift annuity and for the benefit of the church of which she has been a member for 83 years. What an inspiration! And what insight she has exhibited in using this unique form of giving to leave a legacy of her love for Christ and His mission in the world through her church while receiving income for the remainder of her life.

Like her, you may depend upon income from certificates of deposit. If so, you wish interest rates were a lot higher than they are. You also may have been thinking about how to provide some kind of financial benefit to your church and/or other charitable causes, but do not feel you can give-up that income-producing CD.

I am happy to inform you the Kentucky Baptist Foundation offers you the same solution this woman has used. That solution is a charitable gift annuity (CGA). A CGA is an agreement between you and the Foundation under which, in exchange for your gift to the Foundation of cash or appreciated assets with a value of at least $5,000, the Foundation agrees to pay you a fixed amount each year for the rest of your life. The payout rate depends upon your age. The older you are, the higher the rate. Also, a CGA can be on one or two lives. It can be on the lives of a husband and wife, or a parent and a child. Not only is the payout partially tax-free, but also the gift is tax deducible. If you give appreciated assets, instead of cash, there likely will be capital gains tax savings. The portion of your gift not needed to make the lifetime annuity payments to you will be available at death for the cause(s) you designate in advance. You can specify for that remaining portion to be available to the charitable causes(s) outright or to be held by the Foundation in a permanent endowment fund with only the earnings, not the principal, being paid to the cause(s) in perpetuity. Anyone age 50 or older is eligible. The one-life rates range from 3.7% at age 50 to 9.0% at age 90+. Other rates are: 4.7% at 65; 5.8% at 75; 7.8% at 85.

As you anticipate the maturity of your CD, consider using it for a CGA, which will provide an income for life and a legacy beyond life. Laurie Valentine and I are awaiting your toll-free call.

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.

Twelve Steps For Christian Estate Planning- Step 3

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 #3 Coordinate Your Plan. Efficiently and effectively accomplishing God’s plans for how your assets are to pass at your death requires you put together a “coordinated” plan for how they will pass.

Assets that are beneficiary-designated such as life insurance and retirement accounts will pass per the terms of the beneficiary designation document, not per the terms of your Will. Likewise, jointly-owned assets will pass to the surviving joint owner at your death, no matter what your Will says.

Only assets in your name alone or designated to be paid to your estate pass as your Will directs.

Failure to coordinate how assets will pass may result in a beneficiary receiving assets in a way you did not intend. Example: it is your intention anything passing to your son at your death is to be held in trust for him until he is 25. Your plan includes both a bequest to the trust in your Will and a life insurance beneficiary designation naming your son as beneficiary. The bequest will be placed in trust, but the life insurance will be paid directly to your son, whether he has reached age 25 at the time of your death or not.

Next Month-Step #4 Plan Your Use of Joint Ownership. 

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.

Young Couples, Stop Procrastinating!

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

The services of the KBF are not just for older adults. They are available to adults of all ages and circumstances. Unfortunately we find so many young couples, and especially those with minor children, have not executed any estate and incapacity planning documents. Oftentimes they simply have not considered the extreme risks to which they are exposing themselves and their minor children.

Among the young couples who have called upon the KBF for assistance was a couple with two minor children. Furthermore, they owned some real estate in Kentucky and in another state. They did not have any estate planning documents.

The husband had saved a bookmark he had received at the Christian Estate Planning Basics seminar Laurie Valentine, our trust counsel, and I had conducted in their church some time ago. The KBF’s toll free telephone number was on the bookmark. He contacted me, and I arranged a private consultation session for him and his wife with Laurie. There was no cost to them for this service because it is subsidized by the collective giving of Kentucky Baptist churches through the Cooperative Program. Laurie was able to answer their questions, make suggestions helpful in accomplishing their objectives, identify the estate and incapacity planning documents they needed and refer them to an estate planning attorney to represent them and produce the legal documents for them.

This couple’s testimony was “Laurie is very good at listening and making suggestions about what is needed and makes it easier to get an estate planning attorney to prepare the needed documents to carry out the plan. It was a pleasant, painless experience, and we highly recommend young and older adults to stop procrastinating in their planning and let the Foundation assist them. We now have peace of mind knowing a plan is in place to care for our children should we die or become incapacitated before they are adults.”

If you are a young adult, single or married, and have not executed a will and other important documents, please call Laurie toll free for assistance. If you are a parent, grandparent or friend of a single young adult or couple without these legal documents, encourage them to procrastinate no longer, and call Laurie.

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.

Twelve Steps For Christian Estate Planning- Step 2

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 #2 Make a Written Plan. Christian estate planning is about stewardship---making decisions and putting in place documents that most effectively and efficiently accomplish God’s plans for your possessions.

When it comes to planning for passing assets at death, good estate stewardship requires that you put in place a written plan---a Will or Will and Revocable Living Trust. If you have not made a Will, state law determines how your individually-owned assets will pass at your death. The state’s “Will” may direct distribution of your assets in a way that doesn’t meet your family’s needs or to persons with whom you would not want to share your estate. And, all distributions under the state’s plan will be outright to the designated beneficiaries---no matter their age and/or capacity to manage what is coming to them. Also, using the state’s “Will”, rather than writing your own, may result in more cost to administer and pass your assets at your death; thereby leaving less for your family.

Planning for possible future incapacity requires giving those you want to act for you written authorization to do that. Powers of Attorney and Health Care Advanced Directives are the “written plans” you can use to accomplish that part of your planning.

Next Month-Step #3 Coordinate Your 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.

12 Things To Do In 2013- Estate Planning Myths

12 Things to do in 2013- #9 -Laurie Valentine

Don't believe these estate planning myths: 

-You don’t need a Will if you and your spouse own everything in joint names.

-It is best to leave everything to your children, rather than make provision for both your children and  

 grandchildren in your estate plan.

-Creating an estate plan that “avoids” probate will avoid death taxes.

-Only wealthy people include gifts to charitable organizations in their estate plan.

-Your spouse has authority to deal with all of your jointly-owned assets if you become incapacitated.

To dispel these myths and learn how to create an estate plan that protects your family and allows you to be a wise steward of all with which God has blessed you go to www.kentuckybaptistfoundation.org/pg

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.

Inheritance: What Kind Are You Bequeathing?

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

The matter of inheritance is exceedingly important and a crucial concern in the dynamics of family life today. Parents consider at length what kind of inheritance they want to pass on to their children. And, children, in turn, when they attain a certain age, ponder what they are going to inherit from their parents. The familiar and favorite parable of the wise father and the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-24) is the finest example I know of the kind of inheritance I would like to give as a parent and receive as a son.

To clarify what this parable teaches us two common misconceptions must be addressed and set aside. The first is an inheritance is something parents leave their children after they have died. However, if you think about it, this is far too limited a concept because parents begin bequeathing an inheritance to their children the moment the child is born in the sense of passing on certain life experiences and values that surely will shape that child’s existence. So, the request of the prodigal was not as brash as it first appeared. Like any young adult leaving home he gathered up whatever inheritance had been shared with him and began transacting with life out of that legacy. As parents it is imperative we not wait until the end of life to consider what kind of inheritance we want to leave.

The second misconception is an inheritance consists only of money or physical property, which also is a far too restricted view, because an inheritance stands for all parents transfer to their children in terms of opportunities, values and a whole vision of life. This is not to imply the economic side is unimportant, because it is very important. But it is not everything, and a child is poor indeed whose parents do not realize this and seek to bequeath only a monetary estate. A child needs more from parents than money bequeathed at death, and this is why the father of the prodigal is so worthy of our attention. And, what makes it doubly important is this father is a reflection of our Father in Heaven.

So, remember, it’s more important what you leave in them that what you leave to them. “Instill your values…before you give them your valuables.” 

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.