Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Somebody To Turn To

By: Barry G. Allen, President & CEO 

One of the discoveries I’ve made in my 16+ years as KBF president is a large number of Kentucky Baptist church members do not know to whom to turn for information about simple, basic but important estate stewardship issues, and about Christian estate stewardship in particular.

Among the reasons the Kentucky Baptist Foundation was established sixty seven years ago in 1945 as the “trust agency” for Kentucky Baptists was to provide Kentucky Baptist church members a reliable resource to which to turn for information about their basic estate stewardship and charitable gift planning questions. The information we provide is not legal or tax advice. Church members will still need their own advisors.

KBF staff members are available to provide information by telephone, by email and by an in person visit in our office or at the church member’s home.

We can be contacted in any of the following ways: (1) call toll free (KY only) telephone number 866.489.3533 or 502.489.3533; (2) write us at P.O. Box 436389, Louisville, KY 40253-6389; or (3) browse our website www.kybaptistfoundation.org for email contacts.

If you prefer to browse the website, before contacting us or in lieu of contacting us, you may find the information you need, because the website was designed to be a user friendly 24/7 source of information about estate planning, charitable gift planning and legacy gift planning as well as information about the services of the KBF to church members and to churches.

Let me also encourage you (1) to follow us and “like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/KentuckyBaptistFoundation; we post articles regularly about estate stewardship and others giving ideas; (2) subscribe to the Western Recorder print or on line version to which Laurie Valentine and I contribute articles on a regular basis; (3) follow me on Twitter @KBFBarry; and (4) call us to subscribe to our quarterly newsletter, Living Legacy.

Please know your Kentucky Baptist Foundation has stood “steadfast and solid since 1945” and continues to be that “somebody you can turn to” for information by the communication method most convenient and desirable to you to answer your simple, basic but important estate stewardship and charitable and legacy gift planning questions.

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.


Monday, October 29, 2012

E-Devotional- Week 27

Creative Giving Ideas-Week 1

  
The churches, associations, institutions and agencies of the Kentucky Baptist Convention and Southern Baptist Convention are making a difference for the Kingdom of God in our state, nation and around the world.  They are worthy of significant and sacrificial support that will enhance and undergird their missions and ministries.

Perhaps you would like to make gifts above what you give out of income as tithes and offerings to provide on-going support to one or more of these causes, but you may be concerned that such gifts could affect your financial security and that of your family.  There are a variety of creative giving options that allow you to “make a lasting difference” while also assuring the future financial security of your family.

As you begin these lessons, take a moment to pray for God’s guidance in this month’s study.

Week 1 – Why Should I Give?

Scripture References:  Psalm 24:1a; Matthew 6:19-21; Mark 12:41-44; 1 Timothy 6:7, 9.
Please read these passages in your Bible now.

What Does the Bible Say About Giving?
The scripture references noted above remind us that everything belongs to God and comes from God.  We are to be good stewards of all that God has given us.  We are to use what God has given us in ways that will benefit the Kingdom of God, not just our own comfort on earth.  No matter your financial station in life you can make a gift that counts because the gift that counts is the gift that costs.

Are There Temporal Benefits to Giving?
Both federal and state tax laws encourage charitable giving.  There is an income tax deduction allowed for lifetime gifts to charity (this would include your tithes and offerings) and an estate tax deduction for charitable gifts made at death.  If you use appreciated securities or real estate to make lifetime gifts, you will also save capital gains taxes.  Life income gifts, discussed in Lesson 4, may actually result in an increase in your income.

What is “Social Capital” and How Should It Factor Into My Giving Decisions?
Our federal and state tax laws were enacted to provide an incentive in the form of tax savings for making gifts to support those agencies and institutions that are providing vital services to our communities.  The government’s philosophy is that private giving does many jobs that otherwise the government might be called upon to do out of tax money.  “Social capital” is that portion of your wealth that will either pass involuntarily to the government as taxes or which can be directed voluntarily by you to charitable causes.  If your social capital passes as taxes, you permit the government to choose what institutions and programs will be supported. Charitable giving allows you to direct what would otherwise pass out of your hands as tax dollars to those causes and organizations that will perpetuate your highest personal values.

Directing your social capital is good stewardship.  The tax savings resulting from your charitable gifts may actually leave more for you and your family to enjoy.  Those savings may also permit you to give more than you ever dreamed possible.

Prayer Focus: Take some time now to pray that God will provide understanding about why you should be considering how you can make gifts above and beyond your tithes and offerings.

Next Week:  Giving Out of Your Assets vs. Your Income

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, October 23, 2012

Charitable Gift Annuities

By: Laurie Valentine, COO & Trust Counsel

Would you like to provide support to your church or another favorite Baptist cause while benefiting from lifetime payments, management of assets and tax savings? If your answer is yes, a charitable gift annuity may be just what you are looking for.

A charitable gift annuity is a contract between you and the Kentucky Baptist Foundation under which you agree to make a gift of cash or appreciated stocks, bonds or mutual fund shares and, in exchange for your gift, the Kentucky Baptist Foundation agrees to pay you a fixed amount each year for your lifetime. The lifetime payments to you are backed by the general assets of the cause(s) that will ultimately benefit from your gift.

The annual payment to you depends upon the value of your gift and your age at the time you make the gift. The older you are the higher the payment rate. The payment amount is not dependent on what your gift earns.

Establishing a charitable gift annuity during your lifetime allows you to provide for your financial needs and those of your family, while at the same time assuring vital future support to the causes you designate to ultimately benefit from your gift.

Tax savings may be available from the charitable income tax deduction that is allowable and also from the fact that part of each payment you receive is tax-free. These benefits can make the cost of establishing a charitable gift annuity very reasonable.

Using appreciated stocks, bonds or mutual fund shares to establish a charitable gift annuity can also provide capital gains tax savings.

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, October 16, 2012

A Good Time For Giving

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

Now is a very good time for giving. With Thanksgiving right around the corner it’s a time to express gratitude to the Lord for all the ways He has blessed our lives, and giving financial gifts to advance His Kingdom is a worthy way to express that gratitude. The Advent season, which follows the Thanksgiving season, is another good time for giving. What better reason to give than “the reason for the season.” And, finally, the end of the calendar year is a good time for giving because you may be able to enjoy some tax savings, which could facilitate a larger gift(s) than you anticipated giving.

The most common asset used for charitable giving is cash in the form of cash, a check or an electronic transfer. If you itemize your tax deductions, gifts of cash may be used to eliminate federal income tax on up to half of your adjusted gross income (AGI). You also may have state income tax savings.

Since the financial markets have behaved rather well this year, you may own some stocks, bonds or mutual fund shares that are worth more than they cost you. Now could be a good time to gift those assets instead of cash because such gifts generally are deductible for income tax purposes at the full market value if you’ve owned them more than one year. Such gifts can be used to offset tax on up to 30% of your AGI, and an added benefit is no capital gain tax is owed because the gift is not a sale. On the other hand, if you own securities worth less than they cost, consider selling them and using the proceeds to make your charitable gift(s). You may be able to deduct the loss on the sale as well as the amount of the gift. Unused deductions in the year of the gift can carry forward for five future years.

To the extent you need assistance in what asset to give, please give us the privilege of assisting you. 

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, October 2, 2012

Passing On Digital Assets

By: Barry G. Allen- President & CEO

What will happen to your social media, email and other online accounts that might have financial or sentimental value after you are gone? Unlike my parents’ and grandparents’ situations, my children and grandchildren will not find my photo albums in an old chest in the basement or attic; instead they will find my chest of photo albums in my computer – that is – if I have given them instructions about how to find them before I am gone.

Digital assets include digital files which are stored on your computer, cell phone, a separate disc or on the internet. They include online accounts that require one to enter a user name and a password to access them. Digital files can be critical for identifying your assets, debts, heirs and friends. They likely will have either monetary or sentimental value. As you save more and more documents, photographs and other matters in a digital format, the importance of planning for passing on these digital assets to your heirs becomes increasingly more important.

Therefore, we encourage you to contact your estate planning attorney to discuss including provisions regarding your digital assets in your power of attorney, will and revocable living trust. Create a reference guide that includes a list of every site on which you have an online presence, along with your user names and passwords. Update it regularly as you add new sites and make changes in your passwords.

For additional information on this subject, click on this website: www.thedigitalbeyond.com. Other online resources related to the storage of digital assets and information about online accounts are:

Legacy Locker www.legacylocker.com
Entrusted www.entrustet.com
AssetLock www.assetlock.net
MyWonderfulLife www.mywonderfullife.com
SecureSafe www.securesafe.com

Dealing with digital assets after someone dies has become a huge challenge both for families and the legal system in every state. As Christians dealing with digital assets is part of that estate stewardship responsibility about which the apostle Paul advised and warned in 1 Timothy 5:8. Therefore, let us not “deny the faith,” and be “worse than an unbeliever.”

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.