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.