Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Celebrating Students

By: Richard Carnes

Graduation ceremonies are occurring across the Commonwealth of Kentucky at this time. It is always an exciting time for students and their families as they celebrate the achievement of an educational milestone and look forward to the next phase of the student’s life. For many students, college or technical school awaits them, but some budding young scholars must defer the hope of achieving their academic dream due to a lack of sufficient financial resources.

The Kentucky Baptist Foundation has been honored to work with numerous donors whose passion is helping students secure the necessary financial support to achieve their educational goals. One example of this collaboration is the scholarship funds that donors have established at the Foundation to help off-set the costs of student’s education. The Kentucky Baptist Foundation’s scholarship committee met recently to review student applications and grant scholarship awards for the upcoming academic year. The scholarship committee was privileged to award 74 scholarships to college and seminary students totaling $93,385 from the 17 scholarship endowments administered by the Foundation.

You may share this same passion for education and would like to explore how you can implement a legacy gift plan to fund a scholarship endowment like the ones referenced above. Or you may have a Christian school, college or Baptist seminary that you would like to support through a legacy gift. Also, churches can create scholarship funds through the Foundation that will provide much needed financial assistance to their college bound students.

The Kentucky Baptist Foundation staff is available to assist you by providing guidance in creating these scholarship funds and charitable endowments to support worthy Christian education causes across the state and the nation. To learn more, you may 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.




Thursday, June 16, 2016

News You Can Use

By: Laurie Valentine

· 60% of adults in the United States have never made a Last Will and Testament. Making a will is the single most important act of Christian financial stewardship you can ever take.

· If you have not made a Will, the state in which you reside has a plan of asset distribution written for you. Here in the Kentucky that plan is called the “Kentucky Intestate Succession Statute”. There is a good possibility that Kentucky’s “will” sets up a plan of distribution that doesn’t meet your family’s needs or your wishes regarding how your assets will pass at your death.

· A court will decide who will rear any minor children if both parents are deceased and they have not made a will or included a nomination of guardian provision in their will for the children. This is a far more important issue than who will receive your assets at death.

· Kentucky’s plan for asset distribution does not include your church or any other Christian ministry. You also forfeit the option of creating provisions that will benefit both your family and the Lord’s work.

· Without a properly drawn will, the death taxes and cost of administering your estate may be higher, thereby reducing what will be available for your family.

· By having a properly drawn will, you get to choose who serves as executor of your estate.

· By having a properly drawn will you are helping ease family friction at your death. This is especially important at a time when your loved ones are grieving your death.

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.

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

A Place to Start

By: Richard Carnes

Individuals who seek guidance from the Kentucky Baptist Foundation often ask for suggestions on how best to start their estate planning process. We suggest using the following four steps as a framework for organizing your thoughts as you begin.

People
The people in your life are central to the planning process. List the individuals for whom you are now financially responsible and those whom you would like to assist in the future. It is also appropriate to include your church and other Christian ministry causes on the list as part of your “family.”

Property
Next, we suggest listing your property. Think of everything you own, including financial assets and tangible property. Begin with income from all sources (salary, investments, rental property, etc.) Also include any current balances in pension plans, individual retirement accounts (IRA’s), 401K plans and other retirement accounts. Beside each asset, list its current value and the asset’s original cost. Finally, note whether you own the asset outright, or with others.

Plans
Your plans begin to take shape as you review the list of persons and consider how you wish to provide for them. Study the various assets you listed to determine which may match the needs of each person or charitable cause you identified as important to you.

Planners
Various professionals play a key part in establishing and advising your estate plan. At the top of the list of planners will often be an attorney and an accountant. Your attorney drafts your will and other legal documents. Your accountant can provide valuable advice on tax matters as well as other estate planning issues, in consultation with your attorney. Others who may participate include life insurance professionals, financial planners, real estate professionals and trust officers.

The staff of the Kentucky Baptist Foundation would be honored to be a part of your planner team. We welcome the opportunity to work with individuals seeking how best to organize their estate planning goals to achieve their personal and charitable objectives. 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.