Inheritances: Oh, What to Do?
Of all the issues that affluent parents face in planning, none consumes more time and emotional energy than that of inheritances—and for good reason. There is no area of planning that could be more devastating to a family than an ill-conceived or ill-timed inheritance. I have yet to see an inheritance plan with which parents were entirely satisfied when the actual distributions were clearly outlined for them.
Conducting an Inheritance Fire Drill
It is time well spent for parents, as they contemplate the amount and timing of their heirs’ inheritance, to conduct an “inheritance fire drill”. This exercise can help determine how prepared their heirs are to receive an inheritance, and how well they have thought-out how much of an inheritance is appropriate and when it is best to give it to them.
Are Your Advisors Asking You the Right Questions?
As believers, we need to know what the Bible says about financial matters. It is not enough, however, to just know what the Bible says about such topics; you must also know how to integrate what the Bible says into a comprehensive Master Stewardship Plan that is consistent with all these biblical principles. Are your advisors asking you the right questions—the important spiritual questions that are consistent with your biblical worldview?
Understanding the Difference Between Ownership and Control
The idea of distinguishing between ownership and control is a new concept for many wealthy families. From a biblical stewardship perspective, we should at least mentally acknowledge that we own nothing—we are mere caretakers of our Heavenly Father’s property. But the fact is, the deed to our house, our stock certificates, and the titles on our vehicles still have our name on it.
Are You an Informed or Uninformed Taxpayer?
Christian families should become informed taxpayers—avoiding all capital gains and estate taxes and paying as little as they possibly can in annual income taxes, so they will have more for themselves, more for their heirs, and more for the Kingdom of God.
When You Give You Will Take Away
The statement, “When you give, you will take away” is an intriguing maxim. If you give food to someone, you will take away their hunger. If you give work to a man, you will take away his feeling of uselessness. In the giving, there is always something gained and something lost. What makes this statement anything but simple, however, is that once you go beyond “life essentials,” it is often a considerable challenge to be sure that what you give is good and what you take away is bad.
Don’t Forget Who You Belong To
Do you remember Joseph who, by God’s providence, climbed from being a lowly slave to second-in-command in Potiphar’s house? Life was as good as it could get for Joseph—except for Potiphar’s wife, who wanted Joseph for herself. When she pursued him, Joseph rejected her advances. What caused him to flee the temptation was his awareness of who he belonged to. Remembering this is so critical to living a successful life of stewardship.