Estate Planning

To whom much is given, much shall be required.

– Luke 12:48

Tools & Resources On This Page

The Biblical View of Planning vs. The Secular View of Planning

There is a collision between how the secular world approaches planning and giving, and how the Bible calls us to live and give. Before you begin estate planning, are you and your advisor like-minded?

A Biblical worldview believes…

God owns everything.
- Psalm 24:1

Poorly thought out and excessive inheritances can destroy the very people we love the most.
- Proverbs 20:21, Ecclesiastes 2:18-19, 21

God cares how we make and invest His money.
- Romans 12:2, Ephesians 5:11, Deuteronomy 23:18

A secular worldview believes…

We made it, so what we have is ours!

The more we can pass on to our heirs, the better.

Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.

Questions on Taxes Giving, Family, and Advisors

These questions will help give you and your family a biblical perspective on taxes, giving, family, and advisors.

TAXES

  1. Do you have a wealth distribution plan that will owe $0 estate taxes?

  1. If you could choose between giving money to the federal government in taxes or giving that same money to worthy Kingdom causes, which would you prefer? Does your current plan do that?

  1. Did you know that capital gains taxes are optional and do not need to be paid? Are you paying any capital gains taxes needlessly?

GIVING

  1. Did you know you can use your charitable giving deductions to pass assets on to your heirs, gift and estate tax free?

  1. Did you know that your charitable giving can exceed 50 percent of your Adjusted Gross Income and still be tax deductible?

  1. Has your current plan been designed to maximize your current and future Kingdom giving while maintaining your desired lifestyle and your heir’s inheritance?

FAMILY

  1. Are you and your spouse on the same page with all your planning goals and objectives?
 
  1. Are you confident that your heirs inheritance will bless them and not curse them?
 
  1. Have you openly communicated with your heirs what your wealth transfer plans are?

ADVISORS

  1. Are your advisors giving you godly counsel in their respective areas of expertise that is based upon a biblical worldview as opposed to a secular worldview?
 
  1. Do all of your advisors work together as a planning team? Does everyone know what all the others are doing?
 
  1. How long has it been since you have carefully reviewed your plans with your entire advisory team and with your family?

On Choosing The Best Advisor

It is estimated that nearly 90 percent of wealthy Christian families do not have a follower of Jesus as an advisor. On the rare occasions where they do, the advice and planning they receive is often routinely secular. The advisors have not integrated their personal faith and biblical worldview into their professional practices.

In other words, the advice and counsel they give to their Christian clients is no different than their unbelieving counterparts. As a result, few affluent Christian families have advisors who help them plan using an overtly Christian, biblical worldview as a foundation.

To give away money is an easy matter… and in any man’s power. But to decide to whom to give it, and how large a sum and when, and for what purpose, and how, is neither in every man’s power, nor an easy matter. Hence it is that such excellence is rare and praiseworthy and noble.

- Aristotle -

Planning Process & Tools

Your Toolkit for Estate Planning

Your steps towards transformational stewardship is a journey. When a family begins with counseling and follows the proper steps, a plan can be achieved that targets the family’s unique God-given purpose, passions, and resources.

Philanthropic Master Planning
Workbook

One of the most exciting aspects of developing and implementing a Master Stewardship Plan is answering the question, “What do we do with all this wealth that we have to give away?” Christian families are regular givers over their lifetimes, but the awareness of their “massively greater capacity to give”, leaves them facing a series of difficult philanthropic dilemmas.

Additional Planning Resources

There is a collision between how the secular world approaches planning and giving, and how the Bible calls us to live and give. Before you begin estate planning, are you and your advisor like-minded?

Family Case Summaries

Stories of Impact

When families utilize these transformational stewardship planning practices, the impact to themselves, their families and the Kingdom are astounding. Below are some sample case studies of real-life families (the names and pictures are fictional) and how this planning exponentially increased their Kingdom giving.

Case summaries reflect actual examples of estate planning. The names and images, however, are fictional to protect the privacy of the individuals and families involved.

Well done, my good and faithful servant.

- Matthew 25:21 -