The LCMS Foundation was created in 1958 by the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod to provide Christian estate planning services to LCMS members and help ministries invest or endow the gifts members leave them in their wills or estate plans.
A person wishes to go on a European vacation. However, they have delayed planning many times. Maybe there will be a better rate? Who knows when the best weather will be? What if my health takes a turn, and I am not able to go? The bliss of vacation will never happen if you continue living in paralysis of the unknown.
That same kind of paralysis can keep the Lord’s people from putting estate plans in place and carrying out faithful stewardship of God’s gifts. In the barrage of “what ifs”, we choose to do nothing. If that procrastination lasts long enough, we may choose to do nothing, expecting that our children will take care of things after the Lord calls us home. The trouble is, we may not have communicated our wishes to our children clearly or they may not share the same priorities. God has made us stewards of His things, and it is our job to put a plan in writing that faithfully guides how financial assets should be handled through our estate. We don’t let fear of the imperfect keep us from acting.
Certainly, in estate plans, there are many things that can change over time. Family can grow. Financial assets can grow. Ministries can close, and new ones can open. An estate plan needs to be nimble to be effective. It is wise to see the need to review an estate plan and update it every 5-7 years. Yet the prospect of those changes should not keep us from setting up a plan that covers the needs of today. Your LCMS Foundation Gift Planning Counselor can be the one to talk and pray with you as you discern God’s will. Contact Tony Hunt, CFRE, at 260-222-1291 or email tony.hunt@lfnd.org.