Imagine that Herb and Edith are core members of their congregation. They have raised three children in the faith, as those children attended the Lutheran school. Now six of their seven grandchildren are attending that same Lutheran school.

Herb is a retired plumber. Together with Edith they ran their own plumbing business. The Lord blessed them with success. Five years ago they sold the business to someone else. The business maintains its original name and all the clientele passed to the new owner. When they sold it, it netted them $800,000, in addition to the $2 million they have saved in their retirement account.

Ten years earlier they had created an estate plan with their attorney. That was before they sold their business. At the time, they had created a $20,000 gift to ministry as a “tithe” of what would pass through their will. They had not even considered making a gift from the leftovers of their IRA when the Lord calls them home. They put the $800,000 into an investment account and now it is worth $1.4 million. At the end of their earthly life they expect there will be over $2 million of assets remaining, and the investment account and IRA have their children receiving 100% of these assets through beneficiary designation.

In recent months, motivated by their thankfulness for the ministry of their home congregation and a desire to see its ministry continue long into the future, they have reconsidered their plan for gifting. They are wondering how to calculate the size of the ministry gift coming from their will. They are also wanting to add to it with disbursements from their investments and IRA. They are wondering which fund from which they should chose and how to fill out the beneficiary designation forms correctly. They want to make a $500,000 gift to their church for the sake of scholarships for the school. Much to their surprise, each of their children will receive $500,000 as well.

In a situation like this, your LCMS Foundation Gift Planning Counselor can help to cut through the clutter and to illustrate options, looking to optimize tax savings as well. They can coordinate work with your professionals, attorney, tax advisor and financial advisor.

Jason Jones, CGP, CDE, is Saint John’s Gift Planning Counselor. Jason works with individuals in our congregation who want to discover the lifetime plan that God has planted in their heart. He will help them to use this plan to Transfer the Blessings God has given them to their family and the ministries they love. This service comes to you at no cost as a member of Saint John’s. To schedule a free meeting with Jason or ask questions about this special opportunity, visit www.StJohnsFC.org/transfer-the-blessings, call (970) 988-0305 or email Jason.Jones@lfnd.org.