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Butch and Marie got married when they were nineteen. They were married for seventy years before the Lord called them home last year. When they were thirty-five, after having three children, they created their first estate plan with a will that established guardianship for their children and created a minor’s trust to provide for their children, providing for their needs until the youngest would reach the age of twenty-five. But their youngest child is now fifty-five and most of the provisions of their early plan are no longer needed.

Butch and Marie thought that they never needed to update that will. There was a problem with that. The original inheritance language from fifty-four years ago did not include the words “per stirpes”. That phrase means that a child’s inheritance will pass to their children if they die before receiving it. Two of Butch’s and Marie’s children passed away three years ago from illness. Each of them had three children. However, without the appropriate language, none of the inheritance will pass to those children (grandchildren of Butch and Marie). That would have crushed Butch and Marie had they known it happened. It also created some tension between some of the grandchildren.

All of this could have been avoided if Butch and Marie had reviewed their plan periodically through the years. It would have been worth the money to sit with an attorney. Your Gift Planning Counselor can encourage these regular checkups and make sure your gifting plans to family and ministry are clear.

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.