Tag Archives: Legacy Planning

Leaving a Legacy When Morality and Coolness Collide

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millennialsWe often hear from parents and grandparents about a disconnect between their values and those of their children and grandchildren. For example, many grandparents do not share their grandchildren’s views on life issues, same sex marriage, and morality in general.  Another area of disagreement between the generations revolves around the church. Brett McCracken, author of Hipster Christianity: When Church & Cool Collide, addresses the issue in a recent article published in The Washington Post, How to keep Millennials in the church? Let’s keep the church un-cool.

McCracken, a Millennial himself, sides with the older generation and takes his own generation to task for wanting the church to adapt to their whims. Near the end of his article he surmises…

But at the end of the day, the Christian gospel is defined outside of and with little regard to whatever itch people think Christianity should scratch. Consumerism asserts that people want what they want and get what they want, for a price. It’s all about me. But to position the gospel within this consumerist, give-them-what-they-want framework is to open the door to all sorts of distortions, mutations, and “to each his own” cockamamy variations. If Christianity aims to sell a message that scratches a pluralism of itches, how in the world will a cohesive, orthodox, unified gospel survive?

Brett McCracken understands how importance it is for the Church to remain steadfast in its values and principles. Do your grandchildren and children “get it” too? If you do not believe your children or grandchildren hold McCracken’s point of view regarding the church, or they do not share your values and morality, then you must decide how to protect your legacy.

The Stewardship Foundation can help you protect your family legacy and ensure that your values are honored in your estate planning and the administration of your family or private foundation. We are here to assist you through the various financial options we provide. Our core principles will not change. The Stewardship Foundation does not seek to “scratch a pluralism of itches.” Rather, we support a “cohesive, orthodox, unified gospel” and we work with those individuals, families, organizations, and professionals who support them as well.

Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Unique CLT Opportunity in 2012

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Tonight’s first presidential debate signals that the 2012 election is fast approaching.  Regardless of the occupant in the oval office in 2012, tax changes are inevitable. Leon C. LaBrecque addresses many of your concerns in his article, The Perfect Storm: Prospective Expiration of the Bush Tax Cuts. For example, LaBrecque concludes:

“Charitable lead trusts are very attractive for 2012. The ‘Tax Storm’ of 2012 has a wide-reaching and profound effect on individuals, particularly those with charitable intent. The current historically low interest rates provide an unprecedented opportunity for Charitable Lead Trusts, excluded gifts, or low interest rate loans. The possible expiration of the Bush tax cuts make it an imperative for taxpayers with estates larger than $1M to sit down with advisors and make a determined plan of action. If the cuts expire, individuals will have a very narrow window of opportunity to utilize the $5.12M exclusions, the GST exemptions, and the benefits of the current law. This is a year in which pre-planning is crucially important. And, in the off chance that the estate tax is repealed and the income tax rates are permanently lowered to the tax cut rates (in which case we will have a whole new set of problems), the overall family and charity situation has been reviewed and carefully considered.”

As you listen to the debates and decide how you should vote consider your tax situation and explore whether the charitable lead trust is a sound option.  The Stewardship Foundation has developed many charitable lead trusts, charitable remainder trusts and donor advised funds for our clients.  Please contact us so we can assist you to optimize this unique opportunity.

Gold Medal Anticipation

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The opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympics is only hours away. Those on the planning committee have been preparing the host city of London over the past four years. If you have read or seen interviews of those in charge you get the sense that the city is ready – ready to host the world.

Olympic SwimmerWe will be treated to a magnificent display of talent and pageantry. While watching the extravaganza we may fail to appreciate all the hard work that led up to this moment. The performers want you to enjoy their efforts without analyzing or adding up the hours spent by the performers. However, they know and we know their proficiency was developed and executed over time.

After the opening ceremonies we eagerly await the competitions. We will cheer for our home athletes and we will marvel at their skill. We will be treated to many stories that will trace the journey of these athletes and their families. A common theme that will emerge is that many, many hours of practice and preparation were necessary to give these athletes the opportunity to compete for the gold medal. Parents and families sacrificed much to assist their athletes in their quest for gold. No doubt we too will shed some tears of joy when our athletes successfully achieve the medal for which they dreamed. They and their families may never be able to fully express their feelings while standing on that podium. All they might be able to appreciate, as they gaze out from the podium, is that the journey is worth it. They will not feel the need to explain to us how difficult the journey was or how many times they fell, or almost failed. They will just want us to enjoy this success with them.

The legacy planning the Stewardship Foundation invites you to explore parallels the Olympic journey of those hosting the events and the athletes competing in them. Legacy planning requires that you plan for future success and the “gold” you wish to leave your family and the charitable causes you support. The decisions you make now, and the plans you implement, can have a positive affect those important to you. And like the gold medal athlete basking on the podium, you too can rejoice in the fruit of your legacy that you started today. You will not have to explain the sacrifices you made to your family or the benefitting charity; you will rejoice knowing those you love and support will benefit from your gold medal foresight.

Contact the Stewardship Foundation to start your legacy today.