Learn About Wills and Bequests

What are the benefits of making a bequest?

1. You leave a lasting legacy to be remembered
2. You lessen the burden of taxes on your family
3. You may receive estate tax savings

How can I learn more?

How do I make a bequest?

What are my options?

1. You can gift a specific dollar amount or asset
2. You can gift a percentage of your estate
3. You can gift from the balance or residue of your estate
4. You can make a beneficiary designation of certain assets

How do I get started?

Ethical Wills

How will you share your life lessons with your loved ones? One approach is to create a Legacy Love Letter. Sometimes called an Ethical Will, it is a personal document you create to communicate your values, experiences, life lessons and family heritage to your loved ones. Unlike a legal will which focuses on passing along your physical assets, property and items of monetary value, an ethical will serves to share guiding principles, memories, spiritual values, stories of personal faith, family objects with personal (but not necessarily monetary) value and future wishes for your family. A Legacy Love Letter shares hard-won wisdom, deeply held beliefs, and can even include funny stories from your childhood.

Because an ethical will is not a legal document, and is not made for the purpose of distributing assets, the content and form is up to you. Here are four themes you may wish to cover:

What do you believe?
What values are the most important to you? What principles guide you when it comes to marriage, children, serving others, stewarding finances, etc.?

What have you learned?
Include stories about life-defining moments and what you learned from them. Highlight the people and experiences that shaped you.

What do your loved ones need to know?
Let your loved ones know about the difference they've made in your life. And don't forget to make apologies and amends where they're needed.

What really matters?
Share Scripture that has been especially meaningful to you, along with a message of encouragement for your family and friends.

The lessons you've learned are a priceless legacy. Don't miss the opportunity to pass them on to those you care about most.

Sample of an Ethical Will:

Dear Children,

A passage from Psalm 16 resonates with us. It says, "The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good inheritance." That verse prompted some heart-stirring conversations that we'd like to share with you.

We are thankful for the "good inheritance" we have received from God. As we grow older, we want each of you to know how much we love you, and deeply appreciate the many ways you have enriched our lives. And we want you to know that the greatest pleasure you could give us is to pass on to your children, as we have tried to do with you, that same commitment to live all of your life as service to God.

We see our will as an ongoing testimony of our love for our God and for you, and that is reflected in the way we have divided our estate among you and the ministries we love. We hope that when the time comes, someone would read Psalm 16, as an encouragement for our family to continue serving our God with gladness for generations to come.

We love you,

Mom and Dad