Biblical Finance: Estate Planning

Introduction:

I want to talk about an important truth for every Christian to understand, but most don’t…

We’re good on things like repentance,

Separation, or

Knowledge of Bible stories,

But so many people are deficient in this category mostly because of not knowing how (I believe)…

Estate planning

A man and his wife are driving to dinner one night when they have this funny exchange:

Wife: “We should talk about our final arrangements so that the kids aren’t burdened with it.”

Husband: “Why should we care? That’ll be their problem.”

Wife: “Right … Well … at least we talked about it.”

“A wealthy man dies and leaves 10 million dollars. One-fifth is to go to his wife, one-fifth to his son, one-sixth to his butler, and the rest to charity. Now, what does each get?” After a very long period of silence in the classroom, one brave little boy raises his hand. And with complete sincerity, he said, “A lawyer!”

What is estate planning?

Estate planning is planning the distribution, preservation or expenditure of assets both in life and upon one’s death. Estate planning allows a person to say what happens to their assets after they die. Manage from the grave…

Estate planning is involved in being a good steward of your things…

Stewardship is a Biblical principal:

Stewardship: The process of being responsible with someone else’s property while it is entrusted to you.

Remember:

Psalm 24:1 “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein.”

1 Corinthians 4:1–2 “Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”

A steward is a manager…

We’ve spoken before on the Ownership vs. Stewardship principal…

A stewardship mentality says: “What I have is God’s. He chooses where it goes and what stays.”

An ownership mentality says: “What I have is mine. I choose what goes and what stays.”

Stewardship SHOULD not end at death…

Think about the inheritances in the Bible:

a.) Abraham left his inheritance to Isaac.

Genesis 13:2 “And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.”

Genesis 24:35 “And the Lord hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.”

Genesis 25:5 “And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.”

Abraham had great wealth in silver, gold, cattle, menservants, maidservants, flocks and herds…

What did Isaac do with it?

Genesis 26:12–14 “Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the Lord blessed him. And the man waxed great, and went forward, and grew until he became very great: For he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds, and great store of servants: and the Philistines envied him.” He continued building on what Abraham left him…

Genesis 26:18 “And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.”

He re-dug the wells his father once dug that the Philistines filled in… **Already preached on this a couple months ago**

b.) Isaac intended to bless Esau, but blessed Jacob instead.

Genesis 27:28–29 “Therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven, And the fatness of the earth, And plenty of corn and wine: Let people serve thee, And nations bow down to thee: Be lord over thy brethren, And let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee: Cursed be every one that curseth thee, And blessed be he that blesseth thee.”

It was a transfer of assets, responsibilities or vision from one person to another…

c.) The Prodigal son wasted his inheritance…

Luke 15:11–14 “And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.”

**Teach your children what to do when you die with the inheritance or lack thereof they will receive**

The spiritual inheritance we receive in Christ. Ephesians 1:11 “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:”

d.) David’s inheritance to Solomon (prepped, planned, gave everything he needed)

1 Kings 2:1–4 “Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man; And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: That the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.”

His inheritance included a charge from his father to fulfill God’s will for His life

1 Chronicles 22:14 “Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the Lord an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto.”

Each of these situations was a transfer of assets, wealth, responsibilities and visions from father to son…

We need to think about our estate plan… whether it’s of spiritual things or physical/material things.

e.) The Estate Planning of Jesus

Hebrews 9:16–17 “For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.”

Jesus’ death began the new testament… “For a testament is of force after men are dead…”

Testament: A solemn authentic instrument in writing God’s Word, by which a person Jesus Christ/God declares his will as to the disposal of his estate and effects after his death. What we do with what He has given us… eternal life…His Bible tells us what He wants done… Go ye into all the world, etc…This is otherwise called a will. A testament to be valid, must be made when the testator is of sound mind Jesus on the cross, and it must be subscribed, witnessed By many, including His resurrection by over 500 people… and published in such manner as the law prescribes. Published in blood…A will does not become in effect until the death of a testator…

Dying “intestate” means: without a will

A deceased person WITH a will is known as the testator...

***Do you think Jesus had a will? That He intended for us, the stewards of the gospel, to manage and effectively accomplish according to His written word?***

Practical point:

Another name for a will: The Last Will and Testament

Binding document of the testator (deceased) proclaiming legally what they want done with their assets…

Often times it says to pay all debts and funeral expenses with the assets remaining at their death… Jesus’ asset in His blood was to pay the cost for my sin (the debt; the substitutionary atonement; the earnest payment)

Jesus had a will… that will declared how he wanted things done… no more sacrifice and atonement of sins through an animal, but through the blood of the testator (Jesus)

Think about what Jesus’ estate planning brought:

a. Provision

A path to eternal life - His death took care of the sum that was required for all to be saved… He left behind a permanent solution for a problem. He provided what was needed with His death…

No more sacrificing of animals or different kinds of offerings to atone for sin. It was taken care of once for all.

Payment

Ephesians 1:13–14 “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”

Earnest: Promise, pledge or assurance

His death and assets (blood) paid the price for my eternal life…

Practical point:

I think it’s responsible stewardship when we die, to continue caring for those we are responsible for upon our death.

Life insurance can help

Financial planning with assets

Plan for income, housing and living conditions

Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you…” His death meant the preparation of housing and living conditions for the life He used His assets to pay for on the cross, which was His blood.

Housing

Hebrews 10:10 “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

b. Security

Eternal security only exists because of His death on the cross… The death of the testator meant we can have security of our eternity…

1 Peter 1:3–5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

Practical point:

‌Even though a will is completed, it still passes through “probate”

The probate of a will or testament is the proving of its genuineness and validity, or the exhibition of the will to the proper officer, with the witnesses if necessary, and the process of determining its validity, and the registry of it, and such other proceedings as the laws prescribe, as preliminary to the execution of it by the executor.

When we die, we will stand before our Judge to declare if our name is written in the Lambs book of life or not…

**This is the test of the validity of the claim**

A Trust:

The Trustor dies and leaves the assets to the Trustee to manage according to written documents with instructions…

We are the trustee for Jesus’ assets…

1 Thessalonians 2:4 “But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts.”

He left us with His blood and a commission to fulfill… Are we following the orders of the trust/Bible in a way that would be pleasing to the Saviour. Are His assets (stewardship vs. ownership principal) being stewarded in a way He would be pleased with.

If the trustee is not found to be in compliance with the rules and requests of the trust, they can get in trouble. The Trustee is called a “fiduciary”, meaning the trustee will act in the best interest of the trust with the assets there with the intended purpose for how the trustor originally intended for them to be used.

Think about it:

Again, we are fiduciaries for God…

He left behind His blood for the beneficiaries which is “…whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord…”

Are we utilizing His assets (His blood) in a manner that is in accordance with His Word?

We are “allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel…”

Practical Estate Planning

Ephesians 5:23–29 “For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:”

When Jesus died, He left us the church… He told us to care for our wives as He cared for the church…

You should care for your spouse as your own flesh… You would want to be taken care of, provided for, secure, etc.

Proverbs 27:23–27 “Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, And look well to thy herds. For riches are not for ever: And doth the crown endure to every generation? The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, And herbs of the mountains are gathered. The lambs are for thy clothing, And the goats are the price of the field. And thou shalt have goats’ milk enough for thy food, For the food of thy household, And for the maintenance for thy maidens.”

Points to consider:

How will my spouse receive income when I die?

Social Security (one drops off at death)

Pensions (does it continue? At how much?)

Retirement assets (withdrawal plan that extends through both lives?)

Long-term care income?

Will real estate have to be sold? Is a move involved?

2. Can I reduce the amount of estate taxes on what I leave behind?

Anything over $1,000,000 is a taxable estate (state only) - starts at 10% increases quickly

At death, heirs could pay 2 kinds of taxes: 1. estate taxes (total estate assets), 2. Income taxes (depending on how assets pass or not)

3. To whom do I want my assets to go and does my current documentation provide that? (beneficiaries, POAs, trust, will, etc.?)

If nothing is left such as beneficiaries, wills or trusts, assets will follow state inheritance laws. Spouse’s first, children second, grandchildren third… But that requires probate which is spendy and time-consuming…

4. How will my assets pass? (Qualified vs. non-qualified account)

Qualified means retirement or tax-deferred

You could have a plan to pay less taxes now than your kids will during their lifetime…

If they inherit $100,000 of qualified money, they will pay income tax on all of that…

5. Are funeral arrangements in order?

Does my spouse know what to do when I die?

Does she know my preferences for being buried vs. cremated, etc.?

What should an estate plan provide?

Provision for your spouse and family

Security for your spouse and family

A Plan for your spouse and family