Which Will Do You Have?

Credit the Knoxville Safe House for one of the catchiest advertising tag lines I’ve heard in a long time: “You need a safe. You just don’t know it!” If you visit their website, you will see that they have actually trademarked their clever slogan.

I wouldn’t want to infringe on Knoxville Safe House’s territory, but I do want to borrow their emphasis to make a point related to estate planning. We all need a will, but the reality is that some of us don’t acknowledge that fact. Extending that thought, what we all need is a will that will do what we want.

Truth be known, we all actually have a will. Slightly over one third of American adults have a will that they have written for themselves. Everyone else has a will written in the laws of the State.

To put that another way, the government has already decided what happens to our resources and material possessions when we die, unless we make other plans. Unfortunately, the vast majority of Americans have no legal document prepared to direct their assets or to carry out their wishes for end-of-life care.

Make the Decisions Yourself

I’m sure you know the options. You can meet with an attorney and make the decisions regarding how you want your affairs to be handled when you pass away. Or, you can avoid those hard conversations and the State will make those decisions for you. I encourage you to take charge yourself.

Keep in mind that making those decisions yourself can be a tremendous blessing to your family and loved ones. Further, a carefully constructed will, especially one that includes a bequest to a nonprofit organization such as the academy or your church, can result in significant tax benefits to donors and their loved ones.

A Legacy of Generosity

Planned gifts can take many forms.

Over the years, thoughtful alumni and friends have chosen to include The King’s Academy in their estate plans through a variety of meaningful gifts.

• Charitable remainder trusts
• Life insurance
• Stocks and other equities
• Real estate
• Motor vehicles
• Jewelry
• Fine art
• Named scholarship endowments
• Specific dollar bequests
• Percentage bequests

Over the years, the academy has received gifts as the result of thoughtful alumni and friends who determined to include the academy in their estate plans. Meaningful donations have come in many forms: trusts, particularly charitable remainder trusts, life insurance, stocks and other equities, real estate, motor vehicles, jewelry, fine art, named scholarship endowments, and outright bequests in specific dollar amounts or percentages.

To assist alumni and friends with this process, the academy maintains working relationships with attorneys, financial planners, and CPAs who are readily available to assist you in making plans according to your preferences. We have particularly enjoyed a close partnership with the professionals with the Tennessee Baptist Foundation in Franklin, Tennessee.