A homeschooling acquaintance of mine who goes by the online moniker “Prairie Chick” posted a story that inspired me about how to pass on and reinforce family values even among elementary school-age children (let alone older children and adults).

I saw her story on the Sonlight forums. When I asked her permission to share it here, she noted that she had also posted it on one of her blogs, The Prairie Schoolhouse. Read the rest of this entry »

As I prepare for the inevitable, I am realizing how important it is to consolidate my records. I haven’t done this. I have plans . . . for what is to happen with my estate when I die. I have all the paperwork in order. Or so my advisors tell me.

But I haven’t prepared the kinds of records that will enable my survivors easily to tie up whatever loose ends my death will create. And that’s where Read the rest of this entry »

I had the privilege of attending the first FoundationWise^SM conference at Focus on the Family the week before last.

FoundationWise^SM is meant to help people who “own” and operate private foundations to do a better job.

As I looked at the various workshops available for participants, it seemed to me that there were to primary tracks: one having to do with succession planning–passing on the vision and purpose to the next generation, and one having to do, more, with success on the “business” end of things–keeping good corporate records, ensuring your within the bounds of the law, investing successfully, and so forth. I followed the “succession planning” track.

One of the key questions I hoped to answer had to do with passing responsibility to the next generation: How can I know that they will carry on pursuing a vision that I would want them to pursue? Put another way: if I’m leaving them significant funds for charitable purposes, how can I ensure that they won’t take those funds and potentially turn them to uses possibly diametrically opposed to those for which I would have given them?

I mean, it is so common for nonprofits to wind up doing things very differently than their founders intended!

Intermixed in this larger question: How do we encourage our children in the ways of generosity?I thought some of the answers were very insightful. Here are some of the things that people suggested (not necessarily in order): Read the rest of this entry »

I will confess: I’ve been dragging my feet. Not sure why. But I had to overcome the hurdle.

I have finally “turned on” the Strategic Inheritance Legacy Lounge forum and invite you to join what I hope will soon be a freewheeling and inspirational discussion of all things related to passing on a heritage from one generation to another.

Join us, won’t you?

Thanks!

We watched The Bucket List last Sunday evening. I wasn’t sure what to expect, considering that it stars Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. I was more than pleasantly surprised. Yes, there were laughs. What movie with Nicholson in it won’t have laughs?

But there was a lot more. Indeed, I was impressed that Nicholson was willing, actually, to be serious and, even, subtle. There were some very poignant scenes.

But I was most impressed with the entire premise of the movie: Read the rest of this entry »

Isaiah 38 and 39 in the Bible describes a period in the life of one of the kings of Israel when he had an infection that placed him on death’s doorstep. Hezekiah prayed, “Oh, YHWH¹, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.”

Then the word of [YHWH] came to Isaiah: “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says [YHWH], the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.” (Isaiah 38:4-5 ESV)

Cool! Hezekiah was thrilled.

Next thing we read (chapter 39): Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah.

And Hezekiah welcomed them gladly. And he showed them his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. . . .

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of [YHWH] of hosts: “Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says [YHWH]. “And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, “The word of [YHWH] that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my days.” (Isaiah 39:2, 5-8 ESV)

And my eye stuck on that last statement: “The word of YHWH is good . . . for there will be peace and security in my days.”

Hezekiah didn’t care about those who would follow. It was all about him: “I will enjoy peace and security.”

May God protect me from holding such an attitude . . . whether in word or (more likely) in deed [preoccupation with my personal interests over my family's? unfaithfulness to my wife? refusal to eat wisely (in moderation; the right foods . . . )? unwillingness to exercise regularly and thus maintain my health and vigor? . . . ].

What might I do that would show a preoccupation with my own interests to the detriment of the interests of those who are to come after me?

¹ YHWH, also known as “the Tetragrammaton,” is the personal name of the God of the Bible. In modern English translations, it is usually rendered in small capital letters as “the LORD” . . . following Jewish tradition which reads the word as “Adonai” (“Lord”).

I have made it a habit, for many years, to place a box around “the LORD” wherever it appears in my Bible–and then to read the word as Yahweh or Jehovah–in order to cause me to pay attention to when one of the prophets–or God Himself–is speaking of God using His name . . . as opposed to when they are speaking of God in terms of His role or authority as Lord/lord.

I find the discipline helpful and enlightening. Return to text.

Find it difficult to be involved with your family? The first step to achieve balance in this area may be to value the goal. Read the rest of this entry »

In my last post, I noted that, going in to your estate planning process, you need to answer three fundamental questions:

1. How many of the resources God has placed in your hands do you need in order to live your life as you believe you ought?
    
2. How many of the resources God has placed in your hands will benefit your heirs to help them live their lives as you would like them to be able to live?

   And, finally,

3. To what causes do you want to give what’s left over?

I said that, if you walk in without answers to those three questions, I can almost guarantee that your estate planning attorney will answer those questions for you . . . based on assumptions he or she will make in your behalf.

And what might those assumptions look like?

Here’s my experience. Most estate planning attorneys will assume you want to minimize taxes and, upon your death, pass everything you’ve saved over the course of your life–as much as possible–to your heirs: your children and grandchildren.

And beyond that?

“No assumptions.” –What else could you possibly want?

Well, let me raise some questions to see if even these assumptions are really what you want.

And in this post I hope simply to address the assumption of estate-transfer timing: the idea that your estate should pass to your heirs at your death. Read the rest of this entry »