A good gift plan can present solutions to challenging family dynamics.

 Years ago, a husband and wife were meeting with their LWML Gift Planning Counselor. Both had been married before, as their spouses had been called home to Jesus. Each of them brought children into the relationship. The assets they brought were not equal. Urged by the advice of various people, they began considering a way in which they could isolate their assets from each other, creating multiple trusts. Complicating matters, because they truly loved each other, they wanted to provide for each other when the first of them was called home. They felt uncomfortable about such absolute separation of their assets if they truly were going to share their lives as “one flesh”, in keeping with the model of marriage from Genesis 1. They laid out a complicated stream of thoughts before the LWML Gift Planning Counselor.

After a lengthy conversation, the gift planning counselor noticed an interesting phenomenon about their assets relative to family.  Coming into this marriage, one spouse had twice as many financial assets as the other. That same spouse with the greater assets also had twice as many children as the other spouse. The ratio made sense. If they combined their assets and equally divided them among all their children, each child would receive the same amount as if they had put in place a complicated legal set of trusts to separate their assets. The Gift Planning Counselor conveyed a message to their attorney, and they emerged from that attorney with a simple plan that made them feel content. The plan they created  together also allowed them to make some gifts to support ministry in the future. In addition, this plan did not foster an imposed separation between their children. 

Taking the time for extended conversation and prayer allowed this couple to discern the right thing to do, rather than pursuing plans that would be expensive, complicated, and less than satisfying. Your LWML Gift Planning Counselor is available to meet with you in the same way.

Your LWML Gift Planning Counselor can help you too.

Contact - Carol vonSoosten Carol.vonSoosten@lfnd.org Phone: 800-741-4138 lwmlgiftplan.org

Contact - Carrie Brumbaugh Gift Planning Advocate:  carrielwml@gmail.com