In their pastoral letter, Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, the U.S. Bishops remind us that good disciples and stewards do the following:
“As Christian stewards, we receive God’s gifts gratefully, cultivate them responsibly, share them lovingly in justice with others, and return them with increase to the Lord.”
Each generation of Catholics is given an important mission: how do we pass on the faith to the next generation? Foremost is evangelization — knowing our faith well and sharing it with others. As important, is the careful and prayerful sharing of our God-given resources. One of those resources — our assets — includes the things we have accumulated over our lifetime.
As Catholic Christians, we believe that our assets and our ability to accumulate them are gifts from a loving, generous God. We have a responsibility to use these gifts wisely and prudently — as well as to share them with others — our family certainly, but also with those institutions devoted to spreading God’s reign on earth.
Bequests in a will, charitable gift annuities, trusts, insurance and gifts of appreciated stock are all planned gifts, or gifts that come after much thought and consultation with professional advisors. These important gifts will ensure that our lives will touch the lives that come after us to build the faith for generations to come.
It is estimated that more than 50 percent of Americans do not have a Will. A Will allows you to control how your loved ones are provided for after your death; it can also create a lasting legacy of giving to your Church.
The easiest way to make a planned gift is to include a simple bequest in your Will. If you already have a Will, please take time to review it to ensure it meets your present needs, and fulfills your wishes. At any time a codicil allows for an added provision or changes to the terms of the Will.
Popular examples include bequests of money, stocks, or tangible possessions; as well as life insurance policies and charitable Gift annuities. additionally, there are the more complex trust enti- ties – charitable remainder trusts and lead trusts.
• W ill - legal document stating the disposition of a person’s property upon his/her death.
• Bequest - specific gift of property or assets included in a will.
• Life Benefit - proceeds from a life insurance
policy’s face value payable to the beneficiary.
• Gift Annuit y - contract by which a donor trans- fers cash or property in exchange for income payments for life.
• Life Estate - donor gives home or land and retains rights to occupy or benefit from the prop- erty for life.
• Charitable Remainder Trust - a trust which returns income, fixed or variable, to the donor or others for life, or a period not to exceed 20 years.
• Charitable Lead Trust – a trust whereby the donor transfers assets/funds to a trust which, in turn, pays the charity for a certain period of time.
A Parish Bequest
A widowed parishioner would like to make a gift to her parish. She and her late husband were married in the parish and both their children were baptized and confirmed there. Sunday mass and parish activities have been important to the whole family for many years.
At the same time, she is concerned that she might need the money she has as she grows older. While she lives comfortably right now, she feels that it would be prudent to conserve her money. She wonders if her money would last if she had medical needs or wanted to help with the education of her grandchildren or needed a significant repair on her house.
A bequest would be a perfect way for her to make a gift to her parish. She left a specific amount of money to her parish in her will. If she did need the money for anything, she would have it and the bequest would only be paid if there were money left in her estate. She is happy that she has made a gift and feels certain that there will be money there for the parish. A Gift Annuity, a retired couple, both are 75 year old, is concerned that their investments don’t pay enough income to sustain their lifestyle. As a result they cannot be as generous to the parish offertory as they would like. The parish has been a source of life for them over the years and they would like to provide something for the parish when they die.
With a gift of $20,000 in exchange for a charitable gift annuity, they could receive a fixed annual annuity earning 6.3% (as of 2/01/09). they would also be entitled to a charitable income tax deduction in the current year, and on part of the income in future years.
The couple is tickled because their income has increased dramatically, they received a large chari- table income tax deduction and they feel good that they are making a generous gift for the benefit of their parish.