By Barbara Parrott
Only a handful of people know the breadth of the services offered by the planned giving and trust services department at the Rocky Mountain Conference, but Margaret White is one of them. She discovered the department when she was invited to teach secondary school at Oke-Ode in Nigeria.
Although she wanted to go, she wasn’t sure how she would handle bill-paying from the other side of the world. A friend introduced her to Gerry Chapman, then director of the RMC planned giving department, who helped her do the paperwork to give him power of attorney to handle her payment of her bills.
Every month, he would pay her bills out of her bank account. Sometimes, he would send birthday money to her grandchildren or wire money to her in Nigeria. Because corruption is rampant in Nigeria,Western Union employees would always caution him, saying, “She’ll never get it.”
But Gerry Chapman was creative, and Margaret always received the entire amount of money sent and was able to serve in Nigeria for six years.
Another way planned giving and trust services helps is demonstrated in the story of a farming couple who, many years ago, requested a visit from a trust officer. They wanted help to make sure they provided for their children and for the Lord’s work. Because their two children were small, they chose a guardian who would take care of their children in the event of their untimely deaths.
The naming of a guardian is a major decision that parents of young children should put in writing. Without it, your state of residence will select a guardian for you. This individual may or may not be someone you would have chosen.
Many years later, after the wife had died and both children were married with children of their own, making the farmer a great-grandfather, he requested another visit from a trust officer. His hands bothered him when he wrote checks and he realized he needed more help to make sure his affairs were in order. His children lived in other states and he didn’t want to bother them. He hoped that a trust officer would come by each month to help him write checks to pay his bills, including checks for tithe and various church ministries.
When the trust officer arrived, the farmer explained that he only had four years of church school education because of eye problems that made it difficult to learn, so his parents decided he should learn about farming. In his four years of education, however, he had learned about tithing. He knew that tithing was not “giving,” but was returning to God what was already His. “Giving,” he said, is “an expression of thankfulness to God for His blessings.”
This dear brother has been sleeping beside his wife for many years now, but through his careful planning, along with help from our attorney and several trust officers over the decades, he left an example of good stewardship and his generosity lives on.
His faithfulness and stewardship continues to benefit and bless his children, grandchildren, and great- grandchildren, his local church, church school, and the Rocky Mountain Conference.
Every individual has an estate. It is comprised of every- thing you own—your home, car, land, checking and savings accounts, investments, life insurance, furniture, and personal possessions. These things are only useful to you when you’re alive, but you would probably like to direct where they go when you die.
To insure your wishes are carried out, you need to provide instructions in writing indicating who is to benefit from your estate at the time of your death. You will, of course, want this to happen with the least amount paid in taxes, legal fees, and court costs. That is estate planning— making a plan in advance to provide for your family and the Lord’s work after you die.
Take advantage of this season in your life by planning for the rest of your life and the lives of those you love. This is what good stewardship is all about.
“It is the ministry of the planned giving and trust services department to help you develop a structured plan of giving,” explains Joanne Smith, administrative assistant for the department.
The service provided for conference constituents through planned giving and trust services facilitates your ability to provide for your family by planning for the distribution of your assets after death. It also gives you the ability to direct a portion of your estate to the program or mission that represents your interests or passions. The department staff is also trained and able to facilitate current giving, e.g. land, stocks, etc., so that you may support the missions of the church that you are passionate about during your lifetime.
The planned giving department staff has had the privilege of seeing the happiness, thankfulness, and blessings that comes from careful planning.
With the many banking and government regulations in place and the constant change in laws, it seems impossible for an ordinary person to know where to begin.
Our department employs the best team of experts in the entire conference territory. Our trust officers are required by the General Conference to be certified through an intense three weeks of classroom instruction followed by a one-week internship. Annual continuing education requirements maintain the certification.
“I am very grateful to be able to assist our members with the estate planning process,” states Daryl Davison, field representative and associate director of the department. “It gives me a chance to connect with our members and I am so blessed by our conversations.”
“Using the information collected by our field representative,” explains C.J. Cress, “I evaluate what is wanted and prepare the file, whether it’s a will, a trust, power of attorney, or living wills for the attorney to review. I love my work,” she enthuses.
If you would like to have our department help you with your estate plan or if it is time to review your estate plan, please contact our office. A trust officer will be happy to visit with you to see how we can help. Call our department at 303-282-3640 or feel free to email [email protected].
–Barbara Parrott is RMC planned giving and trust services director.