How are ministries typically benefited through estate plans?
There are two overwhelmingly common ways that families determine the allocation of the estate between children and ministries once the children are grown. Keep in mind that as long as the children are young enough to depend on the children’s trust, nothing is given to charity; however, once the children have been educated and helped into their first homes to whatever extent the parents choose, many Christian families decide to designate a tithe of their estate for the Lord’s work. Tithing in this context does not seem particularly Scriptural, since tithing in Scripture relates primarily to income. In estate planning, remember, we are determining the ultimate stewardship of the capital we have accumulated over a lifetime of work; nonetheless, tithing is a familiar percentage to believers, so that’s often the percentage that people choose to give to ministries. Even more frequently than tithing, we see families treating charities like an additional child once the children are grown and i
