Martin Luther High School is prepared to accept large gifts of property, investments and planned estate gifts. Please read the stories of generosity during the lifetime of these people.
Marge Thiesse has been an Associate Gift Planning Counselor, Christian Development Executive trained and certified by the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod Foundation in St. Louis since 2009.
Established in 1958, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Foundation is the Synod’s primary financial organization providing Lutheran donors with charitable expertise and opportunities to ensure that families are provided for and beloved ministries are supported. The foundation also manages financial instruments and the gifts they represent, entrusted to it by congregations, organizations, and individuals. As of fiscal year 2016, the Foundation had more than $900 million of assets and distributed more than $29.8 million in new funds for 868 LCMS ministries. For more information, visit http://lcmsfoundation.org.
To explore the gift planning opportunities available that allow you to remember your loved ones while supporting the ministries you love, contact Marge Thiesse at 507-236-4846.
Established in 1958, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod Foundation is the Synod’s primary financial organization providing Lutheran donors with charitable expertise and opportunities to ensure that families are provided for and beloved ministries are supported. The foundation also manages financial instruments and the gifts they represent, entrusted to it by congregations, organizations, and individuals. As of fiscal year 2016, the Foundation had more than $900 million of assets and distributed more than $29.8 million in new funds for 868 LCMS ministries. For more information, visit http://lcmsfoundation.org.
To explore the gift planning opportunities available that allow you to remember your loved ones while supporting the ministries you love, contact Marge Thiesse at 507-236-4846.
Retirement Assets
You can gift your retirement assets and bypass income tax liability. The LCMS Foundation pays income to your heirs and makes a gift to the ministries of your choosing. The Details You make a bequest to the Foundation of your retirement assets including your IRA, 401k, 403b, pension or other tax deferred plan. Leaving Your Retirement Assets to Ministry Your retirement assets may be transferred to the LCMS Foundation by completing a beneficiary designation form provided by your plan administrator. If you designate us as beneficiary, charities will benefit from the full value of your gift because your plan assets will not be taxed at death. You designate the ministries that receive these gifts. Leaving Your Retirement Assets for Income Another option is to leave your retirement assets to a trust that pays income to a loved one after you are gone. You designate the Foundation as trustee of a charitable remainder trust and we pay income to your heirs for up to twenty years. At the end of that period there is a gift to ministry. Please contact Marge Thiesse to view a full illustration of the benefits of this plan. |
The Need
If you give your retirement plan assets to your heirs, 35-40 percent may be collected as tax. You want to make gifts to your family and ministry and avoid taxes that may be due on these accounts and your estate. The Solution You designate the Foundation as the beneficiary of your tax-deferred retirement plan assets and give your heirs immediate gifts of low-tax assets. The Benefits Tax Savings Your family avoids additional income tax. Your estate enjoys estate tax savings if you have a taxable estate. Preserves Lifetime Use You may continue to take withdrawals from your retirement accounts during your life. You benefit both family and ministry with the remaining funds when you pass away. |
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Benefits of a Christian Gift and Estate Plan
Peace A Christian estate and gift plan is designed to help you provide for those you love, protect you and your family, and support the ministries that you have cared about during your lifetime. Provision You have spent most of your life gathering assets and making plans. However, many people spend more time planing their vacation than planing the transfer of their estate. An estimated 70 percent of Americans do not even have a will. with a well-prepared Christian estate plan, you can give loved ones the property you have acquired in the right way, at the right time and at minimum cost. Protection A well prepared plan will provide for you in your senior years. A Christian estate plan can increase your lifetime security and achieve your goals for family and ministry. It may be important to designate a specific person to manage your property, help doctors and other medical staff with important decision and make certain that you recieve the best possible care. Spiritual Heritage 1 Chronicales 29:11-12 and Psalm 24:1 clearly illustrates God's ownership in everything. A Christian estate plan acknowledges His ownership, helps to prepare the next steward and ensures that your final act on earth is one of godly stewardship. 
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Personal priorities are often closely linked to family concerns. For Christians, spiritual precedence binds the importance of values we consider significant. Such unification combines the primacy of family and ministry motivations.
Throughout life, such priorities tend to show up in our actions. Whether laden with mistakes, or framed by good works, the priorities of our lives will be made known in the fruits that result from those actions. God’s Word clearly brings family and ministry priorities together on the same road. We don’t need to look any further than the Ten Commandments to see ample evidence of this. It begins with the top priority - love for God, and moves to the second priority - love for our fellow man. All societies in history build on the foundational layer of family as the footing for humanity. Today is an excellent time for all parents with children to put in place or review their last will and testament that blends the spiritual priorities of family and ministry life. This is done using Christian preambles, charitable bequests and appropriate gifts to family members that will serve to bless and not curse them. Parents with minor children will find it especially important to establish a minor’s trust to protect dependent children and to manage property or nominate Christian guardians who can be trustworthy in continuing consistent parental values. Stewarding all of life includes managing risks that surround us during the days God gives. Preparing a Christian estate and gift plan should reflect a person’s priorities and merge family and ministry goals. If you haven’t completed your plan or updated it recently, you can give witness to your priorities for family and ministry by resolving to start, with the help of a Gift Planning Associate from the LCMS Foundation. |