Jerry said to his friend Paul, “I just came from the doctor. I don’t like conversations at the doctor’s office. I get so tongue tied. I forget about what I wanted to ask the doctor. I’m trying to think about what certain words mean and before I know it, I’m being ushered out of the office without talking about everything I needed to discuss.”
Paul replied, “I know what you are talking about. It’s the same reason that I have not been getting my estate plan updated. When I get around legal people, I hear words like codicils, per stirpes and in vivo. I get so stressed about keeping it all straight that I put it all off for another year.”
Legal terms and carefully crafted documents all have very important purposes in our estate plans. Sometimes, the difference between a contested estate and non-contested estate may come down to the proper use of these words. In truth, that may be stressful for you. That’s why it is important to start talking about your goals, thinking and praying, before facing that stress head on. That is where working collaboratively with an LCMS Foundation Gift Planning Counselor can help. Your counselor is a fellow believer who wants to stand alongside you, to assist and encourage you in expressing your wishes clearly. Once that is achieved, the counselor will assist in sharing that with your attorney so you can be confident that all your desires are known. In the process, you can gain a new friend, sharing life in Jesus. To get started here in the Indiana District, contact Mark Muehl at 260-241-4845 or mark.muehl@lfnd.org.