Sam Said It Best!

Sam is one of my favorite people – an outstanding Christian with a marvelous sense of humor and a profound and insightful intellect.  I quote him all the time.  On one of his visits to the office, I remember him talking with our President about how he wanted to arrange his end of life gifts while he was still a relatively young person.  When I asked him why, he said “It’s very simple. “

“Do your giving while you’re living,

So you’re knowing where it’s going!”

After a wonderfully interesting and rewarding career, Sam wasn’t about to stop.  Work had been the fun and easy part.  It had allowed him to utilize his remarkable talents and see projects develop beyond his expectations.  He had been rewarded financially and, although he didn’t consider himself a rich person, he and his wife were able to live comfortably and do a bit of traveling. They spent summers up north and winters in Florida.

But now came the hard part, as Sam related.  He wanted to make sure that the interests and passions to which he and his wife had devoted time and attention, would continue to benefit their communities long into the future.  “I don’t want to leave it to others to figure out where my money should go after I die.  It would be an unfair burden on our executor and who knows if he would get it right?”

Sam and his wife diligently worked to document how they wanted their money used after they passed away.  They utilized their attorney to establish wills, an estate plan and trust.  Utilizing some property they had, they arranged a Charitable Lead Trust which generated a nice taxable deduction and a variable income for themselves.

They also worked with their church to establish several Endowment Funds to support specific ministries in which they were a part.  They initiated the endowments with “seed money” to get them going and they are adding a bit to each one on an annual basis.  “I also wanted to encourage friends or other church members to contribute to them,” Sam said.  “The majority of the funding of these endowments will come from our estate.”

Sam is a happy guy. He always has a grin on his face, partly because a new joke is on the tip of his tongue.  He feels very much at peace.  “Each day is a gift,” he says, “And if I don’t wake up some day, that’s ok, because I know I’ve got everything arranged.  I know where it’s going and I’m real happy about that.”