Thank you for your interest in making a bequest to Scripture Union. We greatly appreciate your love and support of this ministry.

There are number of ways to make a bequest to a ministry such as Scripture Union when the Lord calls you home. Listed below are the most common for your prayerful consideration.

Wills and Revocable Living Trusts
You can simply name Scripture Union as a beneficiary of all or part of your estate in your will or revocable living trust (RLT). There are many different ways this can be accomplished. You can bequest personal property, real property, cash, etc. Sometimes the best way is to leave a percentage of the estate, rather than a specific dollar amount. Be sure to include our legal name and address along with our tax ID number as listed below.

When most of us think of writing a will, we think of it as simply a legal process. However, when you consider that a Christian’s will is essentially designed to transfer stewardship of all God has entrusted to them, writing a will should be a biblical process before it becomes a legal one. Our  Will and Trust Planning Ministry team can help you design a good plan of stewardship for your will or trust so that you’ll be prepared from a Christian perspective prior to visiting with your attorney.

Retirement Accounts
Naming one or more ministries as beneficiary of your tax deferred retirement accounts is often the most tax efficient way to make charitable gifts when you pass on. The reason for this is because if you have any tax-deferred assets remaining at your death, the government will be entitled to collect the income tax you never paid. If you leave these assets to loved ones the tax you never paid transfers to them. On the other hand, if you instead leave these assets to ministry – ministries don’t pay income tax. This can be a great plan of stewardship that avoids unnecessary taxation. Click here for more help and information.

Here’s a list of some typical tax-deferred assets.

• Retirement accounts (IRAs, 401Ks, pension funds, thrift plans, etc) NOT ROTH IRAs
• Tax sheltered annuities
• Profit sharing
• Accounts receivable from a business
• Stock options that can be transferred at your death
• Series EE and HH bonds
• Royalties from books, etc.
• Deferred compensation

Life Insurance
Sometimes people find themselves owning life insurance that they no longer need due to changes in their family situation. These life insurance policies can be given to ministry and the donor can receive a tax deduction for the amount of the policy.

You can also name Scripture Union as the beneficiary of all or part of a life insurance policy. This type of gift completely avoids probate by going directly to us and not through your will. Please see legal name and information below for naming Scripture Union as beneficiary.

Brokerage Accounts, Savings Accounts, Money Market Funds, etc.
You can also name Scripture Union as the recipient of all or part of sometime type of financial account upon your death. There are several different terms for this based on the account; for example:

• Beneficiary
• P.O.D. (payable on death)
• T.O.D. (terms on death)
• Totten Trusts

This type of gift completely avoids probate by going directly to us and not through your will. Please see legal name and information below for naming Scripture Union as beneficiary.

Scripture Union USA
P.O. Box 987 #1
Valley Forge, PA 19482
Tax I.D. # 25-1228715

Click here for more help and information about bequests.

© Copyright 2004, Stewardship Concepts, Inc. Used by permission