Charitable Estate Planning
Plan an EP Promo Event
Encourage Gifts to Ministry with an Estate Planning Event.
For most Christians, the best opportunity to make a significant financial gift to Kingdom work comes when they die, through their estate. Charitable estate planning is an important part of biblical stewardship and an essential tool for churches, ministries, Christian organizations and institutions.
To develop this giving pathway, WatersEdge offers estate planning seminars and events to educate prospective donors and assist them with creating or updating their plans. These events are designed to encourage estate gifts to WatersEdge for the benefit of your church or organization and are fully customizable, depending on your unique needs. Best of all, WatersEdge estate planning services are provided at no cost to your church or organization or to the individuals and families who create charitable estate plans.
Key Benefits
Estate Planning that Fits
Scale and customize an estate planning emphasis to meet your needs, whether an event for the whole church, a Sunday School class, or just your staff.
Low Administrative Burden
It’s your event, but we’ll do the work. Our team is armed with resources to help you plan, promote and execute.
Legal Fee Reimbursement Encourages Giving
WatersEdge will reimburse a portion of the legal fees associated with the creation of individual church members' estate plans if their plan includes a gift for the benefit of your church or another ministry partner.*
Serious Expertise, for Free
We’ve helped guide families through the estate planning process for more than 50 years, and our certified team serves at no cost to your members, staff or organization.Start Here
Our experienced team will help you plan the right event for your church. Get started today.
CONTACT US
Send us some basic info about your event.
WE’LL CONFIRM DETAILS
A member of our team will be in touch to walk you through the process.
LET US TAKE CARE OF THE REST
We’ll help you plan, promote and execute your event.
Event Success Story
In an ongoing effort to cultivate good stewardship habits in their congregation, First Baptist Church of Woodward, Oklahoma, organized a free charitable estate planning event with WatersEdge. Our team handled all the event planning and provided the church with a convenient marketing toolkit to help spread the word. During the week, members of our estate planning team met with a senior adult group at the church, providing a brief explanation of the estate planning services WatersEdge offers and the importance of giving charitably.
Through this event, seven members of the church made appointments with the WatersEdge team, allowing them the opportunity to establish a plan that will provide for their family’s future — and advance the ministry of FBC Woodward at the same time.
“We’re really grateful for our WatersEdge partnership,” Pastor Steve Scott says. “To emphasize Kingdom-minded estate planning that really meets a need for the local church is something we can all support.”
An Estate Planning Event May Be Perfect If:
Biblical stewardship is a priority for your congregation.
You’re looking for legacy gifts that benefit your church.
You want extra help in planning and promoting an event.
You want help from experts with proven experience.
“WatersEdge came alongside our church to promote legacy gifts through estate planning, and they served our church well. The First Baptist Church of Midwest City considers them a partner in ministry, and we are better prepared for the future because of it. Any church should consider the services offered through WatersEdge seriously.”
Trey Graham
Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church | Midwest City, Oklahoma
Go Deeper
Estate Planning Basics
Legal Fee Reimbursement
WatersEdge will reimburse up to $500 in legal fees associated with creating or updating your estate plan if your plan includes a gift to WatersEdge for the benefit of a partnering ministry of your choice. This reimbursement may cover most of the fees associated with simple estate plans. However, for more complex estate plans, it is common for legal fees to exceed the $500 reimbursement threshold. In this case, you are responsible for paying the difference.
Legal Fee Reimbursement Qualifications
- If you wish to specify a percentage of your estate as a gift to ministry, then the percentage must be at least 10 percent of your estate to qualify for legal fee reimbursement.
- If you wish to specify a specific dollar amount from your estate as a gift to ministry, then the amount must be $50,000 or greater to qualify for legal fee reimbursement.
- Ask the WatersEdge estate planning team about other giving options that can qualify your estate plan for legal fee reimbursement, including gifts made during your lifetime or gifts made through a retirement account or life insurance.
Ministry Partners
Not all WatersEdge ministry partners are listed on our website, so please ask our estate planning team if you’re unable to find a ministry you wish to support. We frequently add new ministry partners, including some like-minded ministries not affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. However, if you desire to support a ministry or organization whose purpose or ideology conflicts with Southern Baptists’ core beliefs as expressed in The Baptist Faith and Message, we may be unable to assist you.
Promotional Resources
To access more information about promoting your WatersEdge estate planning event, visit our Resource Library.
FAQ
Plan an EP Promo Event
Convenient Online Estate Planning Tool
This tool will guide your church members through making all the necessary decisions to create their estate plans, including making charitable distributions to ministries like yours. Create an account below to walk through the process yourself.
