Why do so few Catholics have an estate plan? The reasons are simple – estate planning has always been thought to be too expensive, complicated, not necessary…or something that they’ll take care of “tomorrow.”

Today, parishes are struggling to meet both the financial needs of the parish and the spiritual needs of their parishioners. Parish leaders have great ideas but too few resources.

Legatum Planning addresses the needs of parishes by helping them raise more money and help to engage their parishioners deeper in their faith.

Here Are A Few Startling Statistics:

• Less than 35% of American adults have a current estate plan

• 2,000 American Catholics turn 65 years old every day

• $69 trillion in generational wealth will transfer over the next three decades

• Fewer than 6% of Catholics leave an estate gift to the Church or one of its ministries.

Education

Best decisions are made with proper information. We provide this to parishioners through our online and in-person educational programs, online resources, and printed materials. In addition, our education program emphasizes parishioners to support their parish and favorite Catholic initiatives with a future estate gift. When parishioners are better informed, they make better decisions for themselves and their families.

AdvocacY

With education comes advocacy. Parishioners becomes advocates for the importance of estate planning and share this with their family, friends, and others in their community. They want to share this new knowledge. This word-of-mouth advertising helps the program grow at your parish and increases future estate gifts.

AffordablE

The biggest single reason people do not have an estate plan for their family is cost. For most, an estate plan is a “someday” item. If estate planning services are not affordable, it will be postponed, or never done at all. We provide an affordable comprehensive estate planning option that is attainable for all families.

ResourceS

Estate planning doesn’t end once the plan is delivered. Life constantly moves into new chapters. It’s important that parishioners have an estate planning resource to call on when they have questions. We provide online, email and printed resources for your parishioners so they can stay up to date on estate planning as their family’s needs change.

Marketing

A parish needs tools to promote this program. Legatum Planning provides marketing material, a parish-specific website, social media, bulletin and email content, and pulpit scripts to our parish partners. We also provide ongoing training for parish leaders to help them better serve their parish community.

Recognition

It is widely accepted in fundraising that recognition of donors is one of the most important part of philanthropy. We work with parish leaders to establish and maintain an estate gifts recognition program. Appreciation events, special recognition, and being showcased in parish communications, are just some of the tools that helps to provide a deeper connection for the parishioner with the parish.

Culture

A parish should be creating a culture of estate gifts giving. With this new culture of giving, your parish will see increases in other types of giving. Studies show that after families make a future estate gift to an organization, their current giving increases by more than 75%. Estate gifts bring your parishioners into a deeper connection with your parish community.

ReportinG

Knowing your numbers is a good thing. Having a reporting system in place will help you and future parish leaders know who is leaving your parish a gift. This becomes vital in your ongoing and future fundraising planning. “What gets measured, gets managed.” If you know who is leaving an estate gift, and how much, you can begin to create a plan with that donor.

Our Promise

Legatum Planning provides free of charge to our parish partners the items that they will need for an effective estate gifts program. Parishioners that choose to have us prepare their estate plan, we provide them with an affordable and comprehensive estate plan, a 100% money back guarantee, and we allow for unlimited plan changes for five years.

Next Steps

Let’s see how we can best support your parish. We want to learn about your parish’s long-term needs, financial goals, current fundraising and stewardship efforts. We will work with your parish leadership to put in place a plan immediately. We become your parish’s estate planning education and services solution.

If You Don’t Act

Hoping that parishioners will leave your parish estate gifts is not a good strategy. Over the next three decades, the Baby boomer generation will transfer $69 TRILLION in wealth to their heirs and non-profit organizations.  Shouldn’t your parish be the recipient of some of that?

Your parish will not only be missing out, but more importantly, you will miss the opportunity to help your parishioners create a deeper connection with their faith, your parish and other Catholic initiatives that are important to them.

Email:
ctawney@legatumplanning.com
Phone:
602.380.9043

Chris Tawney, CEP®

Chris Tawney has been a proficient Catholic fundraiser for more than two decades. He began at his parish as a fundraising volunteer, which grew into a career. In five short years, he successfully raised more than $75 million for Catholic education in Arizona. He then went on to lead the estate planning and fundraising teams at one of the nation’s largest Catholic community foundations. He has provided strategy, planning, and consultation to pastors, diocesan and parish leaders, ministries, and Catholic schools.

He helped found Legatum Planning, LLC in 2019 to provide estate planning education and services to Catholic families.  He holds the CEP® designation of Certified Estate Planner from the National Institute of Certified Estate Planners. He has completed course work to be a Legal Document Preparer in California, Arizona, Nevada, and Florida.

While Chris was at the Catholic Community Foundation for the Diocese of Phoenix, he helped secure several multi-million-dollar estate gifts and many six-figure gifts that benefited Catholic initiatives. He has presented to hundreds of Catholic families about the beauty and purpose of legacy planning for their family, their parish, and the Church.

Chris is also the author of The Parish Leaders Guide to Estate Gifts, a book that came about from his two decades of parish fundraising and estate planning.

In 2018, he and a group of founding benefactors started the non-profit organization, Legacy Planning Ministries as an educational organization to educate Catholic families on the importance of estate planning and supporting the Church and its ministries.

Chris is a life-long Catholic and has been married to his wife, Erin for more than twenty-seven years. They have three adult children and are active parishioners of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Phoenix, Arizona.

Lindsay Smith

Lindsay enjoys numbers, solving problems and helping people. She provides support to our parish partners and coordinates our online and onsite estate planning educational programs. She is currently working towards becoming a licensed Legal Document Preparer to better serve our parish partners and their parishioners. When she is not working with our partners, she enjoys exercising, hiking with her dog, and spending time with family and friends. She is a parishioner at St. Bernadette Catholic Church in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Email: lsmith@legatumplanning.com
Phone:
602.399.7241