Most of us picture generosity as something that happens in the present tense. You see a need, you feel a tug, you give, and the moment passes. But there is a quieter kind of giving that reaches past your own lifetime, a gift you arrange now that will not move until you are gone. It is the church blessed by a member who died years ago. It is the mission field funded by a retirement account nobody expected. It is the scholarship that carries a faithful woman's name long after her funeral. This is legacy giving, and for the believer it is one of the most overlooked acts of stewardship there is.
“A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.”
Proverbs 13:22 (KJV)
Here is the reframe worth sitting with. Legacy giving is not morbid, and it is not only for the wealthy. It is simply generosity that outlives you, the ordinary work of deciding ahead of time that part of what God entrusted to you will return to His work when you no longer can carry it yourself. This is not the weekly tithe, and we will not rehash that here. This is the question of what happens to the house, the savings, the retirement account, and the life insurance after your final paycheck. Scripture has a great deal to say about that, and so does the tax code. A faithful plan takes both seriously, so let us look at the Scripture first and then at the mechanics, plainly and accurately.
Start with the verse that frames the whole subject of what we leave. A good person leaves an inheritance for their children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous (Proverbs 13:22). Read it slowly. Leaving something behind is not painted as worldly or selfish. It is the act of a good person, and it reaches past your own children all the way to your grandchildren. Scripture assumes a long view of love, a generosity that plans for people you may never meet. That same forward-looking heart is exactly what legacy giving applies to the kingdom, not only to the family.
Jesus pressed the point further when He told His followers where to put their hearts. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-21). Earthly wealth is fragile and temporary. It rots, rusts, and can be stolen. Treasure given to God's purposes is the one investment that cannot be lost. Legacy giving is one of the most literal ways a person can move treasure from the first column to the second, taking something that would otherwise stay on earth and sending it ahead.
Paul gives the clearest charge of all, and notice that it is aimed directly at people with money to leave. Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life (1 Timothy 6:17-19). That passage is not anti-wealth. It is a roadmap for the wealthy and the comfortable alike, telling them to hold money loosely, to be generous, and to invest it toward the coming age. Legacy giving is a way to obey that command with the very last of what you own.
It is worth saying plainly what this is not. Your regular giving, the tithe or the offering you bring out of current income, is the steady rhythm of returning a portion to God while you live and work. Good people hold sincerely different views on whether that is a strict ten percent or a freer principle of proportional, cheerful giving, and we are not relitigating it here.
Legacy giving sits at the other end of life. It is not about this Sunday's envelope. It is about the assets that remain after the last envelope, the things that pass through your estate. Many believers think carefully about their weekly giving for decades and never once consider what happens to the largest pile of money they will ever control, the one that exists at death. The tithe is faithfulness in the present. Legacy giving is faithfulness arranged for a future you will not be present to manage.
When people imagine leaving money to charity, they usually picture a line in a will. That is one path, and a good one, but it is often not the most efficient. There are three main channels a legacy gift can travel, and they work very differently. Understanding the differences is where good intentions turn into a gift that actually lands.
The first channel is a bequest in your will, language directing that a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate, or a particular asset go to a named charity. The second is a beneficiary designation, a form on a retirement account, a life insurance policy, or a bank account that names who receives it directly. The third is a giving vehicle, such as a donor-advised fund or a charitable trust, that holds and directs the gift according to rules you set up in advance. A faithful plan may use one or several together. The key insight, which surprises most people, is that the second channel often controls more of your wealth than your will does, and it is frequently the smartest place to put a charitable gift.
A charitable bequest is the most familiar form of legacy giving, and for good reason. It is flexible, revocable while you live, and simple to add to a will. You can leave a specific sum, such as ten thousand dollars to your church building fund. You can leave a percentage, such as ten percent of your estate, which many believers favor because the gift scales naturally with whatever the estate turns out to be. You can leave a specific asset, like a piece of land or a paid-off vehicle. Or you can name a charity as a residual beneficiary, meaning it receives whatever remains after your loved ones and other gifts are satisfied.
Two practical cautions matter here. First, use the charity's exact legal name and, ideally, its tax identification number, because a vague reference like my church can spark confusion if the name is ambiguous. Second, remember that a will only controls assets that pass through probate. It does not override a beneficiary form. If your retirement account names your son and your will leaves everything to charity, the account still goes to your son. The will and the beneficiary forms are two separate steering wheels, and you have to turn both. This is education rather than legal advice, and a qualified attorney can make sure your bequest language is clean and enforceable.
Here is the fact that reshapes most people's thinking. Some of your largest assets will never touch your will. Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and many bank and brokerage accounts pass directly to whoever is named on the beneficiary form, no matter what your will says. The form wins. That makes these designations one of the easiest and most powerful places to plant a legacy gift, often taking only minutes to update and costing nothing.
Naming a charity on a beneficiary form is straightforward. You simply list the organization, in whole or as a percentage, as a primary or contingent beneficiary. You can split an account, say sixty percent to your spouse and forty percent to a ministry. Review these forms after every major life event, because an outdated beneficiary designation is one of the most common and most painful planning mistakes there is.
Now for the part that makes this genuinely tax-smart. Money in a traditional, pretax retirement account has never been taxed. When a person inherits that account and pulls the money out, they generally owe income tax on every dollar at their own rate. But a qualified charity pays no income tax on it at all. So if you have both a pretax IRA and, say, a home or a Roth account, the most efficient plan is usually to leave the pretax retirement money to charity and the other assets to your heirs. The charity receives the full value, your heirs avoid the tax bite on the IRA, and the same total estate stretches further. Confirm the current treatment at IRS.gov, since inherited account rules have changed in recent years.
Legacy giving does not have to wait for death. One of the best tools for older believers lets you give generously from an IRA while you are still alive to enjoy it. It is called a qualified charitable distribution, or QCD. If you are at least 70.5 years old, you can direct money straight from your IRA to a qualified charity, and that money is excluded from your taxable income. For 2025 the IRS allows up to $108,000 per person each year, and a QCD can count toward the required minimum distribution that the law forces on older account holders.
Why does this matter so much? Because the gift never enters your taxable income in the first place, the QCD can save you money even if you take the standard deduction and never itemize, which is the situation for most people today. A normal donation only helps your taxes if you itemize and clear the standard deduction threshold. A QCD sidesteps that entirely. The one firm rule is that the funds must go directly from your IRA custodian to the charity. If the check comes to you first, it does not qualify. The details live in IRS Publication 590-B, and a tax professional can confirm how it fits your year.
The QCD is a beautiful picture of the Matthew 6 principle in action. Money that the government would eventually tax, and that you may not even need, goes straight to the work of the kingdom while you are alive to choose it and rejoice in it. It turns a required withdrawal, which can feel like a burden, into an act of worship.
For some families, a giving vehicle adds flexibility that a simple bequest cannot. The most popular is the donor-advised fund. You open an account at a sponsoring organization, contribute money or appreciated assets, generally take a charitable deduction in the year you contribute, and then recommend grants to qualified charities over time. A donor-advised fund lets you donate appreciated stock without paying capital gains tax, bunch several years of giving into one tax year, and name the fund in your estate plan. Some families even pass the advisory role to their children, turning giving itself into a family inheritance. Fees and minimums vary by sponsor, so compare them before you commit.
A more advanced tool is the charitable remainder trust, which we treat only at a high level because it is genuinely complex and requires professional setup. In simple terms, you place assets into an irrevocable trust that pays income to you or your loved ones for a set period or for life, and whatever remains goes to the charity you named. It can provide an income stream, spread out taxes on highly appreciated assets, and leave a substantial gift behind. Trusts like these cost money to create and lock in decisions, so they fit larger estates and specific goals, not everyone. The point is simply to know they exist, and to ask a qualified estate attorney whether any vehicle is worth the complexity for you.
One fear stops many believers before they start. They worry that giving to charity means shortchanging their children. Scripture gives no reason to set the two against each other. Proverbs 13:22 honors the inheritance left to children's children, and Paul tells Timothy that anyone who fails to provide for their household has denied the faith (1 Timothy 5:8). Provision for family is a real duty. And yet the same Scriptures call us to be rich in good deeds and to lay up treasure in heaven. The faithful answer is not either or. It is both, in proportions you prayerfully choose.
Move the sliders and watch how a chosen percentage shapes both the gift and what remains for your family. The purpose of this is not to pressure any particular number. It is to make plain that generosity and provision are partners, not rivals. A household can leave the great majority of an estate to children and still make a gift to the kingdom that funds real work for years. Some families treat the charitable portion as a kind of final tithe on the estate, often a set percentage, so the gift scales with whatever they leave. Others give a fixed amount and let the rest pass to heirs. There is no single right ratio in Scripture. There is only the call to plan thoughtfully, provide for your own, and remember the work of God.
If Scripture only praised the gift, this would be a comfortable article. It does not stop there. Jesus told one of His sharpest stories precisely about a man and his accumulated wealth. A rich man's land produced so much that he tore down his barns to build bigger ones, planning to store it all and finally take life easy. But God said to him, You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself? (Luke 12:20). The man's sin was not that he had wealth or even that he planned. It was that his abundance had become his security and his identity, and God was nowhere in his thinking. He was, in Jesus' words, not rich toward God.
That warning hangs over every estate plan, including a generous one. It is possible to build a legacy, even a charitable one, as a monument to yourself, a way to be remembered and admired. Paul's antidote is the spirit of the gift. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). A legacy gift given to impress people, to buy a reputation, or out of grudging duty misses the heart of the matter. A legacy gift given cheerfully, as a steward returning part of what was always God's, is worship. The dollar amount can be identical. The heart behind it is everything.
Generosity is not the same as gullibility. Scripture calls us to be wise as well as generous, and a legacy gift carries a special weight because you will not be there to follow up if something goes wrong. The money will move when you cannot ask questions, so the questions have to be asked now. A gift to the wrong place, or to an organization that no longer exists, helps no one and can even fund harm.
Vet a charity the way you would vet a contractor, only more carefully. Confirm it is a registered tax-exempt organization, so your gift is going where you think. Look at how it spends its money using independent evaluators such as Charity Navigator or the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, which holds member ministries to standards of financial integrity. Use the organization's exact legal name and tax identification number in your documents to prevent confusion. For a large or ongoing gift, talk with the charity directly and consider naming a backup beneficiary in case the organization has closed or merged by the time your gift matures. Wise vetting is itself an act of stewardship, making sure the seed you plant lands in good soil.
If the whole subject feels like a lot, it helps to see it as a short sequence rather than one giant task. You do not have to do it all tonight. You have to start, and then take sensible steps in order. Most people can move through the essentials in a few focused sessions.
First, clarify your heart and your numbers. Decide roughly how much you want to provide for family and how much to direct to the kingdom, and pray over it. Second, take inventory of your assets and note which ones pass by will and which pass by beneficiary form, because that determines where each gift should go. Third, handle the quick wins, especially adding or updating charitable beneficiaries on retirement accounts and life insurance, which costs nothing and may be the most efficient gift you can make. Fourth, update your will with clean bequest language, ideally with a qualified attorney, and consider whether a giving vehicle fits your goals. Fifth, vet the charities and use their exact legal names. Finally, tell someone where the documents are and revisit the plan after any major life change.
An honest article has to admit what a legacy gift cannot do. It cannot guarantee that the work you fund will flourish, or that the organization will stay faithful, or that your family will be at peace. You do your faithful part, and then you release the outcome to God, because it was never fully yours to control. That is not a reason to skip planning. It is a reason to plan wisely and entrust the result to the One who outlasts every estate.
We must also refuse the prosperity gospel firmly. A large gift is not a sign of God's special favor, and giving is not an investment that pays you back in dollars. Plenty of faithful believers die with little to leave, having poured their lives into things that never show up in a probate file. The widow who gave her last two small coins left no estate at all, and Jesus praised her above the rich who gave from their surplus. The measure of a faithful life was never the size of the legacy. It was the faithfulness of the steward and the love behind the gift.
So plan thoroughly, and hold it loosely. Provide for your household, leave something for your children's children if you can, send a gift ahead to the work of God, give cheerfully rather than under compulsion, and vet where the money goes. Then place the whole plan in the hands of God. You are arranging a blessing you will not be present to give, which is a strangely beautiful act of faith. You prepare as if it matters, because it does, and you surrender the result, because He is in control.
Do not try to finish your entire legacy plan tonight. Pick the one step that matches your season. If you have a retirement account or life insurance and have never named a charitable beneficiary, that is the highest-value, lowest-cost move you can make this week. If you are 70.5 or older and have more in your IRA than you need, ask your custodian about a qualified charitable distribution before year end. If your will is years old or silent on giving, schedule a review with a qualified attorney and add the bequest your heart has been wanting to make.
The good person, Scripture says, leaves an inheritance for their children's children, and the wise believer stores up treasure in heaven where nothing can destroy it. Legacy giving lets you do both at once. It is generosity that outlives you, a final word of worship spoken with the last of what you owned. Make the decisions while you can make them well. Put them clearly in writing so love and faith have the final word. And hold the whole legacy with the open hand of someone whose real treasure was never in the will at all.
This article is biblical and financial education, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and not spiritual authority over your decisions. Charitable, estate, and tax rules vary by state and change over time, including QCD limits and inherited account rules. Confirm current details with authoritative sources such as IRS.gov, IRS Publication 526, and IRS Publication 590-B, and consult a qualified attorney and tax advisor for choices specific to your situation.
A tithe or regular offering is your ongoing, lifetime giving out of current income, the rhythm of returning a portion to God week by week. Legacy giving, sometimes called planned or estate giving, is a gift that takes effect through your estate, usually after your death, from the assets you leave behind. The two are not in competition. Legacy giving is simply generosity extended past your final paycheck, a way to keep blessing God's work when you can no longer write a check yourself.
It supports both, and treats them as compatible. Proverbs 13:22 honors leaving an inheritance to your children's children, and 1 Timothy 5:8 makes providing for your household a serious duty. At the same time, Jesus told the rich young ruler to give to the poor and store up treasure in heaven (Matthew 19:21; 6:19-21), and Paul urged the rich to be generous and to share. A faithful plan can provide generously for heirs and still send a meaningful gift to the kingdom. Scripture never frames the two as enemies.
Money in a traditional, pretax retirement account has never been taxed. When your heirs inherit it and withdraw, they generally owe income tax on every dollar. A qualified charity, by contrast, pays no income tax on that money, so the full amount funds the work you care about. That makes a pretax IRA or 401(k) one of the most efficient assets to leave to charity, while leaving other assets, like a home or a Roth account, to family. This is education, not tax advice; confirm details at IRS.gov.
A QCD lets an IRA owner who is at least 70.5 years old give money directly from an IRA to a qualified charity without counting it as taxable income. For 2025 the IRS allows up to $108,000 per person per year, and a QCD can count toward your required minimum distribution. Because the gift never enters your taxable income, it can be valuable even if you do not itemize deductions. The funds must go directly from the IRA custodian to the charity. See IRS Publication 590-B for the current rules.
A donor-advised fund is a charitable account you open at a sponsoring organization. You contribute money or assets, generally take a charitable deduction in that year, and then recommend grants to qualified charities over time. It can simplify giving, allow you to donate appreciated stock, and let you name the fund in your estate plan or pass advisory privileges to your family. Fees and rules vary by sponsor, so compare them. A qualified advisor can help you decide if a fund fits your situation.
Vet it the same way you would a living gift, only more carefully, since you will not be there to follow up. Confirm the organization is a registered tax-exempt charity, look at how it spends its money on independent evaluators such as Charity Navigator or the ECFA, and use the charity's exact legal name and tax ID in your documents. For a large or ongoing gift, talk with the organization directly and consider a restricted purpose or a backup beneficiary in case the charity no longer exists when the gift matures.
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