Christian women in particular have been receiving dedicated insight and expert advice on the importance of estate planning through a dedicated webinar, where they are given ample options for the next steps by professional estate advisors when the time is right.
The delivery is something Advisors with Purpose prides itself on, partnering with various charities and churches to provide free and confidential estate plans for donors under the Canadian National Christian Foundation (CNCF) since 2002. The organization has been working under CNCF’s Financial Discipleship Canada charity since 2017.
“Advisors with Purpose was initially started to be able to work with Christians and financial professionals to help them assist their clients and understand what Biblical stewardship actually means,” said Jan Kupecz, executive director of CNCF. “We had leaders of Christian charities ask if anybody could help them with estate plans for their donors, and that is where we came in to help.”
While stewardship is at the forefront of Advisors with Purpose’s work, including ensuring a level playing field with other respective charities and allowing donors free estate plans, a large aspect involves communicating the message and importance of estate planning and what it means for each individual.
“People don't know what they don't know, so a lot of our work with webinars and marketing is about education. Many are unaware that there are usually only three places your money is going to go when you pass away: your heirs or family, to the government in taxes or to charity. We wanted to be there to help inform them of this,” Kupecz said.
During the COVID-19 years, a need was identified by the team who had noticed an influx of women participating in broader estate planning conferences. Advisors with Purpose began tailoring specific webinars to audiences such as single adults and in this case, women, to help them understand the important role a proper estate plan plays in their lives.
In May, the webinar Estate Planning - What Women Need to Know was provided through the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth, a partner of Advisors with Purpose, to show unique estate plans that reflect their parishioner's lives, faith and values.
Kupecz said there are various unique considerations for women often overlooked. Whether it be the assumption that the man of the family will take care of it, the fact that women are often suited to ensure that families are taken care of or even in the case of the unexpected death of a loved one, Advisors with Purpose wants to ensure women are prepared and informed for decisions that are truly life and death.
“I have worked with quite a few women who are older or widowed who are saying to us that they really have no idea where to start or what to do. For us, it is a process of giving them the information that they need to make informed decisions that benefit the women and their families,” said Mary Lynn Huizinga, an estate specialist with Advisors with Purpose. “We want people to know that you don’t have to be wealthy to plan an estate and that as a woman, you have options. We work with people to help them to see what those options might be to honour their values and carry them forward to the next generation.”
The two women also spoke of how many have preconceived plans to be charitable through their wills, the extent to how much those donations can be is often unknown by everyday people, something the seminars look to address. In one case, a client who had planned to give 10 per cent of their estate to the Church was informed she could give upwards of 25 per cent, an eye-opening example of the kind of good, Biblical stewardship the organization ensures their clients receive.
Final advice from Kupecz comes as a welcome reminder about the importance of estate planning, no matter the demographic.
“None of us knows the time and date that we are going to be in front of our Lord. It could happen tomorrow or it could happen in 30 years, but to have something in place and to know your options is vital,” she said. “Your estate is the most meaningful document, the last message that you leave, and to pass on to your children and ensure that there is something that can be continued is the part that makes a mother's heart beat.”
For more, see advisorswithpurpose.ca.