Lenexa, Kansas, United States - Model Generosity-Leaving a Lasting Legacy Through Planned Giving of the Global Church of the Nazarene for Saturday, 26 July 2014

Lenexa, Kansas, United States - Model Generosity-Leaving a Lasting Legacy Through Planned Giving of the Global Church of the Nazarene for Saturday, 26 July 2014
“They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it!”  –Psalm 22:31
Our God is righteous. Through your obedience in financially supporting a ministry through the Church of the Nazarene Foundation, God's righteousness is being proclaimed to this generation and future generations!
For more information on how to use your resources to support the future of your favorite ministry, please reply to this email or contact us by phone at 913.577.2983.
Check out our Facebook page by clicking here. We post articles relevant to donors, inspirational notes, and other helpful information.
Blessings,
Kenneth R. Roney, J.D.

President
PERSONAL PLANNER

Your Family Letter - Memorial Services
A family letter is a key part of a good estate plan. It is much more personal than many of your estate documents. A family letter allows you to share your heart and show appreciation and gratitude to family members. During a time when family members are grieving, it also helps them to complete many practical steps to protect your property.
The family letter may have up to ten different sections. Each section will cover an important but separate topic.
Estate Data
Your estate organizer usually has four parts. It will explain the family names and key information, identify your attorney, CPA and other financial and health advisors, cover all of your assets and financial information and outline your estate planning choices.
The estate organizer may be printed or you may use an online version. Your family letter should explain where the information is located. If you are using an online estate planner, it's important to know your account name and password so the information will be available.
Important Documents
Your important documents will generally be safeguarded in three different ways. First, many individuals have a safe deposit box. The safe deposit box typically holds birth certificates, death certificates, degrees and other legal agreements, marriage or divorce documents, military discharge records, property deeds, a personal property inventory, stock and bond certificates and vehicle titles.
Second, you may have a fireproof box at home. This box will frequently include your insurance policies, your living will, medical power of attorney or advance directive, trust documents and your will.
Third, there are some items that should be left with your attorney, friend, agent or another trusted person. These are items that may be needed while you are still living or will be necessary very soon after you pass away. These documents (or copies of documents) could include your financial power of attorney, a durable power of attorney for healthcare or advance directive, your living will, trusts and your will.
Accounts and Passwords
Because an increasing number of records and information are retained online in personal accounts, you will want to be certain that your personal letter lists all accounts. You may decide to include passwords with the personal letter. Alternatively, if you are entrusting all of this information to a specific person or other location, that should be identified.
With the rapid movement to online banking, online mutual funds and securities accounts, donor advised fund accounts, health savings accounts and your email accounts, you may have six to 10 accounts with various passwords. It will be important to have all of this information recorded.
Your Family History
While your estate organizer will include basic information about you and your family members, there is an excellent opportunity in your family letter to discuss your family history. This can include a few short paragraphs that give the names and background of your parents. List all of their children or other key relatives in your family. Your history may discuss marriages, divorces and any blended family relationships. Finally, the family history will show the date of death for persons who have passed away.
Family history can include discussions of your activities, interests and career. It enables all of your extended family to have a good picture of your entire life.
Care for Children, Grandchildren or Pets
If you are responsible for any children, grandchildren or pets, this is an opportunity for you to explain your plan for their care. While your estate planning documents will normally appoint guardians for your children or grandchildren who are under your care, it still may be beneficial for the guardian to receive recommendations from you on their education and other areas of development that you understand very well. If someone is to care for pets, you may have recommendations on the way in which that is done.
Memberships
You may have memberships in a number of organizations. Some memberships, such as those in a golf course or in a club that purchases various types of sporting event tickets, are transferable to heirs. It would be helpful to your family for you to list any memberships that you have so they can handle them properly.
Care of Your Body
When you pass away, your body may be in the custody of a medical center or nursing home. If you have previously decided to make any organ donations, it is helpful to explain that decision in your family letter. The requirements for making organ donations are typically covered under state law. In many cases, decisions on organ donations are made when you sign your living will or advance medical directive.
Funeral or Memorial Services
The cost of many funerals now exceeds $10,000 per year. If you would like to assist family members in the decisions surrounding your funeral or memorial service, the family letter is an excellent way to do so.
First, your family will need to decide whether to have a burial in a cemetery with a casket or to use cremation services and an urn. You may have personal or religious reasons for preferring one or the other.
With a casket and burial in a cemetery, your family will generally make use of a funeral home. Because there now is significant competition in the industry, funeral homes are starting to offer advance prices and package services. If you desire a specific range of services, type of casket or prefer not to be embalmed, those directions are helpful to your family.
There are funeral consumers' alliances in many locations. Your family may find assistance and guidance on www.funerals.org. This guidance may help them make good decisions during a very difficult time in the midst of grief over your loss.
If you are a veteran, your family may want to contact the Department of Veterans Affairs. You may qualify for a gravesite at no cost in one of the 130 national cemeteries for veterans and their spouses.
Obituary
In your funeral or memorial service, there will be eulogies. It is also customary to have a printed description of your lifetime. This will frequently include your basic history, awards, achievements, military service and lifetime employment. If you have specific requests for information to be included in the obituary, it is helpful to your family to give them guidance. You may have certain principles or values that are important to you that you would like to share through the obituary. This is an opportunity for you to communicate your values to the public.
Final Words and Blessings for Family
Your family letter may conclude with a word of blessing. It is a tradition in many cultures for the elders to provide a blessing for the next generation. This is frequently done when the elder is still living, but certainly your family letter provides a similar way to bless your children, grandchildren, nephews, nieces and other family members.
Your final words of wisdom and blessing for family members will be of great comfort as they grieve for your loss. It is an appropriate and fitting way to conclude your family letter.
SAVVY LIVING

Low-Cost and Free Cell Phone Options for Seniors
What are the cheapest cell phone options available today to seniors living on a shoestring budget? I only need it for occasional calls.
For seniors on a budget who only want a cell phone for emergency purposes or occasional calls, there are a number of inexpensive no contract plans you can get. Depending on your income level, there are also free cell phones and monthly airtime minutes you may qualify for. Here’s where to find some of the cheapest deals.
No-Contract Phones
One way infrequent cell phone users can save money is with a prepaid cell phone – also known as pay-as-you-go phones. With a prepaid phone there’s no contract, no fixed monthly bills, no credit checks and no hidden costs that come with traditional cell phone plans. With this type of service, you buy a special prepaid phone, then pre-purchase a certain amount of minutes (for talk or text) that must be used within a specified period of time.
While most major carriers like AT&T and Verizon offer inexpensive prepaid plans, as do independents like Net10, Cricket and Virgin Mobile, some of the best deals are offered by TracFone (tracfone.com, 800-867-7183) and T-Mobile (t-mobile.com, 800-866-2453).
TracFone has phones that start as low as $10 and call plans that cost under $7 per month. T-Mobile has a super-cheap 30-minute plan for $10 and minutes don’t expire for 90 days. That averages out to $3.33 per month. If you need more talk time, they also offer an annual plan where $100 gets you 1,000 minutes that are good for a full year. T-Mobile does, however, charge a one-time activation fee of $35.
If you would rather have a no-contract senior-friendly phone with big buttons and simplified features, the Doro PhoneEasy 618 sold through Consumer Cellular (consumercellular.com, 888-345-5509) is probably your cheapest option. It costs $60 for the phone, plus a one-time $35 activation fee, and calling plans that start at $10 per month.
Free Cell Phones
If your income is low enough, you also need to check into the Lifeline Assistance Program. This is a government-sponsored program that subsidizes wireless (and landline) companies who in turn provide free cell phones and around 250 minutes of free monthly airtime and texts to low-income Americans. (Some programs in some states provide more minutes, some less, and some charge a small monthly fee.)
There are currently around 15 million Americans who have a free cell phone through the Lifeline program, but millions more are eligible.
The free phones and minutes are provided by a number of national prepaid wireless companies like Safelink and Assurance Wireless, along with a host of other regional carriers throughout the country.
Many states have more than one wireless company that provides the free phones and minutes. If you are eligible, the free cell phone you’ll receive is a basic phone that also offers text messaging, voice mail, call waiting and caller ID.
To qualify, you’ll need to show that you’re receiving certain types of government benefits, such as Medicaid, Food Stamps, SSI, home energy assistance or public housing assistance. You could also show that your household income is at or below 135% or 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines – it varies by state. The 135% poverty level is currently $15,754 for singles and $21,235 for couples. The 150% level is $17,505/singles, $23,595/couples.
To find out if you’re eligible, or to locate the wireless companies that provide Lifeline government cell phones in your state, visit lifelinesupport.org. You can also learn more at freegovernmentcellphones.net.
Savvy Living is written by Jim Miller, a regular contributor to the NBC Today Show and author of "The Savvy Senior" book. The articles are offered as a helpful and informative service to our friends and may not always reflect this organization's official position on some topics. Jim invites you to send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070.
YOUR PLAN

Part Gift and Part Sale
Susan and Kevin bought a vacant lot along Lake Michigan many years ago. They had planned to build a second home so that their children could spend their summers along the lake. However, as time went on, Kevin's job kept him in town and the children grew up before Susan and Kevin had the financial resources to build on the land.
Kevin: Over the years, that lot increased in value. It now is worth much more than what we paid for it. We paid about $40,000 for the lakeside property and it is now worth almost $200,000.
Susan: The lot has gone up greatly in value, and with the children out of the house we were thinking of selling the property. We wanted to sell, but we also wanted to avoid paying so much in tax on the sale. We were thinking of making a gift of 25% of the property to our favorite charity.
Kevin: I happened to be talking to a CPA at a community luncheon. He mentioned that we could probably give about twice as much with almost the same cost if we gave 25% of the property (prior to the sale) rather than writing a check after the sale.
After talking to our tax advisor, we discovered that if we gave a 25% interest in the property to charity, we would receive two benefits. We would get an income tax deduction for the value of our gift plus save on capital gains tax on the 25% interest given away.
Susan: That is what we decided to do. By giving charity a 25% interest in the property prior to the sale we saved the capital gains tax on that part. The deduction on that part offset a large portion of the tax on the $150,000 we received when the property actually sold. We are very pleased with the "double benefit" from giving the property, and our favorite charity received $50,000, a very nice gift.
*Please note: The name and image above is representative of a typical donor and may or may not be an actual donor to our organization. Since your benefits may be different, you may want to click here to view a color example of your benefits.
WASHINGTON NEWS

House Passes Single Higher Education Credit
With a vote of 227-187, the House passed the Student and Family Tax Simplification Act (H.R. 3393). The bill proposes to combine all of the higher education tax credits into a single credit. It was co-sponsored by Rep. Diane Black (R-TN) and Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-IL).
The single credit in the bill replaces the existing above-the-line tuition deduction, the HOPE credit, the lifetime learning credit and the American Opportunity Tax Credit. The single credit has a limit of $2,500 per year for up to four years with a total benefit of $10,000.
The bill creates a modified American Opportunity Tax Credit for higher education. One hundred percent of the first $2,000 of qualified expense is offset by the credit. $1,500 of the credit is refundable for low-income persons. There is also an additional credit of 25% of the second $2,000 in qualified education expense or an added credit amount of $500. The total credit would be $2,500 per year.
House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI) supported the bill. He noted, “This new, improved credit will provide greater benefits for those who need it most.”
In the past, the White House has supported making the American Opportunity Tax Credit permanent. It published a press release and noted that it was looking “forward to working with Congress to ensure that students and working families have ongoing access to this and other important middle class tax benefits that are also scheduled to expire in just a few years.” However, the White House expressed concern because the $96.5 billion cost of the credit over a decade is not offset by any tax increases.
Representative Black spoke in favor of the bill. She stated, “Today’s broken tax code does little to ease that financial burden or provide a sense of security that education will be a reality in the future. Streamlining the number of education provisions and retooling those that are most effective allows us to simplify the code and reduce some of the confusion that exists today.”
Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) noted that he supported the concept of a higher education tax credit. However, Levin expressed concern that there would be individuals who do not benefit from this credit. He noted that it would not help students who take over four years to graduate, it would fail to assist many adult learners who use part time programs over a longer duration and it may provide less benefit to some low and middle-income persons.
Editor’s Note: The House has now passed permanent bills that cover 14 different tax extenders. The cost per year for these provisions is approximately $83 billion. The House is now setting up a negotiation with Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) for the November lame-duck session. The House leaders will attempt to persuade Sen. Reid to make these provisions permanent or at least pass them for a five to 10 year duration rather than the traditional two years. The November negotiations will also include five charitable tax extenders that were passed previously by the House.
FINANCES

Stocks - Netflix Reaches 50 Million Members
Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) announced its second quarter results on Monday, July 21. The online streaming giant once again made impressive gains in both new members and earnings.
Netflix reported second quarter revenue of $1.146 billion. This was significantly better than the $837 million reported during the same period last year.
“Fifteen years after launching our subscription service, we have over fifty million members enjoying Netflix in over 40 countries,” said Netflix CEO Reed Hastings in a letter to shareholders. “As we gain new members, we are investing to further improve our content and member experience, and to expand the global availability of our service.”
Net income during the quarter was $71 million or $1.15 per share. During the same period last year net income was $29 million or $0.49 per share.
The second quarter resulted in a significant milestone for Netflix as it reached 50 million members for the first time. One year ago the company had roughly 37 million members. Netflix attributes some of its gains to new original programming such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black. The company is counting on its original programming to draw subscribers in the same way that original programming like Game of Thrones is for HBO. Earlier this month Netflix’s original programming garnered 31 Emmy nominations, which was more than double the 14 they received last year.
Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) shares ended the week at $421.86.
Facebook Posts Huge Quarterly Gains
Facebook, Inc. (FB) announced its second quarter results on Wednesday, July 23. The company’s results blew past pre-release estimates, helping to drive the stock to new highs.
Facebook reported that second quarter revenue was $2.91 billion. This was a 61% increase over the $1.81 billion reported during the same period last year. Revenue was driven by a 67% increase in advertising revenue.
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO, had this to say about the quarter, “We had a good second quarter. Our community has continued to grow, and we see a lot of opportunity ahead as we connect the rest of the world.”
Net income for the quarter was $791 million or $0.30 per share. Surpassing estimates, second quarter net income was 138% higher than the $333 million or $0.13 per share reported during the comparable period last year.
After this most recent quarter, both Facebook and investors have a lot to be happy about. The company is making significant gains in generating revenue, especially from mobile devices, which accounted for 62% of the total. In addition, the company’s number of daily active users increased 19% to 829 million. According to eMarketer, Facebook is poised to occupy 8% of the worldwide digital ads market later this year, making it second only to Google. Following the earnings release, Facebook’s share price jumped 5% in after-hours trading.
Facebook, Inc. (FB) shares ended the week at $75.19.
Amazon Reports $126 Million Loss
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) announced its second quarter results on Thursday, July 24. In a surprise to investors, the company reported that it had a $126 million loss during the quarter.
Net sales during the quarter increased 23% to $19.34 billion. During the comparable period last year net sales were $15.7 billion.
“We continue working hard on making the Amazon customer experience better and better,” said Amazon.com founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos. “We’ve recently introduced Sunday delivery coverage to 25% of the U.S. population, launched European cross-border Two-Day Delivery for Prime, launched Prime Music with over one million songs, created three original kids TV series, added world-class parental controls to Fire TV with FreeTime, and launched Kindle Unlimited, an eBook subscription service.”
Investors were understandably taken aback by Amazon’s $126 million net loss. It was a huge jump over the net loss of $7 million reported during the comparable period in 2013.
Amazon is currently expending significant capital to grow its business, starting with its newly released smartphone, the Fire phone. Analysts point to Amazon’s $99 per year Prime service as a big factor in driving the quarterly losses as it offers subscribers free two-day shipping as well as access to the company’s entertainment streaming services. The company estimates that it will lose up to $810 million in the upcoming quarter. On this news Amazon’s share price fell 10% to $322.50.
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) shares ended the week at $324.01.
The Dow started the week of 7/21 at 17,095 and closed at 16,961 on 7/25. The S&P 500 started the week at 1,977 and closed at 1,978. The NASDAQ started the week at 4,421 and closed at 4,450.
Bonds - Treasuries Rise on Durable Goods Report
Treasury prices rose on Friday, July 25 on a newly released durable goods report that was weaker than investors hoped. Weekly jobless claims also fell this week, providing an additional window into the health of the U.S. economy.
The Commerce Department released a durable goods report this week that showed purchases of non-military capital goods, excluding aircraft, increased 1.4% in June. The 1.4% increase followed a 1.2% decline in May that was later revised to a 0.7% gain.
Despite the 1.4% increase, the durable goods report was not enthusiastically received by investors. “Even though the headline was fairly decent, the market is taking it as a negative report,” said Guy LeBas, Chief Fixed-Income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC.
Other economic news this week reinforced the mixed view of the U.S. economy. Business equipment orders rose in June following a drop in May. On the positive front, weekly jobless claims fell to 284,000 during the week ended July 19. That number was the lowest since February 2006 and much lower than economic forecasts.
Jim Vogel, interest rate strategist at FTN Financial, indicated that the durable goods report was just another disappointment in the second quarter. “Recent business surveys suggest that business is turning up but we are not getting confirmation of that in the numbers this morning,” he said.
International news this week did little to stop Treasury prices from rising. Skirmishes between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip intensified this week as the U.S. is attempting to broker a temporary ceasefire. Furthermore, Russia’s central bank increased borrowing costs for the third time this year in attempts to counteract the effect of wider sanctions imposed on the country as the conflict in Ukraine intensifies.
The 10-year Treasury note yield finished the week of 7/21 at 2.47% while the 30-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 3.24%.
CDs and Mortgages - Interest Rates Show Little Movement
Freddie Mac released the results of its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) on Thursday, July 24. The results show mortgage rates remaining relatively unchanged from the prior week.
The 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 4.13% this week. This was unchanged from last week.
This week, the 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.26%. This was an increase from last week when the 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.23%.
Frank Nothaft, Vice President and Chief Economist at Freddie Mac, had this to say about this week’s rates: “Mortgage rates were little changed for the week with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage remaining unchanged. Meanwhile, we received some good news on housing with existing home sales climbing 2.6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.04 million in June, the highest pace since October 2013.”
The money market fund finished the week of 7/21 at 0.4%. The 1-year CD finished at 0.7%.

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Are you a Nazarene Legacy Partner (NLP)?  The answer is “YES” if you have designated any gift to a Nazarene ministry in your will, bequest, or estate plan. This could be a tithe on your estate, an insurance beneficiary designation to your local church, college, global mission, or any other Nazarene ministry you support.

Send us your name and contact information by reply email and indicate “I am a Nazarene Legacy Partner” and we will add your name to our NLP honor roll. To model generosity inspires others to do the same. Thank you for your interest in gift planning. To access any of this updated financial and gift planning information, please select our website.

Church of the Nazarene Foundation

17001 Prairie Star Parkway, Suite 200

Lenexa, Kansas 66220 United States

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