This article is part of the Biblically Informed Framework for Retirement Stewardship (BIFRS) series. It was originally published in August of 2016 and updated in May of 2026.
In this, the first of two articles on legacy and estate planning, I get into the sensitive and sometimes emotional subject of stewardship as it relates to what we leave behind. Whether you are older and already in retirement, or younger and this is perhaps the farthest thing from your mind, this is an important subject. It is the way we steward the property God has given us to ensure it is managed well after we’re gone—and one of the ways we care for those we love.
Death and taxes are certainties
Not to be morbid, but the end of your retirement is usually your death. Each of us has an appointment with death (Heb. 9:27), but it isn’t on any of our calendars. And that’s one of the big challenges with this topic—we don’t know when or how it will come, just that it will.
As Benjamin Franklin famously noted: “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Death and taxes are two of our least favorite topics, and also two of the most inevitable. If we know that something is inevitable, shouldn’t we plan for it if we can?
If you are a Christian, you have the great hope of eternal life after you leave this earth, which you can anticipate with joy: “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace…” (2 Thess. 2:16). The most important thing we can do now is to think about and plan our legacy—and then rest in the peace and joy of our salvation.
What is a legacy?
A legacy is anything handed down from the past, from an ancestor or predecessor. Ask yourself: What will your family and friends say about you after you’re gone? What will your legacy be?
The most lasting legacies are rarely primarily financial. A theologian I admire once said, “A righteous man is one who lives for the next generation.” That puts both how we live and how we steward our resources in a different light. It isn’t just about being financially secure in retirement. And it isn’t just about the money you leave behind either. It includes godly character qualities like integrity, trustworthiness, faithfulness, and generosity. Combining a legacy of financial inheritance—possibly—with wisdom and godliness ensures that the next generation will also manage what God has given wisely and for his glory.
You “live your legacy” while you are alive—through how you treat others, how you invest in your family, how you serve your church and community, how you model generosity and faithfulness. You “leave a legacy” through your estate plan. Both matter. The former is the more important.
Living your legacy
Our legacy is the sum total of all the ways we have impacted the lives of others while on this earth—financially and otherwise. It includes the ways we want our memory to live on, especially with family and friends.
Living your legacy means making financial decisions with the next generation in mind, not just the next quarter. It means being generous with what you have while you are alive, so your heirs and your church experience your generosity firsthand. It means teaching your children and grandchildren how to handle money faithfully—how to give, save, and spend wisely. Those habits are more valuable than any sum you might leave behind.
One way to live your legacy financially is through systematic generosity. In 2026, QCDs from IRAs (up to $111,000 per individual for those age 70½+) offer a uniquely tax-efficient mechanism to give charitably while satisfying RMD obligations. The annual gift tax exclusion of $19,000 per recipient allows meaningful tax-free transfers to children and grandchildren while you are alive to see the impact.
Leaving a legacy
One way to leave a legacy is through estate planning. Your estate is a wonderful opportunity to bless others—your family, friends, and those in need with a portion of your lifetime “increase” in property.
Many people think estate planning is mainly a concern for older people or only those with large estates. That is a bad assumption. Almost everyone should be concerned about this, especially couples and those with children.
The central part of an estate plan is your written plan—your will. A will is how you put your intentions into action once you are gone. Beyond the will, beneficiary designations, joint ownership, and potentially a living trust are the tools that determine how your assets actually flow at death.
The 2026 estate tax landscape
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 had temporarily doubled the federal estate tax exemption, which was scheduled to sunset at the end of 2025, reverting to roughly $7 million per person. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed on July 4, 2025, permanently eliminated the sunset and raised the exemption to $15 million per individual ($30 million per married couple), effective January 1, 2026, with the exemption indexed for inflation.
For most families, this change means federal estate taxes remain irrelevant. The 40% rate applies only to estates above the exemption, which now represents extraordinary wealth. State-level estate or inheritance taxes may apply at lower thresholds, depending on where you live. But for planning purposes, the primary financial concerns in most estate plans are income taxes on inherited retirement accounts, beneficiary designations, and the mechanics of passing non-financial assets without unnecessary probate.
Getting started
Even if you’re in your 50s, start by listing your priorities and commitments before taking action. Who depends on you financially? What do you most want your estate to accomplish—providing for a spouse, helping adult children or grandchildren, supporting your church or a ministry, caring for someone with special needs? These priorities should drive the structure of your plan.
Then take inventory: What do you own and how is it titled? What accounts have beneficiary designations, and are they current? Are your will and other legal documents up to date? Do you have a durable power of attorney, healthcare power of attorney, and living will in place—not just for after your death, but for the incapacity that may precede it?
Once you have a clear picture of what you own and what you want to accomplish, meet with an estate attorney to put the right documents in place. The investment of a few hundred to a few thousand dollars in good legal counsel is among the most valuable estate planning expenditures you will ever make.
A final word
Estate planning is not about death—it is about love. It is an act of love for your spouse, your children, your grandchildren, and the ministries and causes you care about. A well-crafted estate plan honors God by acknowledging his ownership of all things, caring for those you are responsible for, and deploying the resources he entrusted to you—even the last of them—in ways consistent with his purposes.
Start today. Not someday. Today. The families and churches I have seen navigate death most gracefully are invariably those where someone has the wisdom and love to plan ahead.