Estate Planning

By Edie Seymour

My husband and I believe strongly in planning ahead to protect one's assets. We wanted ours to go to funds and groups that coincide with our values, that promote the ideals we have and that will carry on those ideals. Drawing up our estate plan was an act of love that we did together. It's a really nice feeling to know that your actions—designating where your assets will go—will be a blessing.

One of the organizations my husband and I wanted to support is Arden Wood. We feel that Arden Wood has had a very good history, is professionally run and is growing. We all have to grow spiritually, and Arden Wood is definitely growing in the understanding of Divine Science. That means the services and activities Arden Wood offers will be progressively spiritual and will continue to be good.

An estate plan really gives you peace of mind. You've worked hard over your life. You haven't overspent or gotten into debt. You've saved, and it's grown. And you want those savings to have a happy ending!

If you don't plan, the result can be chaos—family fighting, the government stepping in and allocating where your assets go. That's not what anyone wants.

As for how many assets someone has, it really doesn't matter. Whatever the gift amount is, it will be appreciated. Think of the woman in the Bible who gave the widow's mite. Her gift was all the more valuable for its heartfelt intent.

"Let us then shape our views of existence into loveliness, freshness, and continuity, rather than into age and blight" (Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy, 246:29). That's what my husband and I feel we're doing by giving to Arden Wood.

If you would like to make a gift to Arden Wood like the Seymours did, please contact John W. Mitchell at (415) 379-2200 or jmitchell@ardenwood.org