Estate Planning

Living life with eternity in view can radically alter the way you respond to the challenges of life and can allow you to experience the fullness of life God intended for you. After all, the biggest investment decision we'll ever make is the investment for eternity. For two Turning Point Circle of Friends members, living in view of eternity has been a priority for years.

It was in 1996 that Pete and Sandra began partnering with Turning Point in ministry. "My alarm goes off at 5:15, and I start my day listening to Dr. Jeremiah on Turning Point," Pete said. "We also watch Turning Point on Sunday morning at 6 a.m. on Family Net-that's how we start our Sunday mornings with Dr. Jeremiah-and then we go to church. We're almost like groupies," Sandra joked.

Pete, who has worked in the air-conditioning and heating business for years, decided to take a step of faith twelve years ago and open his own air-conditioning and heating business, R&R Mechanical Incorporated. "God has worked miracles in our business. It's not me; I've just been blessed by the Lord. It's been good to be successful, but really all that is nothing compared to where you're going to be in eternity. We want our loved ones to be saved. I want to use what I do to the glory of the Lord. If I don't know how to witness to people, I can give money to people who know how to witness. God wants us to be involved in ministry. God has blessed us beyond anything we could ever imagine."

"Giving to the Lord is not a natural thing, and it wasn't natural for us," interjected Sandra. "It has to be taught from Scripture, and that is what Dr. Jeremiah brought home to us. You have a natural tendency to want to hold on to things because they're yours, until you are convicted that God owns everything, including you. It took me much longer than Pete to realize this." "It's not so hard to give away money," Sandra continued, "when God has asked us to be good stewards." "We think Dr. Jeremiah's presenting and teaching of the Word is one of the best on radio and TV. And someone like me can understand," Pete added.

And when it came time to update their trust five years ago, it only seemed natural to get help from a ministry. "Before, when we looked at it with a lawyer, I was frustrated," Sandra said. "I felt very uneasy about something happening to either of us before we changed our mind about our estate. The main thing is giving this money to the Lord's work," Pete said.

The Nicholsons contacted Turning Point for help. Pete and Sandra were introduced to a gift planner who was able to help them set up an estate plan that they were comfortable with. "It [the estate planning process] is very complicated. We were able to take the design to our attorneys who worked on the changes; but we felt like this is what we wanted to do."

"It's not our money-it's the Lord's money, even after we have gone to be with Him. By leaving it with Turning Point and other ministries, it's neat to think what good can come of it," said Sandra. And Pete added, "Working with someone who makes it easy to understand can make all the difference in the world for people who are planning their estate."