BY MARK A. KELLNER

HE TRAGIC, heartrending events of September 11, 2001, are perhaps best understood in the faces and lives of the people who survived. Husbands, wives, children, parents, brothers, sisters-each of these felt a personal loss, but many of them lost something more: a partner who may have had the crucial handle on the family's finances.

Accounts of survivors struggling with legal issues surrounding bank accounts, mortgages, and apartment leases, as well as a maze of agencies to work with as they seek compensation or assistance, have been published in newspapers across the country. In some cases volunteers and friends have helped the bereaved cope with the avalanche of real-world details that need to be attended to when a loved one passes away. In other cases those left behind have had to do it all alone. These tales of anguish are particularly poignant.

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While it is sadly and clearly true that accidents and even acts of terrorism can intrude on the most routine of lives-a placid Tuesday morning at the office, for example-it's also true that the tragedy of a sudden loss can be compounded if one's affairs are not in order. Dying without a will, or with paperwork that is out-of-date and does not reflect current needs and situations, can create huge burdens for survivors at a time when such obstacles are the last thing anyone would want.

"Younger people tend not to focus on issues of mortality because they, thankfully, have many decades to live," said Gary Schatsky, president of Objective-Advice.com and a New York City attorney and fee-based financial planner who has seen an increase in will requests since September 11. "But even younger people, particularly if they have children, should give attention to drafting a will, because of the designation of a guardian," he said.

Hope for the Future
Many within the Adventist community are realizing the urgency of the time as well as the importance of making sure their final wishes are honored.

According to Dick Wilcox, Trust Services director for the Chesapeake Conference, "a lot of people are responding to former letters and visits; in a lot of those responses they are saying, 'Things have just helped me to realize that I have to get some things in order.'"

Wilcox reported being "swamped" with requests for assistance with estate planning during the latter part of 2001. He said his office had more than doubled the number of documents prepared last year--241 (versus 110 in 2000)--and that many who had responded to an October 2001 direct mailing and earlier mailings referenced the events surrounding September 11.

Randy Phillips, a trust officer with the Upper Columbia Conference in Spokane, Washington, said the terrorism attacks have focused attention among many in his area on the need for planning and gifting.

After the attacks he imagined that "everyone [was] going to 'hole up' and crunch down, but I've found it to be the reverse. I don't have any slack time anymore. I've been busy right along," he said.

Phillips added that those he is working with to plan estates are saying, "We need to divest and put the money in the Lord's work, where it belongs."

Financial experts say estate planning can encompass many elements beyond drafting a will, but that the will is an essential place to begin.

"If you don't have a will, your state government has a will for you," Schatsky said. "Some [states] will give it all to a spouse, some a large portion to children. The key thing about drafting a will is (a) making sure your intentions are carried out and (b) making sure the cost-financially and emotionally-is minimized. In the absence of a will, most states will have more of a complex process, and the court or some court-appointed administrator will take a cut, or it will take more time."

Those who drafted a will or estate plan years ago could benefit from a review of those documents. Changes in tax laws and the economy over the past years could signify the need for revising those plans.

Significant Change
One of the most significant changes came in 2001, before September 11: Congress passed tax revisions that exclude the first $1 million per person in an estate from taxation. A married couple could therefore pass on $2 million to heirs without that being subject to estate tax, and the amounts are due to rise to $1.5 million per person ($3 million per couple) in 2004. However, as financial planner Schatsky noted, succeeding Congresses and administrations could enact changes to these
figures.

Keeping current with tax law developments is one crucial aspect of estate planning. Another, perhaps particularly for Adventists who want to use assets to benefit the mission of the church and its supporting ministries, is to review allocations and disbursement methods to reflect changes in emphasis. Attorney Thomas Knoll, who directs legal services for the Potomac Conference, said this is a key concern of those whom he serves.

"Are people now more aware, more alert and more giving? Are they sacrificing more to hasten the Lord's return because of September 11? Yes, definitely," Knoll said. "Most of them have their affairs in order. It has caused some to rethink how they are distributing their assets in the event of their untimely death."

Knoll said that among agencies benefiting from a shift in legacies post-September 11 is ADRA, while ministries such as the Voice of Prophecy, It Is Written, and Amazing Facts-as well as other evangelistic efforts by the church as a whole-are also being designated for gifts by many of those using his services.

"The thing that I have sensed and felt and experienced with quite a number of our people is that September 11 has really brought into focus the uncertainty of our lives and the fact that everybody is realizing that, except by God's grace, any one of us could have been there," Wilcox added. "This event has heightened our awareness of the transitory part of our lives and the fact that we need to be doing a lot more than estate planning."

In saying that, Wilcox echoes the inspired thoughts of Ellen G. White, who as far back as 1870 saw the importance of estate planning.

Believers, she said, "should have their business in such a shape that, were they called at any hour to leave it, and should they have no voice in its arrangement, it might be settled as they would have had it were they alive. . . . Those who make their wills should not spare pains or expense to obtain legal advice and to have them drawn up in a manner to stand the test" (Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 117).

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Mark A. Kellner is a freelance writer who writes the column On Computers for the Washington Times.