Guides for faithful stewardship
These guides answer the questions Christian families ask as their finances grow more complex: how to give wisely, how to plan taxes ahead of time, how to turn savings into retirement income and how to pass on a California home and a legacy. Each one links its sources.
Start here
- 01What a Christian financial advisor does, and how to choose oneA Christian financial advisor is a licensed professional who plans and manages money with biblical stewardship as the guide. The faith shapes your goals, your giving, and your legacy. The legal duties are the same as for any advisor. Check the license, the fiduciary duty, and how the advisor is paid.
- 02Biblically responsible investing: how faith and a diversified portfolio fit togetherBiblically responsible investing, or BRI, means choosing investments that fit your Christian convictions. Most approaches screen out companies whose products or practices you object to. Screening shrinks the pool of investments you can hold, so every BRI portfolio has to weigh conviction against diversification, cost and taxes.
- 03Charitable giving strategy: how to give more on purpose and pay less tax doing itA charitable giving strategy is a written plan for what you give, to whom, from which assets and in which year. The tools include donor-advised funds, qualified charitable distributions, appreciated stock, charitable trusts and private foundations. The right mix depends on your income, assets, age and goals, so ask your CPA.
- 04Christian retirement planning: turn what you saved into income you can live on and give fromRetirement planning turns the money you saved into a paycheck you can count on, with a plan for taxes, Social Security, Medicare, required withdrawals and giving. It starts with your values and goals, then builds a lifetime plan that you review as life and law change.
- 05Proactive tax planning: Roth conversions, equity pay and giving, planned before tax seasonProactive tax planning means choosing when and how income, gains and gifts happen before the year ends, not recording them afterward. It covers Roth conversions, stock pay such as RSUs and ISOs, and giving. Your CPA or attorney confirms the details for your own return.
- 06Trust and estate planning for California families: probate, Prop 19 and what you leave behindA California estate plan names who gets your property, who makes decisions if you cannot, and how your values pass on. A will goes through probate court. A funded living trust is the usual way to avoid it. Prop 19 and basis rules change what heirs owe.
- 07What is a multi-family office, and how does it work?A multi-family office is one team that serves several families and coordinates their investments, taxes, estate plans, insurance, and giving. You get one point of contact instead of four separate advisors. Ask how the team is paid, whether it is a fiduciary, and who does the tax and legal work.
- 08Biblical stewardship: what the Bible teaches and how to practice it with real wealthBiblical stewardship means managing everything you have, money included, as a trustee for God, who owns it all. It covers earning, saving, giving, planning, and leaving a legacy. The Bible gives principles, not a budget, so the practice takes wisdom, honest numbers, and good counsel.
Compare your options
- 01Fiduciary vs fee-only vs fee-based: what each word tells you about your advisorFiduciary describes the legal duty an advisor owes you: to act in your best interest. Fee-only and fee-based describe pay. Fee-only usually means the client is the only source of pay. Fee-based usually means fees plus some commissions. An advisor can be a fiduciary under any pay model, so ask about both.
- 02Multi-family office vs wealth manager: which fits a family with complex finances?A wealth manager mainly manages your investments and gives planning advice. A multi-family office serves several families and coordinates the whole picture: investments, taxes, legal documents, insurance and giving. The right choice depends on how many moving parts your finances have and how much coordination you want from one team.
- 03Donor-advised fund vs private foundation: which giving vehicle fits your family?A donor-advised fund is an account at a sponsoring charity. You recommend grants but do not own it. A private foundation is your own charity with its own board, a yearly payout rule and excise tax. The fund is simpler. The foundation gives more control and more work. Your giving goals decide.
- 04Revocable vs irrevocable trust: how California families chooseA revocable trust is one you can change or cancel while you live. It helps your family avoid probate court, but it does not by itself shield assets from taxes. An irrevocable trust generally cannot be changed, so you give up control to pursue goals such as asset protection or estate tax planning.
Step-by-step guides
- 01Donor-advised funds for Christian givers: how they work and when they fitA donor-advised fund is an account at a charity that you fund with a gift. The charity takes legal control, you claim the deduction in the year you give, and you recommend grants to churches and ministries over time. The tax rules have limits, so check them with your CPA.
- 02Qualified charitable distributions: how to give straight from your IRAA qualified charitable distribution, or QCD, is a gift sent directly from your IRA to an eligible charity. You must be at least 70½ when it is made. For 2026, the IRS worksheet caps QCDs at $111,000 per person. A QCD can count toward your required minimum distribution.
- 03Giving appreciated stock and bunching gifts: a guide for Christian familiesGiving appreciated stock means donating shares you held more than one year instead of selling them first. The IRS treats these shares as capital gain property. Bunching means putting several years of gifts into one tax year so you can itemize. For 2026, the joint standard deduction is $32,200.
- 04Tithing and biblical generosity: what the main views say and how to plan your givingA tithe is one tenth of your income given to God's work. Christians disagree on whether the tenth is still required or is a starting point for generous giving. They also disagree on gross or net, and on where to give. This guide lays out each view and how to plan.
- 05Roth conversion: the questions to ask before you convertA Roth conversion moves money from a pre-tax IRA to a Roth IRA, and you pay income tax on the amount converted in the year you convert. Before you act, ask what the tax bill will be, who pays it, and how the added income touches Medicare premiums, Social Security taxes and your giving.
- 06How are RSUs, ISOs and ESPPs taxed? A plain-English guideRSUs are generally taxed as pay when they vest. Incentive stock options (ISOs) and ESPP shares usually bring no regular tax until you sell, but an ISO exercise can trigger the alternative minimum tax. Nonstatutory options are taxed at exercise. California adds its own rules. Plan the tax before you act.
- 07Retirement income: how RMDs, Social Security and Medicare fit togetherRetirement income comes from several places, and each one has its own tax rules. Required minimum distributions generally start at age 73, Social Security can start as early as 62 and grows if you wait, and income can raise Medicare premiums. No withdrawal rate is safe for everyone, so plan the pieces together.
- 08What is an insurance review? Umbrella, disability and long-term careAn insurance review checks whether your coverage matches the risks your plan depends on. It looks at life, long-term care, health and property insurance, plus related cover such as umbrella liability and disability income. The aim is to find gaps and overlaps before a loss, not after one.
- 09How to choose a Christian financial advisor: a step-by-step guideTo choose a Christian financial advisor, verify the person and firm on the SEC's adviserinfo.sec.gov site, read the firm's Form ADV and relationship summary, then ask about duty, pay, conflicts, team and how faith shapes advice. Hire only after the record is clean and every answer comes in writing.
- 10California estate planning checklist: what every family should have in placeA California estate plan usually has seven parts: a will, a revocable living trust, a financial power of attorney, an advance health care directive, correct beneficiary designations, a funded trust, and a plan for the family home. California has no estate tax, but probate and property tax can still cost a family. Have an attorney review the plan.
- 11Prop 19 and passing on a California home: what parents and adult children need to knowSince February 16, 2021, Prop 19 lets a child keep a parent's low property tax base only if the home becomes the child's principal residence. A value limit also applies. For transfers from February 16, 2025 through February 15, 2027, the limit is the home's base year value plus $1,044,586. Rental homes no longer qualify.
- 12Preparing heirs: how to hold legacy conversations with your familyPreparing heirs means talking with your family about what you own, what you plan to leave, why, and what you hope they will do with it, before documents are signed. Start with values, then roles, then numbers. Bring your attorney and CPA in so the plan and the conversation match.
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