Jeremy and Marcia Ashcraft Nordmeyer ’07 protected their son Calvin, prevented a huge headache before major surgery, and have given the gift of flexibility to Union College, all by updating their estate plan.
“Whenever someone would die we would say, ‘We have to update our will,’” says Marcia. “Then we had Calvin, our son, and it became even more important to update the will.”
Marcia and Jeremy discussed on several occasions what their wishes were if they both died, but they didn’t put anything down on paper. “We chose a guardian for our son but did not have that written down,” Marcia recalls. “We never want Calvin to be the subject of a custody battle so we formalized our wishes by updating our will.”
Marcia and Jeremy worked with Norman Zimmerman, the Kansas-Nebraska Conference Trust Services Director, on updating their will as well as their medical power of attorney and living will. “Having Norm there was helpful as he facilitated the conversation and affirmed what we already knew,” Marcia said.
As an ancillary benefit, having an up-to-date medical power of attorney and living will was very handy when Jeremy recently had surgery. “Having those documents meant we didn’t have to scramble before Jeremy’s surgery. The hospital requested them and it was one less headache we had to deal with.”
While updating their will, the Nordmeyers decided to include Union College as a beneficiary. After all of the bills from the estate are paid, Union will receive a percentage of the remaining amount. Zimmerman asked Marcia and Jeremy if their gift should go to something specific. Marcia, brainstorming aloud said, “What is the type of gift LuAnn (Davis, V.P. for Advancement) always says Union needs? Unrestricted, that’s it. We will give our gift unrestricted!”
“I want my last gift to Union to be put to the best possible use, and right now I don’t know what the college will need most,” Marcia said. “I want to give Union the gift of flexibility. If my gift pays for tater tots or helps with the electric bill, I don’t care. Just so long as it helps the bottom line, it’s all good.”
When asked why she and Jeremy included Union as a beneficiary of their estate Marcia explained, “I feel like Union College helped shape my life philosophy and clarify my long-term goals. Why would I not give a final gift to Union College?”
Union College is committed to helping its alumni, friends and supporters like Marcia and Jeremy who included Union as a beneficiary of their estate, and will pay up to $750 toward their estate planning costs. If you would like information on how you can give Union College a gift through your estate, please contact LuAnn Davis, Vice President for Advancement, at 402.486.2503 or luann.davis@ucollege.edu. LuAnn would love to help you get your estate plan up to date.
– Scot Coppock served as Union’s director of leadership giving until
November 2016.