Inheritance incoming: are you ready?

Ralph
00:00:00

Imagine receiving a substantial inheritance. It's a blessing, but yet it comes with a heavy responsibility. Are you prepared to handle it? If you're like many of us, you're feeling overwhelmed or unsure, you're not alone in this. So today, we're going to get into how to manage an inheritance from a Christian perspective.

Stay tuned how to find out how you can honor God and make the most of this unexpected provision. I'm also going to share my own story about when my mother passed away. Seems like just yesterday, but I'm going to share it with you how I navigated that path myself and what I learned through the process.

Podcast Announcer
00:00:34

In a world where crushing debt keeps you trapped, where living paycheck to paycheck has become your new normal, and where the dream of retirement seems impossibly out of reach, there's hope. Join financial evangelist Ralph Estep Jr. A man who's walked through the fire of financial failure and emerged stronger on the other side.

Welcome to Ask Ralph, the show where real world experience meets biblical truth to break the bondage of financial despair.

Get ready to take control of your money, break free from the financial stress and align your resources with God's purpose for your life. This is Ask Ralph with Ralph Estep Jr.

Ralph
00:01:13

Welcome back to the show where we're mastering your finances from a Christian perspective. Today, we're talking about something that can be both a blessing and a challenge, and that's an inheritance. You got to ask yourself, are you ready to handle it God's way? Having been through this myself.

It's not an easy path to navigate, but I've got some great ideas today to show you how to make this emotional time easier and how to make wise financial choices during the process. Now yesterday, we talked about how to stay generous for God even in those tough times. And if you missed that episode, I'm going to encourage you to go check it out and listen to it.
You get to all of our episodes by going to askralph.com. And yesterday, I packed it with practical tips and a bunch of biblical insight on how to maintain that heart of generosity.
Well now, let's get into today's topic. First of all, I want to start with a question I got from Dennis. Now Dennis recently inherited a significant amount of money and here's what Dennis wrote. This is what he said. He said,

"Dear Ralph, I recently inherited a large amount of money from my grandfather. While I'm grateful for this blessing, I'm also feeling overwhelmed. I want to make sure I'm honoring God with this inheritance, but I'm not sure where to start. Can you provide some guidance on how to manage this money wisely and in a way that pleases God?"
And he said, thank you, Dennis.

Well Dennis, let me start by thanking you for reaching out. It's tough when you lose somebody. You talk about your grandfather. I remember when I lost my grandfather and him and I were like, they talk about in the Forrest Gump movie, we were like peas and carrots. So my grandfather and I were very much like that.

And I think back now how much he taught me about life. He taught me about faith. I remember those days sitting out by his garden and we'd pick up a stick and start whittling. And those are the things that I can remember throughout his whole life. And I still talk about those things today. If you listen to the show every day, you know I mention my grandfather all the time.

And Dennis, your question is so important. And I am so happy to hear that you're seeking guidance and it humbles me that you came to me with this question. And like I said, a little bit later in the show, I'm going to share with you my own journey that I went through this.

So let's get into this Dennis and see how I can help you navigate this journey.
Now Dennis, like I said a few moments ago, you're not alone in feeling overwhelmed. Receiving an inheritance can be a mix of emotions. You've got this grief that you're dealing with. You just lost a loved one. You got this gratitude because this person thought enough to save and leave something for you.

But it's also coupled with this sense of responsibility. But here's one true thing I want to state at the beginning. God is with you in all of this. And he has a plan for every resource He's provided you. So today, we're going to explore some biblical principles and some practical steps, because I think that's important to help you manage your inheritance responsibly.

Now, if you've got a question, just like Dennis, I'm going to encourage you to head over to justaskralph.com. Cause I'm here to help you with all of those financial concerns.
And don't forget, we just made a change to this, but every Tuesday at 1 PM, Eastern time, I go live where you can get your questions answered live.

You can join us by going to askralphpodcast.com/live. Again, that's askralphpodcast.com/live. And I'll be looking for you in the chat.

You know Dennis, I always like to start off with scripture. And I found this verse from the book of Proverbs that I thought directly relates to your question, Dennis.

And it comes to us from Proverbs chapter 13, verse 22. And it says this. "A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, but the sinner's wealth is laid up for the righteous." And Dennis, I thought about that and it reminds us that righteous living, it positions us to bless future generations.

And that's exactly what your grandfather did. It's exactly what my mother did. And I'll talk about that in a little bit.

But you might be asking the most logical question, but how does this apply to me, Ralph? How does this Bible verse apply to my inheritance? Well big picture Dennis, this verse highlights the importance of stewardship.

You know, this show is basically all about stewards, being a steward, being you know, filing that stewardship. As Christians, we got to remember, we're not just owners of our possessions. We don't actually own anything. I was doing an interview the other day and somebody said, you know, how do you manage stuff?

And I said, well, the first thing we have to realize it's not ours to begin with. We're really just caretakers. God has given us these things to be a caretaker of. And Dennis, he's given you this inheritance from your grandfather. And I think if you use that perspective, if you really focus on that perspective, it's going to shape how you view and manage your inheritance.

Because here's the truth Dennis. It's not just about you. That inheritance, it's really about how you can use this blessing to further God's kingdom.

Which leads me to my gratitude statement for today. And today, I'm grateful for the opportunity to discuss the stewardship.

And it is truly a reminder to me and to everyone listening that everything we have is a gift from God, and we are called to manage it wisely. So Dennis, let me cut to the chase and let me explain to you how you can do just that.

Well, let me start with a story, Dennis. I think this one will kind of bring out the things I want to cover today.

Imagine this. You're standing at a crossroads. I remember the Robert Frost, you know, two roads diverged in yellow wood and that the path less, the path less taken, I think it's what it's called, but picture this. You're walking through the forest. You get to a fork in the road. You've got one path to the left.

You got one path to the right. And inheritance is very much like this. You've got path one. And path one is this immediate gratification. You've got this windfall on money. Most of the time people say to me, I wasn't even expecting this. So what do you do with it? Well, that path one immediate gratification, maybe you take a lavish vacation.

You go buy a new car, you go buy a beach place, you go buy whatever that looks like for you. You just, you take that immediate gratification route. Now of course, the other side of that is you make wise investments. Maybe you consider doing some debt reduction. Maybe you consider giving back and being generous.

So let me ask you Dennis and everyone else listening, which path would you choose? And that's a tough question to ask. It's a tough question to answer because I've been there and I'll talk about that in a little bit. But let me tell you about my client, Henry, because Henry is very much like you, Dennis.

He inherited a significant sum from his grandfather. I don't remember the exact amount at the moment. I want to say it was a couple hundred thousand dollars. So this was not chump change. This was serious money. And just like you, Henry, or just like you, Dennis, Henry was, he came to that fork in the road and he had those two paths to choose from.

He was tempted by that immediate gratification. He thought to himself, Hey man, I can go buy a new car, a flashy new sports car. I could take this money and I can remodel my home. I could go on an exotic vacation. You know, my wife and the kids and I, we've never really had a quote real vacation. And as he start to think about those, and he's envisioning, you know, driving down the road in this new car and this remodeled house with a big, you know, studio theater room and, you know, a big backyard oasis with a swimming pool and all those things.

And Henry started to say something that just doesn't feel right. Because as I said, he had inherited this money from his grandfather. And let me tell you about Henry's grandfather. Henry's grandfather's like my grandfather, sort of a salt of the earth guy. His grandfather was one of these guys. He was a wise steward of his resources.

And he always talked to Henry about honoring God. He always shared with Henry, you know, it's not ours, Henry. This is just stuff that I've been blessed to steward while I'm here on earth. And so Henry, he was at that crossroads and he says, I don't know which way to go. So the first thing he decided to do was he sought God's guidance. And you might be saying, Ralph. Okay. What does that look like? Well, let me tell you what that looks like.

For henry He prayed about it. He started off with that prayer. He hit those knees and he said Lord I'm overwhelmed. I don't know what to do here. He started to dig into the Bible and look for biblical principles. And it came to him that this inheritance, as much as it was a blessing was truly a major responsibility. So Henry talked to some professionals.
Actually, Henry reached out to me and we had a consultation. And the first thing Henry did was he paid off his high interest debt. Because he knew that was a burden on him. You know, he had this windfall. Yes, he could have gone in and bought some lavish new car or remodeled his house. But then he remembered, he says, I remember him saying this to me, he said, Ralph, I've got this credit card debt.

You know, I keep on putting it off, and putting it off, and putting it off. And I said to Henry one day, I said, well, maybe the Lord's put this money in front of you cause he's trying to break free, try to unshackle you from that debt. So that's the first thing Henry did. He paid off his high interest debt. Dennis, I'm going to encourage you the same thing. If you've got high interest debt, start by paying that off. The next thing that Henry did was he invested in a diversified portfolio. He enlisted what I call the dream team. He went and found people that could help him. He went and found people that could give him financial guidance.

And one of the biggest things he did was he started that emergency fund. If you listen to my show, you know I talk about this all the time. Emergency funds are there to protect you when you need it. You know, and it sounds like a silly thing to say, but it's true. So Henry paid off debt. He put money into a diversified, a well diversified investment portfolio, and he built that emergency fund, but Henry didn't forget one of the other main things that he learned from his grandfather, and that was generosity.

So one of the big things that Henry did was he gave to his church. He started supporting charities that align with his values and charities that his grandfather supported. And the coolest thing ever, and I helped him do this. He actually started a scholarship fund in his grandfather's name. And I remember a couple of months later, Henry came in and the scholarship was up and running and there was a lot of people applying for it and that sort of thing.

And a transformation in Henry's life was remarkable. I remember him saying to me, Ralph, I feel at peace about this. I have a purpose. When I first got this inheritance, I figured, Oh, you know, I'm going to go buy some stuff and that'll make me feel good for a few minutes. He goes, Ralph, but this money that I've gotten from my grandfather, it's transforming my life.

And he was honoring God. He was really making a huge impact with his grandfather's legacy. And the key takeaway this is his story shows that responsible inheritance management, it's not just about managing the money. It's about managing that legacy. It's about honoring God. And when you responsibly manage that, it can really lead to true fulfillment.

And Dennis, let me speak directly to you right now. This story could be you too. Just imagine for a minute, the peace you'll find knowing that you honored your loved one's legacy. You honored your grandfather's legacy and you use that inheritance to make a real difference. Just like Henry, imagine seeing the joy of seeing those fruits of generosity and the impact it has on others.

Henry's going to see that as people get these scholarships that are in his grandfather's name. But you also have to think about Dennis, you know, what if you make those wrong decisions? Because listen, Henry could have taken that path to the new car and the remodeling and the lavish vacations. So you have to consider making that the wrong decision.

The pain that come along with that. Think about the regret you might feel if you squander your inheritance on fleeting pleasures. We're surrounded by these fleeting pleasures. Go on to social media, man, you are going to see pleasure after pleasure after pleasure. But think about the missed opportunities that you would have to bless others and further God's kingdom.

I know that's a lot to cover, but listen, I'm going to help you navigate this. And I promised at the beginning I would share my story. So let me do that now. You know, I've talked about my mom a lot on this show. Talked about how when I was eight years old, my mom and dad split up and the last words out of my dad's mouth are, well son, you're the man of the house.

Well, I didn't realize that came along with that was having to help my mom. At 8, at 9, at 10, I'm in a car dealership helping her navigate a car dealer. I'm trying to figure out how we get heating oil in the house. So my mother taught me so much about what that looks like to be frugal. What it looks like you know, what it looks like to try to manage what God has given you. And as you know about two years ago would be march of 2023, my mom passed away.
She had a Glioblastoma tumor. Came on all of a sudden. I mean, this was a thing that happened over a few months. And I saw my mom, you know, failing and I was there on her deathbed the day she died. And that was truly an honor to me. So I get like, what this feels like, the emotions that go along with losing somebody.

Like I said, it'll be two years in March. Her birthday was just a week or so ago. She would have been 77. So those things I take with me. So my mom passes away and you know, this is my mom never really had a lot, but let me just tell you, when I looked at the inheritance, I was shocked.

I was shocked by the amount of savings that my mom was able to put away. I mean, she never made six figures. You know, she never had those lavish that lavish lifestyle, but let me just tell you, she was able to squirrel away several hundred thousands of dollars. Now I didn't get all of that. My sister and I split that and that's a topic for another show. But that was a testament to her frugality. And for me the biggest honor of my life was being there and holding her hand when she went to meet Jesus. I mean to me, I'm going to get emotional about that because it was just amazing experience.

But then all of a sudden, you know, that go past the funeral, go past all of that. Her broker calls me and says, Ralph, guess what? Your mother's left you some money. And I'm not going to get into specifics because I don't really think it's necessary. But I was so honored to get that. And what did I do with it?

It was so important to me to make sure I honored my mother with this. And the reason you're hearing my voice today, the reason if you're watching this on YouTube or Rumble has a lot to do with what my mother left me because I put those resources to work to further God's kingdom. And that's what I chose to do because my mom was this frugal person.

But as I've shared with you, at age eight, here I am trying to help my mom who wasn't terribly financially astute. And it really became my mission. So when my mom passed away, the most logical thing for me to do is put her money to work. Now I did some other things. I did some lavishness for myself, of course.

And I'm not saying to anyone, I'm not judging anybody. I'm just saying, how can you make better decisions? So let me talk now about some pitfalls that you could find yourself in. And I navigated these myself because these pitfalls can cause you financial pain, they'll cause you stress and you don't need this stress.

You've already gone through the stress of losing somebody. Why compound it? First thing you got to watch out for is overspending. Like I talked about at the beginning, Dennis, Henry, it's easy to get carried away with the sudden influx of money. This was money you weren't expecting. I'll be honest with you,

when my mother left me this money, this wasn't money I was expecting. And this may sound very arrogant, but it wasn't life changing money for me either. The Lord has richly blessed me. I've worked hard for the things I have, but I could have easily taken that money just like Henry and gone a lavish vacation or created this massive backyard oasis.

But we've got to really be careful. We've got to really avoid those impulse purchases. It's what I call lifestyle inflation. Because it's that real love. Oh, this is great. Look at the pictures on Facebook. Look at the stuff on social media, but you got to remember this. Truth bomb. Material possessions are temporary.

Yeah. You're going to have that dopamine high when you go buy that new car. I've been there. I bought the new Corvette. I had a dopamine high, but man, that falls off really quickly. So you've got to measure that. Remember that material possessions are temporary. Second thing. I'm a tax guy. So I'm going to remind you, don't forget about taxes.
Depending upon the type of inheritance you have, there may be some significant tax implications. So you've got to plan accordingly. I'm going to encourage you highly to consult with a tax professional. You can make an appointment with me by going to askralph.com and you can do book a call with Ralph but
you need to understand that there may very well be some tax consequences to this inheritance. It really depends on each individual situation. Another thing you got to be worried about. A lot of people don't think about this one. You could lose other income sources. You might be saying, Ralph, what are you talking about here?

Well, guess what? If you rely on government benefits, if you're getting state benefits or government benefits, you might lose some of your benefits because this inheritance could affect your eligibility for those benefits. So you got to make sure you understand the full impact of what this looks like for you.

If all of a sudden you've got additional income, because maybe you inherit a stock portfolio or bonds or a rental property, whatever that looks like. And your income changes, that could dramatically impact your government benefits. Now, there's not a whole lot you can do about it except for to understand those things.

The fourth thing. You could make this decision to not save enough. You have to be really careful. Don't get so caught up in immediate spending, that oh, I got to go spend the money on this. I got to go spend the money on this. Don't get so caught up on that that you neglect long term savings goals. Like Henry did, Henry used his money from his grandfather to build that emergency fund and I'm going to encourage you to do the same sort of thing. Pay off those debts. Set that money aside for future needs. Build that emergency fund you've been putting off. Number five. It comes down to education
understanding. One of the biggest pitfalls is not understanding the full scope of the inheritance. You got to be sure you understand any of the debts or liabilities associated with the inheritance. For example, I had a client not too long ago that inherited two or three rental properties when his father passed away.

And with that came, you know, it was great. Oh, Ralph, I got these rental properties where he had no idea that there was mortgages on these properties and we figured it out after a while, there was all kinds of contractual obligations he had. His dad had gotten grants for certain things that those projects needed to be completed.

So you've got to really understand the full scope of your inheritance. You know, don't let those unexpected financial burdens catch you off guard. I always, I think back when I'm thinking about this right now is when I was a kid watching The Three Stooges, and it might seem like a really silly thing to talk about during this like, you know, in depth conversation.

But I remember the three stooges, they would get, you know, a knock at the door and there was this telegram messenger. And the three of them had just, you know, inherited all this money from their aunt Sally, who lived in the United Kingdom or something like that, which is why I'm going to get to another in a minute here.

But then I would list, Oh, you got this, you got this. And then, Oh, but don't forget about inheritance tax. And they got to the bottom. They actually owed the messenger man, which is silly. But you have to understand exactly what you've got going on there. Number six thing. Big pitfall, failing to communicate.

And this can be a tragic situation to an inheritance. This is not the time to close down communications. You've got to have open and honest communications with your family members. You got to do that so that there's no misunderstandings and conflict when it comes to this inheritance. Cause clear communication is key.

And I gotta be honest with you, that's a stress point that my sister and I still have to this day. I'm not going to get into the details, but there was a lot of communication that could have happened that didn't happen. And I'm not saying I'm not grateful for what my mother left me, but there was a lot of communication that could have been better.
So if you find yourself, you're setting up this inheritance for somebody else, communicate that, have honest communication. Siblings need to talk. Relatives need to have discussions. Another thing I see a lot of people fall into this pitfall of using inheritance to pay off low interest debt. You might be saying, Ralph, wait a minute.

You just said Henry paid off debts. Now be careful what I just said. I said, low interest debt. See, because the truth is paying off debt is generally wise. I'm not going to argue with that. I mean, to be debt free is great. But you've also got to think about the opportunity cost of using inheritance money if you've got low interest loans, cause you maybe you're going to take that money out of an investment portfolio. Maybe you're going to sell some assets. You're going to sell a rental property that has the capacity to make a bigger return than what those low interest loans are costing you. Again, you might be better off investing those funds for a higher return.

And that means you need to sit down with what I call your dream team and develop a strategy. And last but not least, number eight on my list here at pitfalls, and this doesn't affect everybody, but it's overlooking international transfer fees and exchange rates. Now, if you receive an inheritance from overseas, be aware of potential costs associated with transferring those funds.

You got to do some research, hire professionals, and I'm going to tell you a funny story. Not funny, but kind of a scam story. I guess it's been about 20 years ago. We were attending a different church. And everybody at the church knew that I was a financial guy. I did taxes. I did accounting. And this one day after church, this lady comes up to me and she says, Hey Ralph, she says, I have some incredible news.

She said, you're never going to believe this. I got this email yesterday. And it says that I just inherited $3 million from this cousin of mine I didn't even know existed. And I said, wait a second. I said, so you're telling me that you just got $3 million. Somebody just left it to you. Don't even know who this person is.

Yeah Ralph. And here's the best part. All I've got to do, they told me to just email me, they want me to email my routing number and my account number from my bank account. And they're going to just send the money and put it in my account. Well, clearly this person was getting scammed. So while I'm talking about international transfers and fees, and exchange rates, be very cautious about this particular case, because there's a bunch of scammers out there.

And I know Dennis, that's not your situation, but I just thought I'd share that today. So Dennis, I know I've covered a lot today, but you can overcome this situation too. Because remember this. This is where the hope is. This is where the strength is. God is with you every step of the way here. God is going to help you.

You just have to ask Him for His help. You know, He's going to equip you with the wisdom and the strength you need to manage your inheritance responsibly. So Dennis, let me give you some action steps to help you get started.

And I'm going to talk about how I navigated these things myself. Number one thing. Seek God's guidance. As I mentioned, start with that prayer, ask God for wisdom, ask Him for direction, Ask him for clarification. I did that with my own inheritance. I said to God, you know, how would you use this Lord, how, show me how you would use this.

And He spoke to me, not in this loud, boisterous voice of Ralph, you will do this. No, no, but it was subtle. He said, Ralph, why don't you start giving back? Why don't you look for a way to use the talents I've given you? And that's why I launched this show. So Dennis, I'm going to encourage you the same thing.

Seek God's guidance. Second thing. You got to assess your financial situation. When I meet with clients, the first thing I do if they're looking for me to help them with their finances, I take a snapshot and I assess where they are right now. And Dennis, I'm going to encourage you to do the same thing. And anybody else listening, who's going through this process, take time to understand your financial needs, understand your goals, understand where you are now, and then develop a plan. Now number three on my list here is maybe that plan includes paying off debts. You know, if you've got those high interest rate debts, those credit card debts, maybe it's a second mortgage or whatever that looks like for you.
You got to look at what they are and see the return investment and opportunity costs and all that thing. But number three could very well be pay off debts. And I'm not saying you got to take all the money and do that, but maybe you can use a portion of that to eliminate that high interest debt.

Number four thing. And this one is crucial. Henry did this. It's a great time to build that emergency fund. Maybe you can start to set aside those three to six months of living expenses in an account that you can get to. And you know, I talk about these emergency funds all the time, and it's not easy to build this.

This is something that you may be thinking, Ralph, there is no way I'm ever going to get to that three to six months. But now all of a sudden, you've got this windfall. Maybe it'll get you halfway there. Maybe it'll be an influx to get you started. So consider that. Number five thing. This is time to invest wisely. Find that investment broker that you trust, you know, surround yourself with that team of experts.

Look at creating in a diversified portfolio of assets. Don't put all your eggs in one basket and don't try to navigate that yourself. Like I said, reach out to a professional. Number six thing. As Henry did and Dennis, I encourage you the same thing. Be generous. You know, give a portion of your inheritance to your church or to some other charity that aligns with your values.

If the person, if your grandfather in your case was a charitable person, maybe you find out where, which charities he supported, or maybe he supported missionaries, or maybe there was something he always did like Henry did with that educational scholarship. But make that part of the plan, make a plan to be generous.

Number seven thing. This is a time to plan for the future. Maybe you were able to maximize retirement account spending this year. Put more money away. This is a great way to start that 529 plan for your children or to build up that savings that you've always been wanting to build up.

But you've got to think about, you know, are you going to take that path of immediate gratification? Are you going to take that planned approach where you're planning for the future? And number eight, and a lot of people don't think about this in this context, and that's estate planning. So now that you've been the beneficiary of this estate, it's time to look and see what your state looks like.

You know, make sure your assets are managed and distributed according to your wishes in a way that honors God. Maybe you learn through this process. What not to do. You learned about communication. You learned about the documents because anybody that's gone through this, especially if you've handled like as the executor or something like that, you know all the pitfalls that are there.

So again, I want to go back over those again. So number one, seek God's guidance. Number two, assess your financial situation. Number three, look at paying off debts. Number four, build that emergency fund. Number five, invest wisely. Number six, be generous with what this windfall that you've gotten, the money that you're asked to steward.

Number seven, make sure you plan for the future. And then number eight, again, with planning, make that estate plan for yourself. Make sure that all your ducks are in a row and you're ready to go. And one of the things I want to mention here is every day, when I record the show, I also write a blog post where I go a little deeper.

I give you more information. I give you references. And if you're interested in going a little deeper and getting more in depth, you can go to askralphpodcast.com/blog, because that's where I give you some more references. I give you some resources and I'm encouraging that you can check that out.

Every day we've got a whole host of those or every show we've done for the past. I think it's the past year and a half. But you can go again to askralphpodcast.com/blog.
Now let's get to those reflection questions. You know, as we cover topics, I always like to sort of end the show with some discussion, some reflection on what we cover today. So let's get right to it. Let me ask you the first one. How can you honor your loved one's legacy with your inheritance?

You know, what are the things that you can do to honor their legacy? I don't think going out and buying that flashy new sports car or taking that exotic vacation is really going to honor them. So ask yourself, you know, how do you honor that loved one's legacy with that inheritance? Second question. What are your personal values, and how do they influence your financial goals?

This is a time to do some reflection. You know, what are your values? And what are the influences on your financial goals? You've gotten this windfall and maybe it's only a little bit of money, but a little bit can go a long way if it's used right. And number three. And this is where I'm going to get to the core of the issue here is in what ways can you be generous with your inheritance to further God's kingdom?

What does that look like for you? Pray about that. Ask God how can He put to use what you've been given, what He's given you to be a caretaker of. So again, reflect on these things. You know, how can you honor your loved one's legacy? What are your personal values and how does that influence your financial goals? And in what ways can you be generous with your inheritance to further God's kingdom?

Now Dennis and anybody else, listen, if you're feeling overwhelmed, maybe you're saying, Ralph, man, you covered a lot today. This is deep stuff. Maybe you're feeling overwhelmed or you need individual guidance. I want you to know that you're not alone in this process. The truth is managing an inheritance can be a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be that way. Because listen, as you heard today, I've been where you are and I've helped countless others navigate this journey.

So let me walk alongside you. Let me put my arm around you and help you. I'm going to encourage you to book a call with me at askralph.com and get to that website. You'll see the top it says book a call with Ralph. Let's start there and together we can create a plan that aligns with your values and honors God.

And I'm going to help you make wise and faithful decisions with your inheritance. So you can experience the peace that Henry felt, and you can experience the peace that I felt and the fulfillment that comes from being a good steward of what God has asked you to steward. So listen to me, don't let fear or uncertainty hold you back.

Take the first step. It starts with taking that first step. Take that first step towards financial freedom and spiritual growth. Reach out to me today and let's get to start this journey together. Again, that's at askralph.com.

Now, if you found today's episode helpful, I want to ask you to do something for me.
Consider supporting the show. You do that by going to askralphpodcast.com/support. We have this thing called buy me a coffee. It's a virtual cup of coffee. You can consider doing that. It could be a one time support. It could be a you know, recurring support, but it's really going to help us reach more people.

And that's what the goal is here. You know, one of the things that I did with this money from my mother was my goal was to help continue to reach people with a message of hope and of Christian faith, because these two worlds go hand in hand. So again, you can do that by going to askralphpodcast.com/support.

And remember this, these are my key takeaways. Managing an inheritance is about more than just money. That's a big part of it. You got to understand how to handle that. It's also about stewardship. It's about honoring God and furthering His kingdom. And Dennis, again, I want to thank you for your question today.

I hope today's episode has given you the tools and encouragement you need and anybody else listening. Now, tomorrow we're going to be discussing, we're getting back to taxes tomorrow. We're gonna be talking about filing your taxes without all your tax documents. A lot of people are tempted to do that because they want to get that refund right away.

And I'm going to tell you why that's risky. And then I'm also going to tell you how to get what you need. So I just want to encourage you to check out. Remember this. My passion is to help you achieve financial success. I want to see you live out your dreams and I want to see you grow in your faith. And I know together, working together, we can master your finances from a Christian perspective.

So as I always end the show, I'm going to encourage you to stay financially savvy and may God bless you abundantly.

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