Jacob Schmalzle on Why Faith-Based Stewardship Doesn’t End With Writing a Will

Jacob Schmalzle on Why Faith-Based Stewardship Doesn’t End With Writing a Will

Most estate planning conversations stop too early.

Families create a will. Maybe they set up a trust. Then everyone assumes the work is done.

It is not.

The real test comes later, when someone has to carry out those instructions during grief, paperwork, court filings, family tension, and financial pressure.

That is where estate executor and fiduciary professional Jacob Schmalzle says many families discover a major gap in planning.

Schmalzle is the founder of Spirit of Service, a faith-based estate executor and trustee organization that works with families, churches, and communities navigating probate and trust administration. His perspective comes from both professional experience and personal loss after managing his own family’s estate following the deaths of his father and grandmother.

“People spend months deciding who gets the house or the retirement account,” he says. “Then they spend about 90 seconds deciding who’s going to manage the whole process.”

That disconnect creates problems.

A Will Is a Starting Point, Not the Finish Line

Many people think estate planning is mostly about documents.

A will. A trust. A power of attorney.

Those matter. They are not the whole system.

The executor still has to carry out the plan.

That includes locating assets, handling probate filings, paying debts, communicating with beneficiaries, working with attorneys, and managing timelines that can stretch more than a year.

According to Caring.com’s 2024 estate planning survey, only about 32% of Americans have a will. Even fewer have discussed executor responsibilities with the person they named.

That creates chaos fast.

“I worked with a family where the executor didn’t know he had been chosen until the funeral lunch,” Schmalzle says. “His aunt handed him a folder and said, ‘Your mom wanted you to handle this.’ He looked completely stunned.”

The next week, he was dealing with bank calls, court paperwork, and insurance questions while trying to organize the memorial service.

“That’s not stewardship,” he says. “That’s leaving someone stranded.”

Faith Changes the Conversation

Most estate discussions focus on asset protection and tax planning.

Faith-based stewardship asks a different question.

What kind of legacy are you leaving behind?

That includes money. It also includes responsibility, generosity, preparation, and care for the people handling the estate.

Schmalzle says churches have become more active in encouraging planned giving and legacy donations. Many congregations now offer seminars about estate planning and charitable giving.

He believes the next step is helping families think about estate administration itself.

“A church member may spend years planning a gift to the church,” he says. “Then after they

pass away, the family gets thrown into a confusing probate process nobody prepared them for.”

That is one reason Spirit of Service works closely with church communities.

The organization positions itself as a support system for families during probate and trust administration, especially when a neutral third party is needed.

Probate Can Drain More Than Money

Probate is often described as expensive. It is also exhausting.

Studies show the average probate process can last 16 to 20 months, depending on the estate structure and state requirements.

That creates emotional wear on families.

One sibling becomes the executor. Another wants updates every week. Someone disagrees about selling the house. Somebody else thinks the executor is hiding information.

The pressure builds.

Schmalzle says many conflicts start because expectations were never discussed beforehand.

“I saw one estate where three brothers stopped speaking for almost a year over a pickup truck,” he says. “The father had never explained who should receive it. Everybody attached meaning to it after he passed.”

Simple conversations ahead of time could have prevented the fight.

That is why stewardship matters before probate begins.

The Executor Role Has Become a Full-Time Job

Modern estates are more complicated than many families realize.

People own retirement accounts, investment accounts, multiple properties, business interests, subscription services, and online financial records spread across different platforms.

Executors now manage something closer to a temporary operations department than a simple paperwork task.

Schmalzle compares it to stepping into a project manager role with no onboarding.

“You suddenly become responsible for deadlines, taxes, property maintenance, court filings, and family communication,” he says. “Most people are learning the process while already overwhelmed.”

The industry often assumes family members can absorb that workload naturally.

That assumption breaks down quickly.

According to EstateExec data, many executors spend 500 hours or more administering an estate from start to finish.

That is the equivalent of more than three months of full-time work.

Stewardship Means Preparing the Executor Too

Families prepare beneficiaries. They rarely prepare executors.

That needs to change.

Schmalzle recommends a few practical steps.

First, tell the executor they have been chosen.

That sounds obvious. It often does not happen.

Second, organize key information.

Executors need access to account lists, property records, passwords, insurance information, and professional contacts.

Third, explain the goals behind the estate.

“Sometimes parents assume the will explains everything,” he says. “It doesn’t explain why decisions were made.”

That missing context can create suspicion among heirs later.

He also encourages families to think honestly about whether a child or relative is the best fit for the role.

Some people are emotionally reliable but disorganized. Others are highly organized but unavailable due to work or distance.

Naming the oldest child by default is not always the best decision.

“The right executor is usually the person who can stay calm and finish hard tasks,” he says.

Churches Are Becoming Part of the Solution

Churches are increasingly stepping into estate conversations because they already support families during loss.

Funerals, meals, counseling, and prayer support often happen naturally within congregations.

Estate administration usually does not.

Schmalzle believes that the gap matters.

“Families shouldn’t have to leave the church community the moment probate starts,” he says.

“That’s often when they need the most structure.”

Spirit of Service was built around that idea.

The organization serves as a bridge between churches and estate administration support services. It also donates a portion of its executor fees back to churches or charities selected by clients.

That model reflects the broader idea behind faith-based stewardship.

Legacy is not only about preserving wealth. It is about directing resources with purpose.

Stewardship Is Operational

People often describe stewardship in emotional or spiritual terms.

Estate administration turns it into something practical.

Who handles the paperwork?Who communicates with beneficiaries?Who protects estate assets during probate? Who keeps things moving when the family is grieving?

Those questions matter.

A will creates instructions. Stewardship is the follow-through.

“Writing a will is important,” Schmalzle says. “Preparing people for what happens next is just as important.”

That preparation may be one of the most caring things a family can do for each other.