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Betsy Matthews

Elizabeth (Betsy) Matthews says, "Ministry has been my life." She is the daughter of a pastor (the late David Neufeld). She is the wife of a pastor (Daniel Matthews). At the University Church she is combining pastoral care with her career path as a planned giving consultant. Since completing an office administration major and business minor at Columbia Union College, she has pursued courses at the University of Oregon, at UCLA, and at Moorpark College that support her specialty, estate planning. She has enrolled agent status with the IRS, and trust services certification with the General Conference.

Culminating her experience in the accounting departments of the Potomac Conference (Virginia) and the Pacific Union Association in Thousand Oaks, she became treasurer for Western Adventist Foundation. Church members seeking estate planning or support as trustors find a competent consultant when they engage Betsy, who has 36 years of experience in creating trusts.

To estate planning queries, she is likely to respond, "Have you thought about what you may want to do for your estate plan? A trust or perhaps just a will?" If the estate is worth more than $100,000 she may advise creating a trust (a fine way to avoid probate court) along with a pour-over will. She explains that a pour-over will is designed to cover what might have been forgotten when the trust was formed. She helps the member review assets and determine distributions to charities of choice as well as to family. Along with wills and trusts (such as the common revocable trust document), Betsy assists preparation of Charitable Gift Annuity (CGA) contracts, which provide some tax deduction, and Charitable Remainder Trust Agreements, which provide a taxable deduction at the time of the gift.

Although she sees many of the same people that her husband visits as pastor of senior care, Betsy maintains absolute confidentiality regarding members’ estate planning.. Her husband has no access to information arising from those planning sessions done in privacy. The church administrative staff doesn’t know whom she visits. The fruits of her labors are housed in a locked cabinet. She carries the only key. Both the church and members profit from the service.

She is likely to respond to encouragement to organize a Winter Wednesdays seminar next year by featuring experts in estate planning. But in addition to her business persona, her work with homebound seniors prompts an empathetic response: "My heart is saddened when senior members I visit tell me how lonely they are." Betsy is there to brighten their day.

Title: Pastoral Care and Trust Services

Responsibilities at LLUC: Assisting LLUC members with Estate Planning and provide support for trustors. Visiting home-bound seniors endeavoring to bring them comfort and encouragement. While many seniors reside in care facilities they often feel very alone without the blessing of family and friends.

At LLUC since: February 2007

Name of Spouse: Daniel G. Matthews

Previous Pastoral Experience: I have been blessed to serve in supporting roles with my husband where we have had local church and other pastoral assignments.

Education: Columbia Union College: office administration major, business minor. Attended Walla Walla University after graduating from Auburn Adventist Academy. Completed advanced coursework at the University of Oregon, the University of California at Los Angeles, and Moorpark College. Earned CPS certification in 1975 and passed IRS exam to become an Enrolled Agent in 1999. Certified in Trust Services by General Conference since 1986.