The manila folder sits on your desk, waiting. Inside are forms about wills, trusts, and beneficiaries that force you to confront uncomfortable realities about mortality and money. Estate planning feels morbid, like you’re tempting fate by preparing for your own death. Yet, avoiding these conversations leaves loved ones to navigate grief while untangling financial messes that could have been prevented.
If you’ve been procrastinating on estate planning, you’re wrestling with profound questions about stewardship, family responsibility, and what really matters in the end. The Bible doesn’t shy away from these topics. Scripture is filled with stories about inheritances, blessings passed down through generations, and the importance of providing for family even after death.
Estate planning isn’t just about tax strategies and legal documents. It’s about stewarding God’s resources wisely and creating a legacy that reflects your values. These verses offer biblical wisdom about generational thinking, faithful stewardship, and the lasting impact of lives well-lived. While lawyers handle the paperwork, Scripture can guide your heart through the deeper questions of what you want to leave behind.
Bible Verses About Estate Planning and Legacy
1. Proverbs 13:22 – A Good Man Leaves an Inheritance
A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.
New International Version (NIV)
2. 1 Timothy 5:8 – Provide for Your Own Family
But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
English Standard Version (ESV)
3. Deuteronomy 6:6-7 – Teach Them Diligently to Your Children
And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
New King James Version (NKJV)
4. Psalm 78:4 – Tell the Coming Generation
We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord, about his power and his mighty wonders.
New Living Translation (NLT)
5. Proverbs 17:6 – Grandchildren Are the Crown of the Aged
Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly, and the pride of children is their fathers.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
6. Luke 12:48 – To Whom Much Is Given
But the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, more will be asked.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
7. Ecclesiastes 7:1 – A Good Name Is Better Than Precious Ointment
A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one’s birth.
King James Version (KJV)
8. 2 Timothy 4:7 – I Have Fought the Good Fight
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
9. Proverbs 31:10-11 – A Wife of Noble Character
A good woman is hard to find, and worth far more than diamonds. Her husband trusts her without reserve, and never has reason to regret it.
The Message (MSG)
10. Genesis 48:15-16 – May God Bless These Boys
Then he blessed Joseph, and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked [in faithful obedience], the God who has been my shepherd [leading and caring for me] all my life to this day, the Angel [that is, the LORD Himself] who has redeemed me [continually] from all evil, bless the boys.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
11. Psalm 112:2 – His Descendants Will Be Mighty
His descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.
New English Translation (NET)
12. 1 Chronicles 29:28 – He Died at a Good Old Age
He died at a good old age, having enjoyed long life, wealth and honor. His son Solomon succeeded him as king.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
13. Job 42:16-17 – After This Job Lived 140 Years
Job lived 140 years after this, long enough to see his children, his grandchildren, and his great-grandchildren. Then he died, an old man who had lived a full life.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
14. Malachi 4:6 – Turn the Hearts of Parents to Children
He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and destroy the land.
Good News Translation (GNT)
15. Proverbs 20:21 – An Inheritance Quickly Gained
Property that you get quickly in the beginning will not be blessed in the end.
New Century Version (NCV)
16. 2 Corinthians 12:14 – Children Should Not Save Up for Parents
Now I am ready to come to you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you. After all, children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.
International Standard Version (ISV)
17. Numbers 27:8-9 – Laws of Inheritance
You are to say to Bnei-Yisrael: ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you are to transfer his inheritance to his daughter. If he has no daughter, then give his inheritance to his brothers.
Tree of Life Version (TLV)
18. Ruth 4:9-10 – I Have Acquired All That Belonged to Elimelech
Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have acquired from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so that the name of the deceased will not be cut off from his brothers or from the court of his birth place; you are witnesses today.”
Lexham English Bible (LEB)
19. Matthew 25:21 – Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant
His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
World English Bible (WEB)
20. Genesis 25:5 – Abraham Gave All That He Had to Isaac
And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac.
American Standard Version (ASV)
21. Luke 15:12 – Father, Give Me My Share
and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that falls to me.’ And he divided his living between them.
Revised Standard Version (RSV)
22. 1 Kings 21:3 – The Inheritance of My Fathers
But Naboth answered Ahab, “The Lord forbid that I should give you my ancestral heritage!”
New American Bible (NAB)
23. Hebrews 9:16-17 – Where a Will Is Involved
Now where a testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him that made the testament. For a testament is of force where men are dead: for it is never of force while he that made it liveth.
Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB)
24. Ecclesiastes 2:18-19 – I Hated All My Labor
Yea, I hated all my labour which I had taken under the sun: because I should leave it unto the man that shall be after me. And who knoweth whether he shall be a wise man or a fool?
English Revised Version (ERV)
25. 1 Chronicles 28:8 – Keep and Seek All Commandments
And now, before the eyes of all Israel, the assembly of Jehovah, and in the ears of our God, keep and seek all the commands of Jehovah your God, so that ye possess this good land, and have caused your sons to inherit after you unto the age.
Young’s Literal Translation (YLT)
26. Genesis 49:28 – All These Are the Twelve Tribes
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them and blessed them; each according to his blessing he blessed them.
Darby Translation (DARBY)
27. Psalm 37:18 – The Lord Knows the Days of the Upright
The Lord knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance shall be for ever.
Weymouth New Testament (WNT)
28. Deuteronomy 21:17 – The Right of the Firstborn
But he schal knowe the sone of the hateful wijfFirstborun, and he schal yyue to hym double part of alle thingis that he hath; for this sone is the bigynnyng of his fre children, and the firste gendrid thingis ben due to hym.
Wycliffe Bible (WYC)
29. 1 Kings 2:1-3 – David’s Charge to Solomon
Now when the time drewe neere that Dauid must die, he charged Salomon his sonne, saying, I go the way of all the earth: be strong therefore, and shewe thy selfe a man, And take heede to the charge of the Lord thy God, to walke in his wayes, and keepe his statutes, and his commandements, and his iudgements, and his testimonies.
Geneva Bible (GNV)
30. Joshua 14:9 – The Land Shall Be Your Inheritance
And Moses sware in that day, saying: The lande wheron thy feete haue troden, shalbe thyne inheritaunce and thy chylderns for euer, because thou hast wholly folowed the Lorde my God.
Bishop’s Bible
31. Acts 20:35 – It Is More Blessed to Give
I have shewed you all thynges how that so labouryng ye ought to receave the weake, and to remember the wordes of the Lorde Iesu howe that he sayde: It is more blessed to geve, then to receave.
Tyndale Bible
32. 1 Corinthians 4:17 – My Beloved and Faithful Child
That’s why I have sent Timothy to help you. He is like a son to me, and I love him. He is faithful to the Lord. Timothy will remind you of the way I live for Christ Jesus and of what I teach about Christ everywhere in every church.
The Living Bible (TLB)
33. Psalm 71:18 – Declare Your Power to the Next Generation
And even when I’m old and gray, God, don’t walk away. Give me grace to demonstrate to the next generation all your mighty miracles and your excitement, to tell them all about your famous works and breakthroughs.
The Passion Translation (TPT)
34. Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 – For Everything There Is a Season
For everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to harvest.
The Voice Bible (VOICE)
35. 2 Kings 20:1 – Set Your House in Order
In those days Hezekiah became very sick and was almost dead. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to see him and told him, “This is what the Lord says: Make arrangements, because you are not going to get well. You are going to die.”
New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)
Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About Estate Planning and Legacy
Scripture views estate planning not as a morbid preparation for death, but as wise stewardship and a consideration of generational needs. The Bible consistently emphasizes our responsibility to provide for family beyond our lifetime and to pass down both material and spiritual inheritance. This isn’t about accumulating wealth for its own sake, but about faithful management of what God has entrusted to us.
What I find compelling is how Scripture balances practical inheritance planning with deeper legacy concerns. Yes, good people leave material inheritance for their children’s children, but they also pass down faith, wisdom, and values that outlast any financial portfolio. The Bible shows us that true wealth includes both resources and a relationship with God, both provision and principles.
Estate planning becomes an act of love and faith when viewed through biblical eyes. It’s about continuing to care for your family even after death, ensuring that the resources God blessed you with continue to bless others. Scripture reminds us that we’re temporary stewards of eternal resources, responsible for their wise distribution across generations.
Say This Prayer
Heavenly Father, thinking about estate planning forces me to confront my own mortality and the reality that I won’t always be here to provide for my loved ones. Help me approach these decisions with wisdom rather than fear, seeing this process as an extension of faithful stewardship rather than a morbid preoccupation with death.
Guide me as I consider how to distribute the resources You’ve entrusted to me. Help me be fair and thoughtful, considering both immediate needs and long-term impact. Give me wisdom to know when to be generous and when to encourage responsibility, when to provide and when to allow struggle that builds character.
Most importantly, help me focus not just on what I leave behind financially, but on the legacy of faith, love, and values I’m building every day. May my children and grandchildren inherit not just my possessions but my love for You and commitment to living according to Your ways.
Prepare their hearts to handle whatever inheritance they receive with wisdom and gratitude, using it to further Your kingdom rather than just their own comfort.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.