Siblings' estate plans include lasting generosity to Wayne County

Siblings Bill and Julie Claybaugh share a family history in Wayne County that goes back to the 1800s, when ancestors on their mother's side began building a life in the area. Sitting around a kitchen table at the family farm a few miles west of Wayne, the brother and sister can share stories for hours.

Their parents, Joseph and Twila, returned to Wayne County in the 1970s after Joseph retired early from a career in poultry management. There, the kids helped their parents create a successful egg farming operation through ingenuity, innovation, and hard work. When they sold the business in 2015, they had 500,000 birds producing 9.5 million dozen eggs a year. At one point, the family's operation was the third largest egg producer in the state. Three consecutive generations of Claybaughs hold spots in the Nebraska Poultry Hall of Fame - Bill, their father, and their grandfather.

Wayne County has been good to the Claybaughs, and they've returned generosity through multiple generations. Joseph was active in the Methodist Church and served as a trustee for Wayne State. Twila was active in the United Methodist Women and served on the boards for Wayne State College Foundation, Eastern Star Questers, Town and Country Extension Club, and more. Bill served on Carroll's volunteer fire department for 30 years and is active in numerous area organizations. Julie recently joined Wayne State's Board of Trustees.

The Claybaugh family also gives back through working alongside Nebraska Community Foundation affiliated funds. Both Julie and Bill are active members of the Wayne Area Legacy Fund and through the Claybaugh Family Fund, they've continued their father's wishes to prioritize supporting agricultural research, scholarships to Wayne State, continuing education for agricultural producers, health care, the Wayne County fair, and various efforts to enhance amenities and services in Wayne County.

"Those are areas we want to continue to support even after we're gone," Bill said.

Bill and Julie also recently updated their family plans to donate 5% of their estate to WALF's unrestricted endowment. Over the next 10 years in Nebraska, more than $100 billion will transfer from one generation to the next. In 50 years, that number exceeds $950 billion. This phenomenon has come to be known as the intergenerational transfer of wealth. There is always a transfer from generation to generation, as parents pass away and leave their estate to their children. But if the heirs no longer live where they grew up, that wealth may leave as well.

Nebraska Community Foundation's 5 to Thrive campaign encourages Nebraskans to leave just 5% of their estates to the communities or charitable organizations they love. Over the next 10 years in Wayne County, $590 million will transfer from one generation to the next. Just 5% of that figure amounts to $30 million that residents could use to build the communities of their dreams.

"It's a great way of giving back," Julie said. "For as long as you've lived in the community, they've supported you. It's one way of ensuring that certain things continue."

Karen Longe, chair of the WALF advisory committee, said the Claybaughs' generosity will have immense impact on the community.

"We are inspired by the Claybaughs' forward thinking and planning, which includes their decision to leave 5% of their estate to the Wayne Area Legacy Fund," Longe said. "We are grateful for this generous gift and their choice to include the Wayne Area Legacy Fund in their giving plan. Their charitable bequest, in addition to their ongoing lifetime gifts, to the WALF will have a lasting impact in the Wayne Area today and for generations to come. The WALF is honored to play a part in Bill and Julie's personal legacy while building an unrestricted endowment for the Wayne Area."

The Claybaughs are confident WALF will be good stewards of their legacy and continue to make Wayne County a vibrant place to live, work, and raise a family.

"It's in good hands," Julie said. "They have their finger on the pulse of a lot of things that are going on, so they can see a bigger picture and are aware of more needs than we are as individuals."

Charitable gift planning allows people to provide for the future of their family and their community. The website nebcommfound.giftlegacy.com has an abundance of resources on tax-wise charitable gift planning, including gift planning calculators, stories of donor impact, and a free downloadable wills guide. Learn more about the intergenerational transfer of wealth and NCF's 5 to Thrive campaign at www.fivetothrivene.com .

For information on how you can give back to your hometown, contact Nebraska Community Foundation's Office of Planned Giving, 402.323.7330 or [email protected].