New Wards and Tithing settlement

Last Sunday we split 3 wards into 4, got 3 new bishops and 4 new clerks. What needs to be done to make sure tithing settlement goes as smoothly as possible. How do the tithing records get moved from the old wards to the new ward? any help would be appreciated.

mikebroderick wrote:How do the tithing records get moved from the old wards to the new ward?

I'm not sure as they do. The monies were paid to the old wards, not the new ones. They statements might get forwarded, but if there's any error, the members have to take it up with the ward the money was given to - not the new one.

What we used to do is have the old ward flag all the members who moved out as no longer being in the ward. They'd then print out the statements and hand them over to the new ward for distribution. But now MLS does some forwarding on it's own, but I'm not sure how much it will help in this situation.

I'm not sure as the new ward has any right to know what donations were made in the old wards - any more than any other member that just moved in during tithing settlement.

While the electronic and physical tithing records don't go anywhere, as part of the division, the ward clerk should print the Tithing settlement statements for all affected members and provide them to the new ward clerk(s). At least, that was the policy when I had to do it 5 years ago.

allenjpl wrote:as part of the division, the ward clerk should print the Tithing settlement statements for all affected members and provide them to the new ward clerk(s).

Tithing settlement or year-to-date donation? I'd agree with the latter, but the former strikes me as odd.

russellhltn wrote:Tithing settlement or year-to-date donation? I'd agree with the latter, but the former strikes me as odd.

The RKATS article Tithing Settlement and Boundary Changes discusses this issue, and says "If there has been a ward division or boundary change that affects tithing settlement, do the following," and then says that the clerk of the former ward does indeed deliver Tithing Settlement Statements. Of course, you'd have to determine what it means to "affect tithing settlement"; if the boundary change happened before November 15, it probably didn't affect it.

But still, I would also wonder what a Tithing Settlement statement provides that a YTD donation statement doesn't, since it is absolutely clear that the bishop of the new ward is responsible for declaring tithing status. If the boundary change occurred so late in the year that some of the members already attended tithing settlement in the former ward, then that makes sense. But for those members who have not yet attended tithing settlement, a YTD statement should be sufficient.

mikebroderick wrote:Last Sunday we split 3 wards into 4, got 3 new bishops and 4 new clerks. What needs to be done to make sure tithing settlement goes as smoothly as possible. How do the tithing records get moved from the old wards to the new ward? any help would be appreciated.

How fun. The bishops and clerks need to communicate.

First, get the membership records moved and where they belong.

Second, remember that the Tithing Declaration Report will be based on the membership records that are in the ward at the end of the year, and that the new bishop will be the one responsible for the report for all of the members living in his ward.

Third, the bishop does not need any paperwork to conduct tithing settlement, other than a method to record the tithing status of the members who are in his ward at the end of the year.

If a member has changed wards and has already attended tithing settlement, it would be helpful for the former bishop/clerk to provide that information to the new bishop/clerk. The new bishop will need to know the member-declared tithing status for the Tithing Declaration Report. He may decide that he wishes to visit with the member again, but more likely he will just use the information the former bishop provided. His option.

Ideally, the year to date donation forms have already been given to the members, but if not, as already mentioned, the clerks should pass them along to the new wards and the new clerks should deliver them to the members.

Any new contributions or donations will be recorded in the new wards. There will be many full-tithe payers (hopefully) who show little or no donations for the year in their new wards. It is the same as if a member moved into the ward late in the year from anywhere else. It just happens in this case that you will have a lot of them.

In January, each ward will provide an Official Tax Statement to each member. For those who moved, it will not be very helpful. There are two methods for a member to get a more complete Tax Statement.

Hopefully, the Church will provide a complete statement in January that the new ward will print out and give to the member. The Church provides these statements for any member who contributed to more than one unit during the year.

Otherwise, the member may request that the former ward prepare an Official Tax Statement in January for the contributions the member made there.