ILIT Useful for Anything Else Besides Keeping Insurance Proceeds Out of the Estate?
July 31, 2017ILIT Useful in Many Ways An Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust or ILIT is created to own and control a term or permanent life insurance policy or policies while the insured is alive. ILIT is useful to manage and distribute the proceeds that are paid out upon the insured’s death. The parties in an ILIT are… Read more »
How Does an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust Work?
July 27, 2017Learn the Ways to Make an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) Work The steps to successfully establishing an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust or ILIT include the following: Your advisors, including your attorney, help to design and create the ILIT. The trustee of the ILIT applies for an insurance policy on your life, or the lives… Read more »
I Thought My Insurance Agent Told Me That Insurance Proceeds are Tax-Free. Did I Miss Something?
July 25, 2017Are My Insurance Proceeds Tax Free? Life insurance is NOT always tax-free. One of the most common misconceptions about life insurance has to do with its tax status. In virtually all circumstances, life insurance proceeds are income tax free. The premiums were paid with after-tax dollars and the death benefit is not subject to income… Read more »
What is an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust?
July 21, 2017The Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust What You Need to Know An Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) is probably the most frequently used type of irrevocable trust. It’s an irrevocable trust that you can establish to own a life insurance policy on your life. If you personally own a life insurance policy, the policy proceeds will… Read more »
Are Irrevocable Trusts Somehow More “Powerful” Than a Revocable Trust?
July 19, 2017Is an Irrevocable trusts more powerful than a revocable trust? In general, the only way to obtain tax advantages using a trust is to give up ownership. Irrevocable Trusts require you to give up legal title (ownership) to any property and that can never be changed. Revocable trusts, on the other hand, do not require… Read more »
What is an Irrevocable Trust?
July 17, 2017So, You Want an Irrevocable Trust – What is That? An irrevocable trust is a trust that may not be altered, amended or revoked by the creator of the trust. The reason you may consider creating an irrevocable trust is because all gifts you make to the trust are treated like gifts made to a… Read more »
When a Disclaimer Might be Used?
June 26, 2017I Don’t Need the Money From My Father, and I’d Like to Pass it to My Children Instead, Without Any Adverse Tax Consequences. Is that when to a disclaimer might be used? Yes. A qualified disclaimer could be the perfect tool to accomplish this goal. If you disclaim your interest in the inheritance after your… Read more »
What is a Disclaimer?
June 22, 2017Learn About Legal Disclaimers A disclaimer is an irrevocable refusal to accept an interest in property. In other words, it is the legal way of saying “no thank you.” The effect of a disclaimer is that the disclaimed property will be treated as if it had never been transferred to the person making the disclaimer…. Read more »
How is My Personal Property Handled in a Trust?
June 20, 2017Learn How Personal Property is Handled in a Trust Personal property such as jewelry, antiques, artwork, family heirlooms, and household effects can be passed on to your beneficiaries through a specific bequest: “I leave my Ming Vase to my sister Betty.” But for most people, it would be overwhelming to try to inventory and choose… Read more »
What is a Community Property Agreement and How Does it Interact with My Trust?
June 16, 2017I Need to Know What a Community Property Agreement is A Community Property Agreement is a contract that a married couple in a community property state sign as a couple that specifies how they want their property to be classified. Classification may be as community property or separate property, or a mix of the two…. Read more »