Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust: 5 Ways It Can Help with Your Estate Plan Montrose CO

Irrevocable life insurance trusts can be a very powerful estate planning tool if structured properly, and used in the right situation. Practicing attorney, John C. Martin, gives us 5 different ways a irrevocable life insurance trust can super charge an estate plan, in his article below from JD Supra .

What is an irrevocable life insurance trust (“ILIT”) and why would it be useful to me? This article explores the upsides and downsides of the “ILIT.” The author concludes that an ILIT is both a cost-effective and powerful tool for providing liquidity, paying estate tax, avoiding Generation Skipping Transfer Tax (GSTT), protecting beneficiaries from creditors, and for business owners, keeping a business in the family.

An ILIT is an irrevocable trust that holds life insurance. Its primary purpose is to keep life insurance proceeds out of the estate of the settlor. But it can also have a number of other purposes. Below are five reasons why one might consider an ILIT:

First Reason: No Loss of Control over Income-Producing Assets

First, an ILIT is an attractive alternative to other estate planning strategies that involve transferring substantial amounts of assets out of one’s estate. Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs), Charitable Lead Trusts (CLTs), and other trust arrangements may involve the transfer of  valuable income producing or business assets that most if not all would be hesitant to transfer out of their control (not to mention that the ILIT usually costs less). Yet, transferring a life insurance policy comes more easily: While premiums must be paid, the proceeds are only payable to beneficiaries upon death. Thus, there is not a great fear that transferring the policy would deprive the owner of its benefit.

Second Reason: Liquidity Creation

Second, and most importantly, an ILIT that is structured properly provides liquidity. In an estate laden with illiquid real estate assets, an ILIT can be essential in order to pay a large estate tax bill without selling off assets. Consider the example of Robert and Sally Colmery. Over their lifetimes, Robert and Sally accumulated a small real estate empire throughout California, including a Palo Alto home ($3,000,000), a vacation home in Tahoe ($1,000,000) and three rentals in San Mateo (together worth $2,500,000). Robert’s liquid assets were mostly spent by the end of his life, amounting to $150,000. At the end of his and Sally’s life, $3,150,000 of the estate will be subject to the federal estate tax at a rate of 45%, and Robert’s and Sally’s children, Peter and Ruth, will not have sufficient cash to cover the bill unless they sell off some of the properties.

Now let’s assume that Robert establishes a qualifying ILIT with a second-to-die insurance policy naming his children, Peter and Ruth, as remainder beneficiaries, and pays the premiums by using his $13,000 annual gift tax exclusion. Robert structures the pa...

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