Build your estate plan online! MyAdvocate is the online solution for creating and maintaining your Will and all other legallyvalid estate planning documents. Click the link below to get started!

https://www.myadvocate.com/join/paul


I routinely get approached by wealthier folks who want me to help them establish their estate planning legal program. Part of the conversation that we have with the wealthier folks is the federal estate tax conversation.

Often these wealthier individuals tell me that a couple of their financial advisors have already discussed the possibility of setting up an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) in order to cover the estate tax liability.

Twenty years ago, it seemed like everyone had an ILIT. This was back when the estate tax exemption was a mere $600,000 and the top estate tax rate was 55%. Today, with an estate tax exclusion amount of $11.58 million, far fewer estates are subject to the estate tax.

Nonetheless, the concept behind the ILIT hasn't changed. It's just being proposed to fewer people. The concept is that parents should make cash gifts into an irrevocable Crummey trust for their children. The trustee of the trust acquires and owns a life insurance policy (often a "second to die" policy) naming the parents as the insureds. Since the parents have no incidents of ownership in the life insurance, the death proceeds are excluded from the estate of the parents, and can be used to provide liquidity to the parents' estates to cover the estate tax liability.

For prospective law firm clients who want to schedule a free 15 minute initial phone call with Paul Rabalais, go to: https://go.oncehub.com/Paul8

This post is for informational purposes only and does not provide legal advice. Please do not act or refrain from acting based on anything you read on this site. Using this site or communicating with Rabalais Estate Planning, LLC, through this site does not form an attorney/client relationship.

Paul Rabalais
Estate Planning Attorney
www.RabalaisEstatePlanning.com
Phone: (225) 3292450