Just because an estate is too small to get taxed doesn’t mean it is too small to cause problems with heirs ill-equipped to handle wealth, sibling rivalries, divorce, lawsuits and more. Using a trust, clients can give heirs the benefit of wealth without direct ownership of wealth.

There's no "one size fits all" answer for deciding who should own a life insurance policy that is being used for estate planning purposes. But, these considerations can help you compare beneficiary-owned and trust-owned policies to get the discussion started.

Clients who are philanthropic often own IRAs or other qualified retirement assets which carry potential tax problems. Naming a charity as the beneficiary of an IRA or including an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) may provide a more tax-efficient wealth preservation plan.

Although a deferred annuity is great for accumulating retirement funds, it's not an efficient vehicle to transfer wealth. Deferred income may be subject to income or estate taxes at death. Using annuity maximization, assets from the annuity can be repositioned to maximize value.

Estate planning is an important part of tax diversification, and life insurance can be an effective resource for achieving it. This example illustrates the benefits of the strategy with projected values and client options for coverage.

High-net-worth clients who want significant amounts of trust-owned life insurance create potential estate tax exposure. In this case study, the individuals loaned the trust money, with the trustee investing loan proceeds and making annual premium payments on a large policy.

Many high-net-worth individuals have maxed out their qualified plan contributions, leaving a shortfall compared retirement income needs. Using after-tax dollars to fund a tax-efficient life insurance policy can mimic the funding and structure of a Roth and grow cash value tax-deferred.

When someone plans to leave a charitable legacy, the typical approach is to include a bequest in the will. Instead, try using life insurance. Have the charitable organization purchase life insurance on the life of the donor or name the charity as beneficiary of an existing policy.

A charitable lead trust (CLT) is a “split-interest” trust with both an income and remainder beneficiary. The trust makes distributions to a qualified charity for either a specific term or the life of an individual. Upon death, remaining assets are distributed to the donor’s beneficiaries.

Clients who wish to leave assets to their families should consider IRA Legacy Maximization. To use this strategy, clients must be sure they won't need the IRA for retirement. The owner establishes an individual life insurance trust (ILIT) with distributions to fund the life insurance.

Good planning starts with asking the right questions. This workbook will help you stay organized through the retirement planning data gathering process. There is room to record employer information, proposal census data, retirement plan design, goals and related notes.

Good planning starts with asking the right questions. This workbook will help you stay organized through the estate planning data gathering process. There is room to record client information such as current estate plans, objectives, existing insurance policies and other notes.