Life insurance trust

If the trust owns insurance on the life of a married person, the non-insured spouse and children are often beneficiaries of the insurance trust. If the trust owns second to die or survivorship insurance which only pays when both spouses are deceased, only the children would be beneficiaries of the insurance trust. In the United States, proper ownership of life insurance is important if the insurance proceeds are to escape federal estate taxation.

If the insured dies within this three year period, the transfer will be ignored and the proceeds will be included in the insured s taxable estate. Insurance trusts may be funded or nonfunded. Funded insurance trusts are not commonly used for two reasons: Customarily, the trustee of the insurance trust is authorized, but not required, to either purchase assets from the insured s estate or loan insurance proceeds to his or her estate.

IRC ยง2035. If the insured transfers an existing policy to the insurance trust, the transfer will be recognized by the Internal Revenue Service only if the insured survives the date of the transfer by not less than three years.

A funded life insurance trust owns both one or more insurance contracts and income producing assets. Upon the death of the insured, the Trustee invests the insurance proceeds and administers the trust for one or more beneficiaries.

To avoid estate taxation, some insureds name a child, spouse or other beneficiary as the owner of the policy. There are, however, two drawbacks to having insurance proceeds paid outright to a child, spouse or other beneficiary. The solution to both drawbacks is usually an irrevocable life insurance trust. If possible, the trustee of the insurance trust should be the original applicant and owner of the insurance. A life insurance trust is an irrevocable, non-amendable trust which is both the owner and beneficiary of one or more life insurance policies.

The income from the assets is used to pay some or all of the premiums. Since the trustee of the insurance trust possesses all incidents of ownership in the insurance policy, the insurance trust provides the insured s estate with liquidity while shielding the insurance proceeds or assets purchased with the proceeds from estate tax when the insured dies, provided the trust has the appropriate Settlor and trustee. .

 
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