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How to Protect Life Insurance Proceeds from Taxation

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How to Protect Life Insurance Proceeds from Taxation

February 10, 2014
Geoff Hoatson

If you have been responsible enough to purchase a life insurance policy as added protection for your loved ones, then you will want to carry that responsible action a little further by protecting that important payout from taxation.

If you are married and have named your spouse as the beneficiary of your life insurance policy, those proceeds will pass free of both income taxes and estate taxes. However, if your children are named as beneficiaries, the proceeds are free of income tax, but they do become part of your taxable estate. Estate taxes have ranged from 35% up to 55% in recent years, so that’s a big bite.

An Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) is a great asset protection tool that protects your life insurance from estate taxes, and when drafted properly, can also be used to protect proceeds from creditors, bankruptcy and divorce.

The best way to use an ILIT is to have the Trustee of the life insurance trust purchase the life insurance directly and pay all premiums. If you already own the life insurance, your ILIT Trustee can either buy the policy for you, or you can transfer it in, by following certain rules we can help you with.

So why is this a good idea? The proceeds from the life insurance are not part of your estate if the ILIT owns the life insurance. Therefore, they are not subject to estate tax upon your death.

If you have not yet purchased life insurance, you should create your ILIT first. Have your ILIT purchase the life insurance. This will circumvent the transfer of life insurance from you to
another party, thus avoiding any difficulties if you do unexpectedly pass away since the proceeds of your life insurance policy would revert to your estate if you died within three years of the transfer.

The ILIT is a phenomenal tool for protecting your life insurance from taxation, leaving behind more for your loved ones.

To put the proper legal and financial protections in place for your family, contact our office to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk. We normally charge $500 for a Family Planning Session, but because this planning is so important, I've made space for the next two people who mention this article to have a complete planning session at no charge. Call today and mention this article.

Copyright © 2024. Family First Firm - Medicaid & Elder Law Attorneys. All rights reserved.
The information in this blog post (“post”) is provided for general informational purposes only and may not reflect the current law in your jurisdiction. No information in this post should be construed as legal advice from the individual author or the law firm, nor is it intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter. No reader of this post should act or refrain from acting based on any information included in or accessible through this post without seeking the appropriate legal or other professional advice on the particular facts and circumstances at issue from a lawyer licensed in the recipient’s state, country, or other appropriate licensing jurisdiction.
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