Interested in Establishing a Life Insurance Trust?

Thousand Oaks, California Estate Planning Lawyer

Irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs) allow you to have more control over your insurance policies, as well as the money that is paid into them. They are also useful in reducing, or possibly even eliminating, estate tax. This means that after you pass away, your loved ones will receive more of your estate. When you transfer assets into a trust, you no longer own them; therefore, they cannot be included in your estate tax since they are not a part of the estate.

Even though the current tax exemption is $5.49 million, it still may be wise to create a life insurance trust. If you think that your life insurance policy will raise the size of your estate above the tax exemption, a life insurance policy may lower the overall estate tax due at your time of death. Pederson Law Offices can help clients determine what type of trust is necessary for their specific needs.

Life Insurance Trust Requirements

In order to establish a valid life insurance trust, the trust must be irrevocable, you cannot be the trustee, and the trust must exist for at least three years prior to your death. With the trust being irrevocable and managed by another person or entity, it ensures that you cannot control what happens to the assets in the trust. If you are the trustee, the IRS will include the life insurance policy death benefit in your taxable estate. Having the trust established at least three years before your death is the IRS's way of barring last minute transfers by settlors, in order to avoid estate taxes.

Contact Our Ventura County Law Firm

It is ideal to contact a lawyer before creating a life insurance trust. It is especially unwise to attempt to implement an ILIT without competent legal assistance. A lawyer from our team can answer all of your questions and properly draft an ILIT on your behalf. We serve Thousand Oaks residents, as well as those who live throughout Ventura County.

Please call our office as soon as possible to schedule an appointment with one of our lawyers, or set up a free 30-minute no-obligation consultation.

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  • Grant was very professional and knowledgeable with all of our questions, and over relatively short time, he had redone a Living Trust that we are very happy with.

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