The most common strategy that wealthy and healthy taxpayers use to fund against unavoidable anticipated estate tax liability is to purchase life insurance in an irrevocable trust; funding the trust with gifts so the trustee can pay the premiums. Transfers to the trust can be protected from gift taxation...

Little Harold ran into the kitchen where his Mother was preparing dinner and said, “Hey Mom!  You know that antique vase on the stand in the front hall that has been handed down from generation to generation?”  When she looked up he reported, “Well my generation just dropped it!” The transfer...

Few American publishers have had or will ever approach the influence of Henry Luce in his heyday.  Through the middle half of the 20th century, Luce founded and successfully grew a family of magazines whose content was a major factor in shaping the thought and activity of American society.  He named...

There's the old story about the hungry chicken and the hungry pig who agreed to both contribute to a mutual breakfast.  The chicken suggested they have ham and eggs, to which the pig replied, “That’s a contribution for you, but it’s total commitment for me!” When proposing life insurance we would...

Many argue that the best Super Bowl halftime show took place in Jacksonville, FL, some years ago.  In a forum known for mediocre performances that fail to meet the hype and fulfill the expectations, the lights and fireworks opened on a band named Wings, led by one of the last vestiges of an earlier...

How much does an insurance company think that your client is worth?  Many times it is much more than your client does, and you have their underwriting guidelines to prove it! Insurance companies don’t want to over-insure someone.  Too much coverage can often result in someone falling down a flight...

Back in the days before the development of things like the NiMH or lithium-ion battery, stand-up comedian Don Adams (who later became Maxwell, the original Get Smart secret agent) used to joke that electric cars were unpopular because of the high cost of the extension cord. Many insurance advisors...

The term collateral damage was originally used during warfare when a military target was struck.  Even when the attack was successful it often left behind peripheral harmful results – usually affecting nearby innocent civilians.  The phrase is now more broadly used to describe negative unintended...

People of Planning – Trusts were used long before Wills!  They are still so important today that every insurance advisor should be skilled in a few definitions. Trust – A creator (or maker or grantor) puts legal title of his/her property in the name of a person (trustee) to hold and manage...

In the 2000 comedy flick Family Man, the investment guru played by Nicolas Cage is asked if he likes kids.  His response:  “On a case-by-case basis!” But when minors are to be a party to a life insurance policy we can’t be so selective.  Every case is a potential problem and contracts must...