Your clients may be planning to leave assets to children and grandchildren. But they can gift more than just cash. With life insurance, clients can combine cash value growth potential with death benefit protection for a tax-efficient gift that keeps on giving. See how it works.

Landowners often have a deep appreciation for their ranch, farm, forest, wetland or other property – and have concerns about the long-term welfare of the land. A conversation easement can help protect the land while life insurance can replace lost market value for the estate.

Wealth transfer strategies help ensure your client’s estate will be distributed the way they choose. Yet some of their beneficiaries may be uninterested in the asset, or ill-suited to own it. The solution may be to create an estate equalization plan using life insurance.

Currently, an estate is not subject to the federal estate tax until it exceeds $13.61 million (double for married taxpayers). In 2026, the current exemption will sunset, effectively cutting the amount in half. This piece looks at four options to protect your client's legacy before that happens.

In the past, advisors recommended moving assets outside the taxable estate through an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) when faced with estate tax uncertainty even though this can result in a loss of control to those assets while alive. But, where ILITs fall short, Spousal Lifetime Access Trusts (SLATs) shine.

With a spousal lifetime access trust (SLAT), one spouse makes a gift to an irrevocable trust using the gift tax exemption. The SLAT names the other spouse as a current beneficiary, which allows the trustee to distribute funds to the beneficiary spouse during their life.

Taxes get complicated. Retirement plans. Medicare. Social security. Estate and gift taxes. Health savings rates. Tax rate schedules. Mileage rates. This tax reference guide contains all the information you need to keep at your fingertips while planning with your clients.

Taxes get complicated. Retirement plans. Medicare. Social security. Estate and gift taxes. Health savings rates. Tax rate schedules. This tax reference pocket guide is easy to keep with you, with the information you need to keep at your fingertips while planning with your clients.

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.

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.

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.

You may have clients holding on to a surprisingly large concentration of stock in a single company. At older ages, diversifying may be in their best interest. Life insurance can act as a noncorrelated asset, providing a natural hedge against the market risks of concentrated stock.