Two areas matter most for families thinking beyond their own children: transfers to grandchildren and life insurance. When wealth passes to a grandchild or a later generation, it can trigger a separate 40 percent tax, on top of the regular estate tax, called the generation-skipping transfer tax. It exists specifically to prevent families from skipping a generation to manage taxes. If your family's approach includes transfers to grandchildren or a multi-generation trust, using the available exemption can make a big difference. Life insurance deserves its own look, too. If you own a policy, the full face value counts as part of your taxable estate. A $10 million policy, for example, adds $10 million to the estate, which can push the total past the exemption threshold. One way families can manage this dynamic is with an irrevocable life insurance trust.
These are the kinds of details that are easy to miss and expensive to overlook. Using a trust involves a complex set of tax rules and regulations. So before moving forward with a trust, a legal professional can provide key insight. With life insurance, it’s critical to determine whether you are insurable before implementing a strategy. It’s also important to understand that any guarantees to the policy are based on the issuing company’s ability to make payments. If you'd like to talk through whether any of this touches your family, we'd be happy to set aside time whenever works for you. | 
