Life Insurance & Estate Planning

This article is contributed by LegacyShare.  We are the leading service helping you share your legacy with the ones you love and trust so you can confidently know your legacy will transition smoothly.  Please visit our website at legacyshares.com to review our services and to set up your legacy transition today.

Life insurance has come a long way from just being burial insurance and being used mainly to pay for funeral expenses.  Today, it is a very important part of an individual’s estate plan. It can be used to leave your survivors income, pay for education expenses, pay off your mortgage or other liabilities, and simplify the transfer of assets. Also, it can be used as a replacement of assets due to the expense and tax that may follow a transfer of wealth after a death. Lastly, it can be used as a tool to give money to charity, especially if you do not have assets or can’t afford to.  This can be done with little cost.  Gifts to charity are estate tax deductible so it is not subject to estate taxes.

Some things to keep in mind when purchasing life insurance as part of your estate plan:

• Use life insurance to make sure your family has access to cash to meet their short term and long-term goals.
• Plan ahead, make sure you buy enough life insurance to address the cost of settling your estate and make sure the assets left over are not less than what you intended for your survivors.
• Consult an attorney about the income and estate tax consequences before purchasing life insurance.
• Life insurance proceeds don’t go through probate, so the death benefit is received quickly.
• Strategies through life insurance can be put in place to help survivors pay estate taxes.

When someone dies and their paycheck stops coming in, life insurance can be used to help your family have enough money to maintain their lifestyles.  A properly designed estate plan in most circumstances can be aided by implementing a life insurance strategy. LegacyShare is a perfect place to store insurance summary statements or to notify your “keyholder” as to where documents can be found and who may be the beneficiary of your hard-earned assets and insurance policies.

Legacies are meant to be shared.

-LegacyShare