Affluent Families

Life insurance and other tax-advantaged vehicles play vital roles in sustaining the legacies created by today’s affluent families.  Whether the goal is to ensure that future generations will be taken care of or to provide for a charity that is near-and-dear to the family, the process of designing and implementing a plan can be complicated, full of traps, and daunting, to say the least.

BEJS can recommend practical solutions that will provide clarity and certainty into the estate planning process.  These solutions often involve reducing taxes, providing liquidity, and ensuring the proper timing and the amount of distributions to chosen beneficiaries.

Below are some examples:

Multi-Generational Estate Planning

BEJS specializes in safeguarding the values of closely held family businesses by collaborating with the client’s financial and legal advisors. We develop tax-efficient strategies that involve placing various insurance products in appropriate entities to help reduce future estate transfer costs. Our outcomes typically include:

  1. Reduced Transfer Tax Costs: Our plans often minimize expenses related to asset transfers within the family.
  2. Third-Generation Wealth Transfer: We facilitate wealth transfer from the client’s generation to the future generations, bypassing transfer taxes.
  3. Tax-Free Liquidity: Our plans provide sources of tax-free liquidity to cover future estate tax liabilities.
  4. Ongoing Portfolio Management: We also offer continuous management and servicing of insurance portfolios to meet planning objectives.

Simplified Legacy Planning

Successful business owners who face uncertainty regarding federal and state estate tax policies and who are overwhelmed by the various solutions available to them. Come to BEJS for our straightforward approach which often involves second-to-die insurance policies held in a trust outside the estate.

The results of which often ensure, the business owners’ heirs of receiving their designed share, free from income and estate taxes. Ultimately, allowing the business owners to use their wealth for personal and charitable purposes during their lifetime.

*If premiums are paid on time and no withdrawals and/or loans are taken, for this type of product, the insurance carrier will guarantee that the death benefit will be in force for a specified number of years.  Product guarantees, including the death benefit, are subject to the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company.

Charitable Planning

BEJS can assist affluent families with their charitable planning needs by working closely with them and their legal advisors. In situations where market volatility and economic conditions raise concerns about meeting charitable commitments, BEJS can help establish charitable replacement trusts funded by life insurance. This approach allows for the fulfillment of charitable bequests, potentially saving millions of dollars in after-tax costs compared to the original bequests. Additionally, clients may benefit from income tax deductions for the capital used to fund these trusts.

Individual Policy Reviews

BEJS offers valuable benefits to affluent families through Individual Policy Reviews. In cases where individuals have amassed substantial life insurance coverage from various policies acquired over time, BEJS can conduct a comprehensive review. This process can lead to the restructuring of the insurance portfolio to better align coverage with specific needs and leverage advantages such as wholesale pricing and proprietary products available through resources like M Financial.

The outcomes of these reviews often include substantial enhancements, such as significantly increased death benefit coverage, substantial reductions in out-of-pocket premium obligations, and improved overall tax efficiency within the insurance portfolio.

Life Insurance as an Asset Class

BEJS offers valuable benefits to affluent families by considering Life Insurance as a separate Asset Class. When collaborating with individuals like the successful entrepreneurs who sell their business, BEJS can help address a range of financial concerns, including income taxes, estate taxes, inflation, and creditor protection.

One approach involves allocating a portion of liquidity to life insurance placed within an irrevocable life insurance trust with spousal access. This strategy offers several advantages, such as:

  1. Creating an income tax-free source of capital for the spouse.
  2. Establishing an increasing death benefit to combat the impact of inflation.
  3. Avoiding estate taxes on 100% of the insurance proceeds.
  4. Creating a source of capital that is protected from potential creditors.

By viewing life insurance as a separate asset class, BEJS helps clients optimize their financial portfolios to achieve these desired outcomes.

Long Term Care Protection as an Alternative to Self-Insuring

Long Term Care Protection as an Alternative to Self-Insuring

BEJS can offer wealthy families valuable benefits when considering Long Term Care Protection as an Alternative to Self-Insuring. In cases where clients have concerns about the cost of long-term care and are hesitant about traditional long-term care insurance, BEJS can provide an alternative “asset repositioning” strategy. This approach typically involves transferring a portion of low-interest liquid assets into a policy that offers the following advantages:

  1. 100% Tax-Free Return of Premium: Clients have the flexibility to cancel the policy and receive their premium back without incurring taxes.
  2. Immediate Tax-Free Death Benefit: The policy often provides an immediate death benefit that can be substantially higher than the initial lump sum premium paid.
  3. Substantial Long-Term Care Benefits: Should the client require long-term care services; the policy can offer significant benefits to cover those costs.

By adopting this strategy, clients can address their long-term care concerns while preserving their estate and providing financial protection for their family, all with the potential for tax benefits.

This material is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal or tax advice and is not intended to replace the advice of a qualified attorney, tax advisor or plan provider.

Experiences of clients with life insurance products will depend on their unique facts and circumstances and we cannot guarantee the same results for all clients.