Life Insurance

• Term insurance is a low premium life insurance policy. Owners most often apply the death benefit to final expenses, or mortgage payments, or mortgage payoff, and/or a legacy for children. This depends on the face value of the policy. 
• Whole life insurance builds up cash value. It act like a bond in that the policy owner has a real asset. 
• Guaranteed Universal Life (GUL) is like a money market fund
• Index universal life (IUL) is like an equity investment with brakes. The cash value earns interest and compounds based on a market correlation, say the S&P market average. The index here however, stops loss of the current value of the cash in the policy. And the owner retains the full death benefit.
• Life insurance is paid over time. Premiums are paid monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually. Except for term insurance, the faster the funds enter the account the greater the compounding—and the higher the accumulated cash value. So, an annual payment made at the beginning of the cycle or year would earn the maximum amount. The payment periods typically run 10 or 15 years. This cash is also the collateral cash value for the (larger) death benefit. 
• The owner is permitted to borrow from the cash value of an IUL or a whole life insurance policy without any penalty or tax. 
• IULs and many whole life policies often include additional and low-cost optional riders which create customized coverage at a very low additional monthly price. 

​Advanced Strategies for Business Owners


Elsewhere I mentioned the team of teams. Because our effort is concentrated on working with our client's current
advisors—some of these services below are directed to business owners. (The is a partial list and it is confidential
at the vendors' request. Please contact me if you are interested in knowing more about any of these services for your business.) 

• TrustedAdvisory Advanced Strategy advises on qualifying individually, and on strategic design of life insurance as a business asset. The index universal life (IUL) life policy, for example, is unleashed when it is designed and customized to specific purposes for a specific business. The IUL can be tailored to achieve multiple objectives. For example, the cash value of the premiums compound. The compounding funds may be borrowed by the policy owner without penalty or cost. All the while this IUL has become a new and tax advantaged asset for the business. And not only for exit strategy plans. The policy can be designed to fund owner and partner retirement and key employee-stay incentives, it can enhance the terms of a buyout or sale, and/or finance the sale or transfer of the business. Properly-designed distributions are most often tax free. The success is in the collaboration. Drawing on the collective input of trust attorneys, CPA counsel, our valuation experts, our benefits expert, and others the plan simply makes financial sense.
  
• Our accounting/CPA group, understands that by rethinking a client's business and life you can open substantial tax savings. This is not magic and it's no Al Capone trick. The reduction (and your subsequent cash reallocation) simply apply the tax code. And the knowledge that comes from experience.
• Our Exit Consulting Group. These are exit strategy specialists who lead the busy business owner to see his business from various other points of view. These POVs include: The prospective buyer. The key employees. The spouse or partner. Investors. Children of the owner. Grandchildren of the owner.  If the owner has been charitably intended—from the community point of view. Each of these is an opportunity for the owner who is selling, or transferring, or merging the business.
• Tax Solutions with engineering make finance very analytical] Cost segregation studies are not uncommon to reduce taxes. But what is uncommon, is having a study done properly and thoroughly. Add in a regular review for the IRS and you're beginning to see the difference between trust and winging it. A business that has made investment in property and equipment must know how its value and how to use it. Such conversations often move into filing for R&D Tax credits. Research and development (R&D) credits are substantial. They are useful to your CPA and your CFO because they become real cash assets. Start-ups, particularly, benefit from these credits. The cash boost can move a company from development to launch and profitability—faster.
• Other professional provider members available by request.

Annuities

• Where life insurance builds up value during the life of the policy, an annuity is established for the owner to draw down value over time. 
• Literally hundreds of annuity products are available. We operate simply: Which carrier/annuity will perform best for the client and the need?                                                                                                       
• Annuities are paid in lump sums. The whole account earns interest based on the terms of the policy. Those terms may track and index, bonds or stocks. A professional will help you match your objective to the correct strategy and annuity. For example, A SPIA is a single payment immediate annuity from which the owner will begin right away receiving payments while they also accrue interest—through to exhaustion of the money. Annuities are often used to limit taxes to the interest accrued. Most annuity providers encourage the capital to build up for a minimum of 2 or more years. This does a few things: It ensures grows the initial capital before drawdowns begin. In some annuities, the growth establishes the basis of the future income paid out for life.
• There are three core objectives for annuities: What do you want to happen? What are you looking for—? 1) Income? 2) Safe Growth? or 3) Maximize Your Legacy or Death Benefit? This decision focuses the search to the best annuities for you—right now. Annuities are held through the surrender date. At that time they can be rolled over, still tax deferred, into a new annuity or annuities.