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How to Use Insurance in Estate Planning

If you want to leave your estate to beloved family members or friends upon your death, a life insurance payout can be key to helping them pay for expenses that could decrease the impact of your estate.

Dispersing an estate can take time—sometimes months or longer, particularly for complicated estates. In the meantime, beneficiaries can be left with bills for everything from funeral costs to debt payments.

To leave those you love in the best financial position possible, it’s important to include a life insurance policy in your estate planning. Here are ways that life insurance policies can be utilized when planning your estate.

Paying funeral fees

Even the most basic of funerals can cost thousands of dollars. Low-end caskets generally start at about $2,000, on top of fees for embalming, funeral home staff services, and a grave marker. Meanwhile, cremation costs can start at $4,000. A life insurance policy can provide immediate cash to pay these costs so that your beneficiary doesn’t have to spend their savings or go into debt themselves to pay for these expenses.

Paying estate taxes

A life insurance policy can be an excellent planning tool for protecting the wealth you plan to pass on. If you anticipate your estate will be subject to federal estate taxes, which heirs must pay within nine months, your life insurance policy can pay them instead. If your estate is primarily real estate, this strategy will prevent heirs from having to sell property or liquidate assets to pay estate taxes.

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Avoiding probate

It’s not uncommon for decedents to leave unpaid debt and monthly payments, including credit card bills and utility bills. A recent study by credit company Experian found that 73 percent of Americans who die leave debt behind.

While creditors likely won’t try to get payments out of surviving family members, they often will from the estate. The collections process can send an estate into probate, which can stretch out for years as creditors try to collect from it. Life insurance policies, however, aren’t subject to probate laws. That means beneficiaries can receive the entirety of the policy quickly.

Building financial wealth

A life insurance policy, especially one with a large payout, can change your beneficiaries’ lives and your or their family’s legacy. For example, life insurance payouts can be used to pay off a beneficiary’s mortgage or student debts. Without this costly debt, they can invest or save their money, building wealth for future generations.

Replacing family income

If you are the primary earner in your family, life insurance can replace vital income if your spouse does not work or is underemployed. A life insurance payout will provide survivors will financial stability while they reconfigure their lives in your absence. Financial experts recommend that a life insurance policy cover between seven and 10 years of your income.

Life insurance also can become very important for families with young children or children with special needs. In these cases, surviving parents or guardians may not be in a position to cover the children’s financial needs on their own. Life insurance benefits, however, can pay for everything from medical bills to education.

Protecting family real estate

Family-owned property can become an immediate financial issue for heirs, who must make decisions about who will own the property. In some situations, heirs may decide to sell the property and divide the proceeds, but preparing the property for the market and waiting for a sale can take time. In the meantime, the mortgage must be paid.

In these cases, a payout from a life insurance policy can help. Beneficiaries can use it to make mortgage payments or, if they decided to keep the property in the family, pay off the mortgage.

Giving to charity

Life insurance can be an excellent way to make a significant gift to a charity of your choosing. Any charity can be designated as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy.

As you integrate life insurance into your estate planning strategy, there are many factors to consider when deciding how much and what type to invest in. You’ll need to look at whether you are the primary income earner in your household and how many people depend on you financially. You’ll also need to factor in your debts and other financial obligations (including your mortgage), whether your estate will be subjected to federal estate taxes, and whether you’d like to leave any of your estate to charity. Life insurance will provide liquidity and readily available funds for your beneficiaries.

Estate planning professionals can help you determine how life insurance can benefit your estate, regardless of your age or income. It can be a key tool in providing peace of mind that your family will be financially protected and your estate preserved as you pass it on to your heirs.

The post How to Use Insurance in Estate Planning appeared first on GoldStone Financial Group.


Investment Advisory Services offered through Goldstone Financial Group, LLC (GFG), an SEC Registered Investment Advisor, 18W140 Butterfield Rd., 16th Floor, Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181. Tel. 630-620-9300. Website: www.goldstonefinancialgroup.com

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