Preservig Your Fiacial Legacy with Life Isurace Premium Fiacig. Prepared by: Keeth M. Fujita, Natioal Director, The Private Bak Specialty Fiace Group Life Isurace Premium Fiace. James Mosrie, Seior Wealth Plaer. I this white paper 1 The importace of life isurace i the plaig process 2 Why fiace your life isurace premiums? 3 Cosideratios of life isurace premium bak fiacig
Preservig Your Fiacial Legacy with Life Isurace Premium Fiacig For may high et worth idividuals, life isurace ca offer umerous beefits, icludig the potetial for a tax-free death beefit that ca protect their loved oes from bearig a large fiacial burde. This geerally favorable tax treatmet also meas life isurace ca be used for estate plaig or busiess successio plaig. However, life isurace policies with sizable premiums may create a liquidity issue of how to pay the high premiums required for these policies. Borrowig strategically, as part of your comprehesive wealth pla, ca alig with your fiacial goals, icludig optimizig your cash flows, maximizig tax efficiecies, ad realizig importat estate fiacial plaig goals. As such, life isurace premium fiacig is a example of a powerful way to use credit i the wealth plaig process. Bak fiacig to fud your life isurace premiums may provide a tax-efficiet optio that allows you to preserve your curret cash flow, avoid liquidatig your ivestmets, ad leverage your wealth to provide future beefit to your heirs or charitable causes. Implemetig a suitable premium fiace credit structure i a low iterest rate eviromet also may preset sigificat opportuities to lock i iterest rates, up to 10 years i some cases. The importace of life isurace i the plaig process. Life isurace is cetral to your wealth pla, as it may provide peace of mid to you ad your family i kowig that you have plaed for the uexpected ad have protected the future of those whom you most love. Whe properly desiged, life isurace ca be effective i addressig four critical wealth maagemet objectives: wealth protectio, liquidity, wealth accumulatio, ad wealth trasfer. Life isurace ca be used as a plaig tool to achieve your goals ad objectives i a tax efficiet maer. I evaluatig the eed for life isurace, it is importat to cosider your fiacial goals ad objectives i the cotext of your overall wealth pla. A large life isurace policy that meets your fiacial objectives will ofte ecessitate large premiums ad require a paymet strategy to help you stay o track with your fiacial goals. A policy ower ca utilize various strategies, icludig combiatios thereof, for fudig life isurace premiums, as refereced i Table 1. Table 1. Gift Led Borrow Pay Gift Taxes As You Go Grator Loa Bak Fiacig Write the check Clea ad simple : Gift tax is owed based upo ay amout applied towards life isurace premium No iterest rate risk Predictable cash flow Heirs receive 100% of the life isurace death beefit proceeds if properly structured Source: Wells Fargo Private Bak Make aual loas to a trust to cover the premium plus the aual iterest o the loa Gift taxes may apply to additioal iterest paymets Loa iterest is based upo Applicable Federal Rate (AFR) Iterest rate risk: Ca t lock i low loa rate because this is a aual trasactio Giftig occurs every year because iterest is beig paid every year Sigle ( bullet ) loa sceario ca mitigate iterest rate risk Upredictable cash flow Works well with Retur of Premium (ROP) feature of life isurace Borrow fuds aually from ledig istitutio Iterest may be paid as accrued with proper structure Iterest rates based upo LIBOR or other rate plus a spread Borrower must qualify for the loa ad ofte re-qualify from time to time Cash value products ca help with issues regardig collateral requiremets Fixed rate hedgig solutios available Preservig Your Fiacial Legacy with Life Isurace Premium Fiacig 1
How Life Isurace Premium Fiacig Works Whe arraged properly, life isurace premium fiacig ca be a valuable fudig alterative for your estate pla. Grator establishes a irrevocable life isurace trust (ILIT) after makig iquiries to determie if fiacig ca be obtaied o a favorable basis. Trustee of ILIT applies for isurace o behalf of the grator ad/or the spouse. Grator trasfers supplemetal collateral to leder. Grator ca retai cotrol over ivestmet philosophy ad maager selectio. 1 Grator 2 Net proceeds are distributed per the terms of the ILIT. Irrevocable Life Isurace Trust 5 Leder advaces fuds to ILIT as eeded to pay aual premiums ad possibly to cover iterest o the loa. The trustee pledges the policy as primary collateral for the loa. 4 Isurace carrier repays pricipal ad iterest, if applicable, to leder from policy proceeds at the death of the isured. 3 Leder Beeficiaries Source: Wells Fargo Private Bak Why fiace your life isurace premiums? Life isurace premium fiacig is a viable alterative to cosider after thoroughly explorig the three optios outlied i Table 1. Implemetig a strategy to secure bak fiacig may be quite useful by allowig you to borrow fuds to pay your life isurace premiums with the uderlyig policy value servig as collateral for the loa. A life isurace premium fiacig strategy ca help preserve your curret stadard of livig sice you do t eed to access your cash flow to make large premium paymets. It also may allow you to avoid liquidatig ivestmets ad related capital gais tax cosequeces i order to fud those paymets. Additioally, life isurace premium fiacig may provide a tax-free beefit that is ot icluded i your estate ad further help protect your et worth by facilitatig the trasitio of your fiacial legacy to future geeratios. It may also provide a secodary positive arbitrage betwee the earigs creditig rate o the cash value growth ad the carryig cost of the loa. Whe positioed properly, it may be possible to experiece accelerated equity buildup with the isurace policy over time, resultig i greater sustaiability ad ultimately greater future ecoomic beefits to your beeficiaries. Before makig a fudig decisio about life isurace premiums, you should discuss the optios available to you with your wealth advisory team ad tax ad legal advisors. A fial decisio about the fudig optio for life isurace will require evaluatio of your specific fiacial circumstaces ad eeds. 2 Preservig Your Fiacial Legacy with Life Isurace Premium Fiacig
Cosideratios of life isurace premium bak fiacig. As with ay borrowig strategy, there are risks associated with life isurace premium fiacig. We ecourage you to discuss these issues with your advisors before you make ay decisios: There is a iterest rate risk assumed by the policy ower if the iterest rates o the bak loa are higher tha iitially projected after the iitial fixed rate period. As metioed earlier, iterest o the loas may be based o Applicable Federal Rates (iterest rates published mothly by the IRS for federal icome tax purposes) or LIBOR (Lodo Iterbak Offered Rate). There may be a eed for additioal collateral if the policy s cash values are lower tha iitially projected due to poor policy performace. Additioal gifts may be eeded to provide capital to the trust to fud uexpected higher iterest paymets ad/or premium paymets. Aual moitorig of the policy ad the premium fiacig is strogly ecouraged to make sure that the trasactio is still meetig the policy ower s eeds ad that adjustmets are made as eeded. Similarly, it s importat to evaluate the life isurace policy regularly to make sure that the policy still fits the strategy of fiacig the premiums. It s crucial to have a discussio with your wealth advisory team ad tax advisors about exit strategies ad how you will repay the loa: You ca fud the trust to pay off the loa. The trustee may use the cash surreder value to pre-pay the loa i whole or i part. It may also be possible to combie your borrowig strategy with your charitable givig iitiatives through a charitable trust. You ca refiace the loa. Is life isurace premium fiacig right for you? As you see i the example, Joh fits a typical profile of someoe who may beefit from fiacig his life isurace premiums. Joh has substatial et worth ad persoal liquidity, but also sees a eed for life isurace as part of his estate pla. Give his large life isurace policy, he has sigificat life isurace premiums that are required o a structured paymet timelie. Joh is iterested i obtaiig a tax-efficiet rate of retur while also uderstadig the associated risks i fiacig his life isurace premiums. Example of a idividual profile ad the use of life isurace premium fiacig. Joh is the retired chief fiacial officer of a large U.S.-based publicly traded pharmaceutical compay. Joh has a strog desire to protect his fiacial legacy ad is cocered about how to preserve his family s liquidity agaist future estate tax exposure. Joh has exhausted his lifetime gift tax exemptio, but is seekig advice o a tax-efficiet wealth trasfer solutio. Workig closely with his family s estate plaig attorey, his wealth plaig, bakig, ad isurace advisors developed a log-term liquidity solutio by creatig a Irrevocable Life Isurace Trust (ILIT) to hold three life isurace policies. Sice Joh has exhausted all of his gift tax exemptio, if the ILIT were to self fud the aual premiums o the policies from cotributios made by Joh, each of those cotributios would be subject to gift taxes. To mitigate future gift tax exposure, Joh s wealth team recommeded a custom o-recourse (to mitigate potetial icidece of owership) premium fiace credit facility to fud the aual premiums due o the life isurace policies. The loa will accrue iterest i order to mitigate ay gift tax exposure o future cotributios to the ILIT ad the et isurace death beefit will ot be icluded i Joh s gross taxable estate. By thoughtfully evaluatig Joh s fiacial circumstaces ad uderstadig his goals, Joh s wealth advisors were able to suggest a solutio that solved a family plaig issue, potetially savig Joh ad his family millios of dollars i future estate taxes. Source: Wells Fargo Private Bak Coclusio. A life isurace premium fiacig strategy may provide a uique solutio for high et worth idividuals who are seekig a tax-efficiet way to preserve their fiacial legacy. I order to successfully implemet this wealth trasfer solutio as part of your overall wealth pla, it is importat that you egage your team of wealth ad tax advisors. Give the complexities with this solutio, you should have a thorough uderstadig of life isurace premium fiacig. Your bakig advisor ad the Private Bak Specialty Fiace ca provide ogoig moitorig of aspects such as aual life isurace policy reviews ad collateral moitorig. By workig closely with a competet ad experieced advisory team, you will be well positioed to make a soud decisio to determie if fiacig your life isurace premiums is the appropriate optio for you as part of your pla to preserve ad trasitio your wealth to the ext geeratio. Preservig Your Fiacial Legacy with Life Isurace Premium Fiacig 3
Disclosures. Wells Fargo Private Bak provides products ad services through Wells Fargo Bak, N.A. ad its various affiliates ad subsidiaries. The iformatio ad opiios i this report were prepared by Wells Fargo Private Bak. Iformatio ad opiios have bee obtaied or derived from sources we cosider reliable, but we caot guaratee their accuracy or completeess. Opiios represet Wells Fargo Private Bak s opiio as of the date of this report ad are for geeral iformatio purposes oly. Wells Fargo Private Bak does ot udertake to advise you of ay chage i its opiios or the iformatio cotaied i this report. Wells Fargo & Compay affiliates may issue reports or have opiios that are icosistet with, ad reach differet coclusios from, this report. This iformatio is for educatioal purposes oly ad should ot be used or costrued as fiacial advice, a offer to sell, a solicitatio, of a offer to buy, or a recommedatio for ay security. Wells Fargo does ot guaratee that the iformatio supplied is complete or timely, udertake to advise you of ay chage i its opiio, or make ay guaratees of future results obtaied from its use. Wells Fargo & Compay affiliates may issue reports or have opiios that are icosistet with, ad reach differet coclusios from, this report. Wells Fargo & Compay ad its affiliates do ot provide legal advice. Please cosult your legal advisors to determie how this iformatio may apply to your ow situatio. Whether ay plaed tax result is realized by you depeds o the specific facts of your ow situatio at the time your taxes are prepared. All loas are subject to credit approval. Isurace products are offered through Wells Fargo & Compay affiliated o-bak isurace agecies. Wells Fargo will ot serve as Trustee of a Irrevocable Life Isurace Trust if the loa is uderwritte by Wells Fargo Bak, N.A. Nomiatios of Wells Fargo to serve as trustee of a Irrevocable Life Isurace Trust are subject to pre-acceptace review by Wells Fargo. This report is ot a offer to buy or sell, or a solicitatio of a offer to buy or sell the strategies metioed. The strategies discussed or recommeded i this report may be usuitable for some cliets depedig o their specific objectives ad fiacial positio. 2013 Wells Fargo & Compay. All rights reserved. Member FDIC. NMLSR ID 399801 TPB01420 (201308027 08/13)