Insurance

Congratulations on your new job! Getting a job begins a major chapter in your life. As you navigate this new territory, we are here to help ensure a prosperous transition. To protect the future you are creating, you need proper financial and estate planning.

As you move through this new phase of your life, there are several things you ought to get or review to set yourself up for success.

In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, the first week of May, we are taking this opportunity to thank you for your time and dedication to teaching the future generation. You provide the foundational knowledge necessary to ensure the success of tomorrow’s leaders. We are here to make sure you have the foundational estate planning documents to ensure your own successful future. Below are some basic questions and answers about estate planning and how estate planning, or the absence of an estate plan, may impact your life.

Though many people are familiar with life insurance policies and have a general understanding of how they work, the process of selling a life insurance policy to a third party may be less commonly understood. When an insured party sells a life insurance policy to a third party investor, the transaction is called a life settlement.

How Life Settlements Work

Though the idea is counterintuitive to many people, life insurance policies are considered property and therefore can be bought and sold. A life settlement begins when an insured party chooses to sell this property for cash. The difference between the sales proceeds (the total amount you received) and the cost basis (the total amount you paid into the insurance policy) is a taxable gain.
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How your accounts are owned makes a big difference in estate planning. The main objective is usually to ensure that no accounts and property are in only your name when you die. Otherwise, they will be subject to probate, a costly, public, and time-consuming court process that many people prefer to avoid. Therefore, it is important that you review your accounts and beneficiary designations to be sure that the death of your loved one has not compromised your previously established plan.

Accounts with beneficiary designations, such as life insurance policies, retirement accounts, and annuities, will be distributed at your death, without probate court involvement, to the beneficiaries you have named.
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The practice of medicine is a profession fraught with liability.  It’s not just medical malpractice claims either – employment related issues (wrongful termination, sexual harassment, and discrimination), careless business partners and employees, and contractual obligations (personal guarantees, leases, business agreements, etc.), coupled with personal liabilities (divorce, vehicular accidents, rental real estate), add to the increased risk assumed by a physician in private practice.  Unfortunately, in our litigious society, these liability risks are not unique to physicians.  A broad range of people, including business owners, board members, real estate investors, and retirees, need to protect their hard earned assets from a variety of liabilities too.

In all parts of the country, services such as Airbnb have grown in popularity over the past few years. Indeed, these alternatives to hotel stays are popular among homeowners and vacationers alike. If you have a home or other rental property that is generating income, you should understand the following asset protection and estate planning considerations.

Protecting Owners from Liability

Just like any rental relationship, there is risk for the property owner. If anyone is hurt on the premises during their stay – no matter how short – a property owner could be held legally and financially liable for injuries suffered.
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Preparing your company for your incapacity or death is vital to the survival of the enterprise. Otherwise, your business will be disrupted, harming your customers, employees, vendors, and ultimately, your family. For this reason, proactive financial planning -- including your business and your estate plan -- is key. Below are some tips on how to protect your company and keep the business on track and operating day-to-day in your absence.

Preparing for the Unexpected

If you are a small business owner, your focus is likely on keeping the company running on a daily basis.
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Life insurance can be an integral part of an estate plan. Policies can be set up to be paid directly to the beneficiary, without the need to pass through the estate, and without the need for any taxes to be paid. Having a life insurance policy ensures that some assets will be liquid, so that debts and expenses can be paid quickly and easily without the need to dispose of assets. Beneficiaries can be changed at any time as can the benefit amount. The policy can be used to accumulate savings if the plan is surrendered before death. Life insurance policies, especially those purchased later in life, can pay out significantly more than what was invested into them. There are many benefits to purchasing a life insurance policy as part of an estate plan.

An attorney can set up a life insurance trust to help avoid estate taxes. A life insurance trust must be irrevocable, cannot be managed by the policy holder, and must be in place at least three years before the death of the policy holder. Any money received from the life insurance trust is not a part of the taxable estate. The need for this is rare as the exemption for estate taxes is currently almost five and a half million dollars, but it is a useful tool for some nonetheless.

There is a limit to how much life insurance an individual is permitted to purchase. A person may carry a multiple of his or her gross income which reduces with age. A twenty five year old can buy a policy worth thirty times his or her annual income. A sixty five year old may only purchase ten times his or her annual income worth of life insurance. This is an important factor to consider when deciding whether life insurance should be a part of your estate plan.

Life insurance as a part of estate planning is a complicated issue. It makes sense to consult with an estate attorney and a tax professional before meeting with an insurance broker. Both can help an individual understand the benefits of insurance over other means of transferring assets.

Lawsuits are everywhere. What happens when you are found to be at fault in an accident, and a significant judgment is entered against you? A child dives head-first into the shallow end of your swimming pool, becomes paralyzed, and needs in-home medical care for the rest of his or her lifetime. Or, you accidentally rear-end a high-income executive, whose injuries prevent him or her from returning to work. Either of these situations could easily result in judgments or settlements that far exceed the limits of your primary home or auto insurance policies. Without additional coverage, your life savings could be wiped out with the stroke of a judge’s pen.

Typical liability insurance coverage is included as part of your home or auto policy to cover an injured person’s medical expenses, rehabilitation or lost wages due to negligence on your part. The liability coverage contained in your policy also covers expenses associated with your legal defense, should you find yourself on the receiving end of a lawsuit. Once all of these expenses are added together, the total may exceed the liability limits on the home or auto insurance policy. Once insurance coverage is exhausted, your personal assets could be seized to satisfy the judgment.

However, there is an affordable option that provides you with added liability protection. Umbrella insurance is a type of liability insurance policy that provides coverage above and beyond the standard limits of your primary home, auto or other liability insurance policies. The term “umbrella” refers to the manner in which these insurance policies shield your assets more broadly than the primary insurance coverage, by covering liability claims from all policies “underneath” it, such as your primary home or auto coverage.

With an umbrella insurance policy, you can add an additional $1 million to $5 million – or more – in liability coverage to defend you in negligence actions. The umbrella coverage kicks in when the liability limits on your primary policies have been exhausted. This additional liability insurance is often relatively inexpensive compared to the cost of the primary insurance policies and potential for loss if the unthinkable happens.

Generally, umbrella insurance is pure liability coverage over and above your regular policies. It is typically sold in million-dollar increments. These types of policies are also broader than traditional auto or home policies, affording coverage for claims typically excluded by primary insurance policies, such as claims for defamation, false arrest or invasion of privacy.