Watch your step – 3 life insurance slip-ups to avoid

Description

Abstract: Life insurance is a versatile financial planning tool. It provides a source of wealth to fund a variety of estate and business succession-planning strategies. And policies with an investment component offer tax-deferred growth, which you can use to supplement your other retirement savings. What’s more, under the right circumstances, a policy’s death benefits will be exempt from income and estate taxes. Careful planning is required to ensure that life insurance proceeds remain tax free. One misstep can trigger estate taxes, income taxes or both, drastically reducing the amount available for your loved ones. This article examines three slip-ups to avoid.