Life insurance death benefits may be distributed in various ways, such as lump sum, installments or an annuity. Some permanent policies also feature cash value accumulation and nonforfeiture provisions.
Policyholders often name a beneficiary who will receive the death benefit when someone passes. This enables heirs to pay outstanding debts, funeral costs and taxes before using it themselves.
Paying off debts
Debt can be financially draining and emotionally straining, leaving a legacy for loved ones after your passing that leaves them struggling financially. Debt doesn’t simply disappear upon death either – your loved ones could use estate assets or sell real estate to pay the debt off themselves; therefore, life insurance benefits could help relieve some of this financial pressure and allow your beneficiaries to grieve without worry over finances.
When using cash-value life insurance policies like whole or universal life, their death benefit can be used to pay off debts more easily. But your premium payments must have been up-to-date for an extended period in order to borrow against its cash value and use life insurance debt repayment as a more convenient solution than bankruptcy or credit card debt management programs.
Alternatively, if the life insurance proceeds aren’t enough to pay off all your debts, a debt-to-income (DTI) loan might be your answer. These short-term loans offer flexibility while giving access to cash value of your policy that you can use either to repay debts or invest for growth – just remember that any interest accrued will be taxed! If unsure which method suits your situation best, get in touch with a life settlement specialist immediately and learn about all available solutions.
Paying for living expenses
As one can imagine, losing a spouse presents many financial hardships for survivors. A death benefit can help alleviate some of these difficulties by covering debts or living expenses until loved ones adjust fully to the new reality; providing peace of mind while enabling them to focus more on meeting emotional needs than on money issues.
Life insurance policies provide liquidity to help fund buy-sell agreements between co-owners of a business. Such an agreement stipulates that any remaining owner or co-owners will purchase the deceased owner’s share at a predetermined price following their death, with proceeds from policies being used to make this purchase and ensure operations continue without interruption and any debts are met by paying this purchase price.
Life insurance proceeds are often dispersed as a lump sum payout, yet its amount can be overwhelming in times of mourning and bereavement. If you choose this route, be sure to set some money aside in a savings account with growth potential for longevity purposes.
Life insurance policies can also help your children pay for college tuition by supplementing or replacing 529 college savings plans. Furthermore, life insurance can cover other education-related costs such as trade schools or vocational training programs.
Be mindful that death benefits distributed to beneficiaries are tax free. Any investment gains, however, are considered income and subject to taxes as income. Although you can borrow against the cash value of a whole life policy and thus reduce its death benefit and cash value simultaneously with accruing interest payments due back over time.
Paying for funeral expenses
Life insurance proceeds can be an invaluable source of funds when used to cover funeral costs, which can place undue strain on family members during an already emotionally trying time. One effective strategy to ease financial strain caused by funeral arrangements is planning ahead and saving in advance.
Purchase of final expense life insurance – often known as burial insurance – can be an affordable solution to leaving loved ones with an overwhelming bill upon your passing. Burial insurance pays out cash payouts that can cover funeral and other end-of-life expenses.
Many people put aside money in savings accounts for funeral costs. Unfortunately, however, such funds often are insufficient to cover all associated costs and may not be easily accessible if someone passes unexpectedly.
An alternative approach is establishing a payable-on-death (POD) account, similar to traditional savings accounts but more easily accessible and not subject to probate proceedings upon death. Furthermore, funds in these types of accounts don’t count towards federal estate taxes when accounting for death taxes.
Individuals preparing a funeral should use a prearrangement conference to select funeral services and merchandise from a General Price List, which is then recorded by a funeral director and made available for purchase within ten days by either sending payment directly to the funeral home or depositing funds into a Prepaid Funeral Trust Account; should these funds be placed into an POD account, a tax information statement must be sent annually by January 31.
Inheriting the policy
If you have children, designating them as beneficiaries of your life insurance policy could provide them with an ample source of funds to pay for tuition, living expenses or funeral costs. If no children exist in your family unit, consider nominating a trustee who can manage and make decisions for the funds in trust on behalf of everyone in it; you could even donate them directly to an organization of your choosing or even leave the proceeds as donations in your will.
Life insurance proceeds are generally not taxable, although they may be subject to estate taxes if your beneficiaries have income or assets that surpass the death benefit amount. Any additional proceeds must pay tax either immediately upon your passing, or gradually over time; either way, they’ll likely need to file tax returns as part of this process.
Keep your list of beneficiaries current. An error could result in someone other than intended receiving life insurance funds and lead to legal actions such as attachment and garnishment.
If possible, when selecting beneficiaries you should use their legal names; this will ensure that only one person receives death benefits. Nicknames or abbreviations should also be avoided to ensure an efficient process.
Consider your beneficiaries’ financial situations and ensure they can manage the funds responsibly. Consider designating a trust as beneficiary for your life insurance policy or choosing contingent beneficiaries who will only get it if one of your primary ones predeceases you.
Philanthropic purposes
While life insurance proceeds are often used for financial goals, they can also be leveraged for charitable giving. Many people turn to life insurance policies for tax-efficient legacy giving. The process can be complex and should only be undertaken with assistance from an independent insurance agent who specializes in this field; working together will ensure that policy structures and beneficiary designations reflect clients’ philanthropic aims.
One way to give to charity is through the transfer of an existing life insurance policy, which allows donors to claim a charitable tax deduction for its cash surrender value; paid-up policies typically receive an interpolated terminal reserve (ITR) value deduction which may differ slightly. Another approach would be donating new permanent life insurance policies as significant tax-deductible contributions, making these contributions valuable additions to any estate plan.
Many people no longer need their life insurance policies and waste over $100 billion of the proceeds each year by seniors. You can help your clients by suggesting ways they can donate these policies to charity.
An existing life insurance policy can be made an irrevocable gift of to charity by designating it as the owner and beneficiary, eliminating the need for cash transactions when making the transfer. Once ownership passes onto charity they can pay premiums as usual until death takes place – making this strategy particularly suitable for older donors hoping to reduce estate tax liability.
