Estate planning at Pacific Guardian Life

On the Change of Ownership Form (IL_COO 03/23, https://www.pacificguardian.com/change-of-ownership-form-public/), together with a Certificate of Trust. Two things make this different from a routine beneficiary change. First, the Change of Ownership Form must be NOTARIZED with the notary's official seal, and Pacific Guardian Life states plainly that electronic notarizations will not be accepted - book an in-person notary. Second, the form warns that the existing beneficiary designation stays in effect until the NEW owner changes it, so the trustee should file a Beneficiary Change Request Form right after the transfer or the trust will own a policy still payable to an individual. The form also flags that a change of ownership may be a taxable event and may not be used for qualified accounts. Transfers of an existing policy to an ILIT are subject to the three-year lookback in IRC Section 2035, and the transfer is irrevocable. Pacific Guardian Life does not create trusts; work with an estate attorney.

Its own Certificate of Trust form (COT 05/21, https://www.pacificguardian.com/certificate-of-trust-form-public/), not the full trust agreement. The company asks for it to establish trust ownership of a policy or annuity, when the level of trustee authority changes, when a trustee is added or removed, and to activate a successor trustee. For a REVOCABLE trust, each grantor signs and each signature must be notarized. For an IRREVOCABLE trust, a grantor signature is not required, but a signed IRS Form W-9 for the trust must be attached - so the trust needs its own tax ID first. Electronic notarizations are not accepted. If a business entity is completing the certificate, a current corporate resolution is required. The Diamond Head MYGA has its own path: the Trust & Non-Natural Owner Form (https://www.pacificguardian.com/trust-and-non-natural-owner-form-public/) plus the MYGA-specific beneficiary form.