Life Insurance
Discover how life insurance fits into estate planning, from avoiding probate to providing tax liquidity. Learn about beneficiary designations and trust owner...
Does life insurance count toward the federal estate tax exemption?
Life insurance proceeds are included in your taxable estate if you own the policy at death, even though they pass directly to beneficiaries outside probate. However, with the current federal estate tax exemption at $15,000,000, most families won't owe federal estate taxes. To remove life insurance from your estate entirely, you can transfer ownership to an irrevocable life insurance trust, but this requires giving up control of the policy.
