Professional

Life insurance settlements allow businesses, retiring exectuives and business owners the opportunity to generate liquidity from a dormant business asset.

Life settlements are an ideal strategy for businesses and business owners to recoup valuable capital out of an unneeded insurance policy to give them increased financial flexibility.

When would a life settlement be appropriate for a business or professional application?

• Liquidation or reorganization of the business assets

Life settlements are an increasingly popular method of charitable giving. Having an insured donate the proceeds of a life settlement rather name a charitable organization as the beneficiary of a policy can have an immediate, positive impact on a charity. In addition, charities holding life insurance policies can benefit from life settlements by gaining immediate access to the value of their asset and getting much needed financial flexibility. Ultimately the better managed the charity's finances, the more empowered they will be to perform their charitable work effectively.

Life settlements can produce substantial benefits to insureds and estates even when the life insurance policies are held in trusts, including Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILIT).

Accountants and CPAs with senior, corporate or charitable organizations as clients are in a position to offer increased value through an awareness of life settlements. CPAs are empowered when they have an understanding of the life settlement solution and when its application is appropriate.

CPAs are are an integral part of the financial advising circle that are replied upon for their important financial advice. As such, the ability to introduce life settlements to clients will provide a much needed financial planning tool.

Life settlements impact estate planning strategies more than any other field due to the crucial role that life insurance plays in the estate planning process.

Critical decisions in the estate planning process.

Life insurance agents and producers are poised to assist their clients and profit the most from life settlement transactions, as they are the vanguard of the life insurance industry.

It is the fiduciary duty of financial planners to fully understand a client's financial situation and make recommendations that are most advantageous to their client's needs. Life insurance policies are assets and maximizing their value means life settlements have a legitimate place in financial planning discussions with clients.

How do life settlements fit into financial planning?

Due to the unique involvement attorneys have with their clients' financial decisions it is imperative they fully understand the life settlement opportunity. Relevant case law can be found as far back as 1911 in the Supreme Court case of Grigsby v. Russell.