An Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) can be a powerful component of a thoughtful estate plan for individuals and families in Sun Village and across Los Angeles County. At the Law Offices of Robert P. Bergman, we help clients understand how an ILIT can remove life insurance proceeds from an estate, potentially reduce estate tax exposure, and provide a structured way to distribute benefits to heirs and beneficiaries. This guide explains what an ILIT does, who may benefit, the typical documents involved, and how a trust can be funded and managed to meet long term family and legacy goals while complying with California law.
Deciding whether an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust is right for your situation involves reviewing your assets, family dynamics, and long term objectives. Our approach begins with a detailed review of existing insurance policies, retirement accounts, and estate documents such as wills and living trusts. We discuss beneficiary designations, funding strategies, and trustee responsibilities to ensure the trust aligns with your wishes. The goal is to provide clarity and options so you can make informed decisions about protecting your loved ones, preserving wealth, and ensuring the intended distribution of life insurance proceeds after your passing.
An Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust matters because it offers a way to control how life insurance proceeds are used and distributed while potentially excluding those proceeds from an estate for tax purposes. With an ILIT, grantors can specify timing, conditions, and uses for distributions, ensuring funds support minors, pay for college, provide for family members with special needs, or protect assets from creditors. The structure can also provide privacy and reduce probate delays. Properly drafted ILITs address trustee powers, beneficiary designations, and funding mechanisms to match your family’s needs and to preserve value for future generations.
The Law Offices of Robert P. Bergman serve clients throughout California from a foundation of practical estate planning knowledge and long experience preparing trusts, wills, and related documents. Our office assists clients with a full range of estate planning matters including revocable living trusts, advance health care directives, powers of attorney, and various trust types such as special needs trusts and irrevocable life insurance trusts. We focus on clear communication, careful drafting, and tailored solutions that reflect each client’s wishes and family circumstances. Clients in Sun Village and beyond rely on our firm for dependable guidance through complex planning choices.
An Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust is a distinct legal arrangement created to own and manage life insurance policies for the benefit of designated beneficiaries. Because the grantor transfers ownership of the policy to the trust, the death benefit can be kept out of the grantor’s taxable estate if the transfer and funding rules are followed. ILITs require careful coordination with beneficiary designations and policy ownership changes. A properly funded ILIT names a trustee to manage policy premiums and distribute proceeds according to the trust terms, providing a reliable mechanism to carry out long term intentions for heirs and charitable interests.
Setting up an ILIT involves several practical steps: creating trust documents that define trustee authority and distribution terms, transferring or purchasing a life insurance policy under the trust’s ownership, and establishing a plan for premium payments. It is important to consider the three year lookback rule that may include transferred policies back into the estate for estate tax purposes if the grantor dies within three years of the transfer. Proper administration and ongoing record keeping ensure the trust operates as intended and that beneficiaries receive timely distributions under the terms you set.
An Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust is a legal entity created to own a life insurance policy and to control how the death proceeds are distributed. Once the trust is funded and ownership is transferred, the grantor typically gives up the ability to change policy ownership, which helps remove the death benefit from the grantor’s estate for tax purposes. The trust document names a trustee who handles premium payments, maintains the policy, files necessary tax forms, and distributes proceeds in accordance with the trust’s instructions. The ILIT’s terms can include restrictions, staggered distributions, or conditions designed to reflect the grantor’s intentions and protect beneficiaries over time.
Key elements of an ILIT include the trust agreement, the appointed trustee, the life insurance policy owned by the trust, and a method for funding premium payments. The trust agreement sets out distribution terms, trustee powers, and conditions for beneficiaries. After formation, ownership of an existing policy is transferred or a new policy is purchased by the trust. Regular premium payments are typically made through contributions to the trust or by gifting arrangements to cover premiums while avoiding unintended tax consequences. Proper administration ensures that documents remain current and that the trustee acts in accordance with the grantor’s desires.
Understanding common terms helps demystify how an ILIT functions. This section explains frequently used words such as grantor, trustee, beneficiary, decedent, and gift tax rules. Familiarity with these definitions makes it easier to follow funding strategies, trustee responsibilities, and tax considerations. Knowing how terms interact — for example, how ownership transfer affects estate inclusion and how gifting to a trust can cover premiums — helps clients make informed choices. Clear definitions also help families communicate about expectations and ensure administrative steps are carried out correctly for long term benefit preservation.
The grantor is the person who creates and funds the Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust. By placing a policy into an ILIT, the grantor transfers ownership and certain rights over the insurance contract to the trust. This transfer is an important decision because it generally means the grantor no longer has direct control over the policy once the trust is irrevocable. The grantor’s intentions are documented in the trust agreement, which sets the rules for how the trustee must manage the policy and distribute the proceeds to beneficiaries after the grantor’s death.
The trustee is the individual or entity responsible for managing the ILIT in accordance with the trust terms. Responsibilities include maintaining the insurance policy, handling premium funding arrangements, keeping records, communicating with beneficiaries, and making distributions as directed by the trust. A trustee must act prudently and in the best interest of the beneficiaries, administering the trust consistently with the grantor’s instructions. The choice of trustee is important because they will implement the grantor’s plan and ensure the trust operates smoothly over time.
A beneficiary is an individual or entity designated to receive the life insurance proceeds held in the ILIT after the insured’s death. Beneficiaries can include family members, trusts for minors, charitable organizations, or other entities. The trust can specify how and when distributions are made, such as immediate lump sums, staged distributions at certain ages, or distributions for specific needs like education or healthcare. Clear beneficiary provisions help avoid disputes and ensure that proceeds are used in a manner consistent with the grantor’s wishes.
Funding for an ILIT often involves making gifts to the trust that the trustee uses to pay insurance premiums. Common approaches include annual gifts under the federal gift tax exclusion, establishing a cash reserve in the trust, or having the trust directly own and pay premiums for a new policy. Proper documentation is necessary to substantiate gifts and to show that premium payments were made as intended. Careful planning ensures funding methods comply with tax rules and that the trust maintains the policy in force to achieve its intended purpose.
When considering life insurance as part of an estate plan, families can compare holding a policy personally, naming individual beneficiaries, or placing the policy in an ILIT. Owning a policy outright may be simpler, but it can leave proceeds in the taxable estate and subject them to probate. Naming a trust as beneficiary provides more control over distributions and can protect proceeds from creditors or poor decision making by heirs. Each option has trade offs involving control, tax treatment, and administrative complexity. Reviewing current assets, projected estate tax exposure, and family needs helps identify the right approach for your circumstances.
A more limited life insurance approach can be appropriate when an estate’s total value is modest and beneficiaries are able to manage lump sum distributions responsibly. In these situations, owning a policy personally and listing direct beneficiaries can provide needed liquidity for final expenses and financial support without the administrative overhead of a trust. If the primary goal is straightforward income replacement or debt repayment, and there are no concerns about estate taxes or beneficiary protection, a simple ownership and beneficiary structure often meets the family’s needs while keeping costs and complexity low.
A limited approach may also work when beneficiaries are in a secure financial position and there is minimal risk of creditors or relationship disputes affecting distributions. If heirs are adults who are financially competent and there are no unique circumstances such as a beneficiary with special needs, placing the policy outside of a trust can reduce administration. The relative simplicity of direct beneficiary designations and straightforward ownership can be appealing when the family prefers immediate access to funds and there is confidence that proceeds will be used as intended.
A comprehensive trust-based approach is often advisable when the goal is to remove life insurance proceeds from the taxable estate and to shield them from creditors or claims against the estate. By transferring ownership of the policy to an ILIT and following funding rules, a grantor can potentially minimize estate tax exposure and ensure that proceeds are distributed under controlled terms. For families with complex asset mixes, potential creditor risks, or a desire to control timing and purposes of distributions, a thorough trust arrangement provides legal structure to protect value for intended beneficiaries.
Comprehensive planning is beneficial when family circumstances call for tailored distribution rules, such as providing for minors, beneficiaries with disabilities, or preserving assets for future generations. An ILIT can include terms that stagger distributions, limit access to funds, and provide instructions for education, healthcare, or other needs. When objectives include legacy gifting, charitable support, or coordination with other trusts and retirement accounts, a carefully drafted trust offers flexibility to meet those goals while maintaining clarity and enforceability in accordance with California law.
A comprehensive trust-based strategy can offer multiple advantages such as greater control over how proceeds are used, potential removal of insurance proceeds from the estate for tax purposes, and added protections against creditor claims and probate. By defining trustee powers and distribution rules within the trust, a grantor can ensure consistent application of their intentions. A trust structure also supports ongoing administration, record keeping, and communication with beneficiaries, which helps reduce uncertainty and conflict after the grantor’s passing while preserving value for intended purposes like education, support, or charitable giving.
Beyond tax and creditor considerations, an ILIT helps families plan for contingencies and changing circumstances. Trust terms can address incapacity, provide guidance for successor trustees, and set out mechanisms for adjusting distributions if unforeseen events occur. This level of planning contributes to smoother estate administration and helps trustees act with confidence. When coordinated with wills, revocable living trusts, powers of attorney, and health care directives, an ILIT becomes part of an integrated estate plan designed to protect the grantor’s intentions and support beneficiaries through predictable processes.
One primary benefit of a comprehensive ILIT is the potential to keep life insurance proceeds out of the grantor’s taxable estate, which can reduce estate tax exposure for high net worth individuals. By transferring ownership and following the applicable rules for transfers and gifting, an ILIT can help preserve more wealth for beneficiaries. This preservation can be especially important for families seeking to maintain business continuity, provide for multiple generations, or ensure that specific assets are available to pay taxes, debts, and final expenses without eroding other estate holdings.
An ILIT allows a grantor to control timing, amounts, and conditions for distributions after death, which can be helpful for families where immediate lump sum payments may not be in beneficiaries’ best interests. Trust terms can provide for education expenses, staggered payouts at certain ages, or distributions for health and support needs. These protections help reduce the risk that proceeds will be spent imprudently or lost to creditors, and they support orderly transfer of resources in a way that reflects the grantor’s values and long term family objectives.
Before creating an ILIT, review current life insurance ownership and beneficiary designations to ensure the trust will function as intended. Changing ownership from an individual to a trust may require insurer consent and proper documentation. It is important to confirm that beneficiary designations on policies and retirement accounts align with your overall estate plan, and to learn how those designations interact with the trust terms. Clear coordination prevents unintended outcomes and ensures proceeds are received and distributed according to your wishes without unnecessary administrative complications.
Select a trustee who is willing and able to manage the trust’s responsibilities over the long term and designate successor trustees to avoid administrative gaps. Trustees manage premium payments, maintain records, file tax forms, and communicate with beneficiaries. Consider whether an individual trustee, a corporate trustee, or a combination approach best suits your circumstances, keeping in mind communication skills, record keeping practices, and the trustee’s ability to follow fiduciary duties. Clear instructions in the trust document help trustees fulfill their role in line with your intentions.
You may consider an ILIT if your goals include removing life insurance proceeds from your taxable estate, protecting funds from creditors, or establishing clear distribution rules for beneficiaries. It may be appropriate for individuals with significant life insurance policies, complex family situations, or those who want to ensure proceeds support specific needs like education or long term care. The trust structure provides a mechanism to preserve wealth, reduce potential tax burdens, and provide certainty for heirs while aligning distributions with your priorities and circumstances under California law.
An ILIT is also worth considering when beneficiaries require protection from financial mismanagement or when you want to reduce probate exposure and provide privacy for your estate plan. For clients with blended families, business interests, or charitable intentions, placing a policy in trust offers flexibility to balance multiple objectives. While not necessary for everyone, the ILIT can address scenarios where direct beneficiary designations may not provide sufficient protection or control to ensure that life insurance proceeds are used in a manner consistent with your long term wishes.
Typical circumstances leading families to establish an ILIT include high net worth where estate tax planning is a concern, beneficiaries who are minors or who have special needs, and a desire to control distribution timing. Business owners may use ILITs to provide liquidity for buy sell agreements or to protect company interests. Likewise, individuals seeking to leave funds for education or charitable giving often prefer the structure and protections a trust provides. Each situation benefits from tailored drafting to match the family’s specific objectives and legal requirements in California.
In high net worth estates, an ILIT can help manage estate tax exposure by removing life insurance proceeds from the estate if transfers follow applicable rules. This planning tool can preserve wealth for beneficiaries, provide liquidity to pay estate taxes or debts, and support long term financial goals. Working through funding methods, trustee selection, and coordination with other trusts is important to achieve intended results. Careful planning also addresses timing considerations, such as the potential lookback period after ownership transfer, so families know how to structure transactions effectively.
Families with beneficiaries who have special needs or limited financial capacity often use ILITs to ensure ongoing support without jeopardizing benefits or exposing funds to mismanagement. The trust can limit distributions to specific purposes such as medical care, education, or ongoing care while designating a trustee to manage resources responsibly. With careful drafting, an ILIT can help preserve eligibility for public benefits and create a stable source of financial support that adapts to changing circumstances, giving families confidence that intended protections are in place.
Business owners frequently use an ILIT to provide liquidity for business succession plans or to ensure funds are available to meet estate obligations without forcing asset sales. An ILIT can hold a policy that supplies cash needed to buy out a departing owner, pay estate taxes, or support ongoing operations. The trust structure provides controlled distribution and helps prevent family disputes over business interests. Coordinating the ILIT with buy sell agreements and other corporate documents promotes a smoother transition and preserves business value for successors.
We provide personalized ILIT planning and trust administration services to residents of Sun Village and nearby communities. Our process includes reviewing existing insurance policies, drafting tailored trust documents, coordinating transfers or new policy purchases, and advising on premium funding options. We prioritize clear communication, practical solutions, and careful documentation to ensure the ILIT serves your goals. Whether you are establishing a new trust or updating an existing plan, we assist with the legal steps necessary to maintain compliance and to help ensure proceeds are managed and distributed according to your wishes.
The Law Offices of Robert P. Bergman provide comprehensive estate planning services that include drafting and administering trusts, wills, and related documents. Our practice focuses on practical solutions tailored to clients’ financial realities and family dynamics. We work closely with clients to create ILITs that reflect their intentions and to coordinate trust terms with existing estate planning documents. Clients benefit from clear explanations of options, careful drafting to minimize unintended tax and administrative consequences, and ongoing support to update plans as circumstances change.
Our approach emphasizes thorough review and attentive communication. We guide clients through transfer and funding strategies, trustee selection, and beneficiary design to help ensure the trust functions as planned. We also provide assistance with ancillary documents commonly used alongside ILITs, such as pour over wills, advance health care directives, and powers of attorney. This integrated perspective helps clients address multiple estate planning needs in a coordinated fashion and helps prepare for transitions with minimal uncertainty.
Clients in Sun Village and across Los Angeles County rely on our firm for thoughtful legal counsel and responsive service. We understand the interplay between life insurance planning, taxes, and family dynamics and aim to create durable solutions that stand up to evolving circumstances. From initial consultations through trust administration, our goal is to provide clear options and sound guidance so clients feel confident their planning will support their loved ones and preserve assets for intended purposes over time.
Our process for ILIT creation begins with a thorough intake to understand your goals, existing policies, and family circumstances. We review current documents, discuss funding options, and recommend trust provisions that align with your objectives. After drafting the trust and coordinating any necessary policy transfers or purchases, we guide you through execution and help establish premium funding mechanisms. Following formation, we provide support for trustee duties, record keeping, and plan updates so the trust can be administered effectively and in accordance with your wishes over time.
The initial review involves collecting relevant documents, discussing family and financial goals, and evaluating existing life insurance policies and beneficiary designations. We identify whether transferring an existing policy or acquiring a new policy under the trust is most appropriate and explain the timing implications of ownership changes. This stage clarifies objectives such as asset protection, tax planning, and distribution preferences. The information gathered forms the basis for drafting trust provisions that reflect your priorities while addressing practical funding and administrative matters.
We examine wills, trusts, insurance policies, retirement accounts, and any existing estate planning documents to understand the full picture. Reviewing beneficiary designations and ownership records helps identify steps needed to align those instruments with an ILIT. This inventory also reveals potential gaps and coordination needs among documents. By understanding asset types, titled ownership, and projected liquidity needs, we can recommend funding strategies and trust terms that work with your broader estate plan and help prevent unintended tax or probate consequences.
We discuss objectives like minimizing estate inclusion, protecting beneficiaries, and ensuring liquidity for estate obligations. Funding options are explored, including annual gift strategies, trust reserves for premium payments, and potential use of other assets to support policy premiums. The goal is to choose an approach that balances tax considerations, administrative simplicity, and your comfort level. With this information, we outline next steps for drafting the trust and coordinating with insurers or financial advisors to implement the plan.
During drafting and execution, we prepare the trust agreement tailored to your instructions, specifying trustee powers, distribution terms, and funding provisions. We work with you to name trustees and beneficiaries, draft gift language for funding, and coordinate any necessary changes with insurance companies. Execution includes signing the trust documents and completing assignments or applications to transfer policy ownership. Careful attention to detail at this stage helps ensure the ILIT is legally effective and that transfers and premium funding are properly documented to achieve the intended estate planning results.
Trust drafting includes provisions that reflect distribution timing, trustee powers, and specific instructions for use of proceeds. Custom provisions may address educational support, health care needs, staggered age distributions, or charitable gifts. We ensure the language is clear to reduce ambiguity and to provide practical guidance to trustees. Drafting also anticipates situations such as beneficiary predeceasing the grantor and includes successor beneficiary designations to maintain continuity in the trust’s administration and the grantor’s long term intentions.
During execution, we complete the necessary assignments and applications to transfer policy ownership to the trust or to purchase a policy in the trust’s name. We document gifting arrangements used to fund premiums and ensure all paperwork is filed correctly with insurers. Proper documentation includes executed trust instruments, assignments, letters to insurance carriers, and gift records when applicable. Thorough record keeping at this stage is essential to demonstrate intent and to support the trust’s administration over time.
After formation, the trustee administers the trust by making premium payments, maintaining records, communicating with beneficiaries, and following distribution instructions. We provide guidance to trustees on their duties, assist with tax filings as needed, and help update the trust or related documents if circumstances change. Ongoing support can also include coordinating with financial advisors, reviewing policy performance, and ensuring the ILIT continues to meet objectives as family needs and financial situations evolve over time.
We advise trustees on maintaining accurate records of premium payments, gifts, policy correspondence, and distributions. Good record keeping supports transparency with beneficiaries and helps demonstrate that the trust has been administered in accordance with its terms. Trustees may also need guidance about filing tax forms and responding to beneficiary inquiries. Clear instructions and documentation reduce administrative friction and ensure the trust remains an effective vehicle for carrying out the grantor’s wishes.
Regular reviews help confirm the trust still aligns with your objectives and that funding strategies remain viable. Life changes such as births, deaths, marriages, or shifts in financial status may warrant updates to trust documents or related estate planning instruments. We periodically revisit the plan to recommend adjustments and to coordinate the ILIT with other estate planning components. Proactive reviews support long term stability and ensure the trust continues to meet the grantor’s goals while keeping pace with legal and personal developments.
An Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust is primarily used to own life insurance policies and to dictate how the proceeds will be distributed after the insured’s death. The trust structure provides control over the timing and conditions of distributions and can help reduce the likelihood that insurance proceeds will pass through probate. The grantor sets the trust terms to reflect their intentions, and the trustee follows those instructions in managing the policy and distributing benefits to named beneficiaries. An ILIT may also provide potential tax and creditor protections when properly funded and administered. The trust removes policy ownership from the grantor’s estate in many situations, which can help preserve the full benefit amount for heirs. It is important to ensure the transfer and funding follow applicable rules so the plan achieves the intended outcomes under California law.
Transferring ownership of a life insurance policy to an ILIT can remove the policy’s death benefit from the grantor’s taxable estate, potentially reducing estate tax exposure for larger estates. The effectiveness of this strategy depends on timing and compliance with transfer rules, including the federal three year lookback period for certain transfers. When a policy is owned by the trust and not included in the estate, proceeds generally pass to beneficiaries under the trust terms rather than through probate. Estate tax outcomes depend on individual circumstances and applicable law. Proper documentation, timely gifting for premium funding, and coordination with other estate planning tools help ensure that the transfer accomplishes the tax planning goals intended by the grantor while maintaining legal and administrative accuracy.
After creating an ILIT and transferring ownership of a policy to the trust, the grantor typically relinquishes the ability to change ownership and direct the policy without the trustee’s involvement. Beneficiary designations within the trust are generally controlled by the trust terms. If changes are needed later, they may require amendment procedures outlined in the trust document and cooperation of the trustee. This irrevocable nature provides stability but limits unilateral changes by the grantor. It is possible to include flexible provisions or to name a grantor retained limited power under certain circumstances to allow for some adjustments, but those techniques must be used cautiously to avoid undermining the intended estate planning benefits. Discussing desired flexibility during drafting helps craft mechanisms that align with long term goals.
If the insured dies within three years of transferring a life insurance policy to an ILIT, federal tax rules may treat the policy proceeds as part of the grantor’s estate. This so called three year lookback period can result in the death benefit being included in the gross estate for estate tax purposes, which may negate some intended benefits of the ILIT. For this reason, timing considerations are an important part of planning when transferring existing policies to a trust. To address this risk, some clients purchase a new policy in the trust’s name or consider other funding strategies that avoid the three year inclusion risk. Reviewing timing, policy ownership history, and personal circumstances helps determine the most effective approach while managing potential tax consequences.
Premium payments for policies owned by an ILIT are typically funded by gifts from the grantor to the trust, which the trustee then uses to pay premiums. Many clients rely on annual gift tax exclusion amounts to provide funds to the trust for premium payments, accompanied by clear documentation such as gift letters and trust records. Another approach is to seed the trust with sufficient funds to cover premiums for a period of time, reducing the need for frequent gifting. It is important that gifts and payments be properly documented and coordinated with the insurer to ensure premiums are paid on time and the policy remains in force. Trustees should keep clear records of all transactions and communications related to premium funding to support transparent administration and to demonstrate that the trust is fulfilling its obligations.
Choosing a trustee involves balancing competence, availability, and trustworthiness. Individuals often select a family member, trusted friend, or a professional fiduciary who is comfortable managing financial matters and communicating with beneficiaries. The trustee will handle premium payments, maintain records, and carry out distribution instructions, so they should be organized and willing to fulfill administrative duties. Naming successor trustees provides continuity if the primary trustee cannot serve. Some clients prefer a corporate trustee for continuity and institutional resources, while others choose a trusted individual for a more personal approach. The decision should reflect the complexity of the trust, the anticipated administrative tasks, and the personalities involved, and the trust document should clearly outline the trustee’s powers and responsibilities.
An ILIT can be structured to provide for a beneficiary with special needs without jeopardizing eligibility for public benefits if it is drafted carefully. In many cases a separate special needs trust or provisions within a trust can direct distributions for supplemental needs while preserving government benefits that are based on income and resources. Coordination between the ILIT and any existing special needs planning is essential to preserve benefits and provide meaningful support to the beneficiary. Drafting language and distribution instructions should be reviewed with professionals familiar with benefit rules to ensure compliance. Clear instructions about permitted uses, discretionary distributions, and trustee responsibilities help maintain eligibility and provide long term support for the beneficiary in a way that complements public benefits.
An ILIT should be coordinated with other estate planning documents to ensure consistent results. Pour over wills, revocable living trusts, powers of attorney, and advance health care directives are commonly used alongside ILITs to create a complete plan. The ILIT addresses life insurance ownership and distribution, while other documents manage property, incapacity planning, and healthcare preferences. Ensuring beneficiary designations and ownership records do not conflict with trust terms is an important part of coordinating the plan. Regular reviews of the entire estate plan help identify any discrepancies and provide opportunities to update documents as circumstances evolve. Coordination reduces the risk of unintended outcomes and helps create a cohesive strategy for asset transfer, incapacity planning, and postmortem administration.
Yes, ILITs involve ongoing costs and administrative duties. Trustees must make premium payments, maintain records, and communicate with beneficiaries. There may be trustee fees if a professional or corporate trustee is engaged, as well as potential legal or accounting fees for periodic advice and tax filings. Even with a family member as trustee, time and effort are required to manage documentation and respond to beneficiary inquiries. Budgeting for these expenses and responsibilities is part of evaluating whether an ILIT fits your planning needs. Ongoing administration also includes periodic reviews to ensure the policy remains appropriate, funding mechanisms remain viable, and trust terms still align with objectives. Planning for these activities helps ensure the ILIT continues to serve its intended purposes without undue administrative strain on those managing it.
To begin setting up an ILIT, gather current estate planning documents, insurance policy information, beneficiary designations, and an overview of your financial goals and family needs. An initial consultation will review these materials and discuss whether transferring an existing policy or purchasing a new policy within the trust is preferable. This meeting also covers trustee selection, funding options, and potential timing considerations such as the three year lookback period. After the initial review, the next steps typically include drafting the trust agreement, coordinating any necessary policy transfers with the insurer, and establishing funding arrangements for premiums. Clear documentation and thoughtful drafting at the outset help ensure the trust functions as intended and provides the protections and distributions you envision.
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