Hi Larry,

Thanks for your response (you too, Andrew!). Larry, you mentioned that the trustee of the ILIT must apply for the term life policy. Can I do the initial medical exam and get a firm policy offer and rate determination in my own name before the ILIT is officially formed or does this all have to wait and be done in the trustee's name? Also, I was told that it might be possible to avoid the expense of creating an ILIT by simply cross-transferring ownership of my life insurance policy with my spouse. How would this work? Thank you very much for your thoughtful answers. I always enjoy your insights on this board.

You can submit an application for underwriting purposes in your own name and advise the company that the policy should not be issued and that a new application (trust owned) will follow.

You can use the same exam, blood and urine tests if you apply within the company's time frame and the medical requirements are still good (generally 3-6 months from date of the exam).

Having your spouse as the owner of the policy is not a good idea as estate taxes will still be due upon her death (if your estate exceeds the unified credit) and she outlives you.

What happens if you were to die together? Again estate taxes would be due.

Having an ILIT own the policy removes the insurance from both of your estates. If you are concerned about potential estate taxes, the cost of the ILIT is a small price to pay relative to the savings it will provide to your family.

Zip Code: Lkeller@physicianfinancialservices.com