Leveraging ILITs with Taxable Gifts versus Private Split-Dollar Loans.

Wealthy estate owners face a significant financial problem when planning to transfer their estates at death. That problem is a federal estate tax at a 45% rate and state death taxes that could raise the combined rate of estate taxation to more than 50%. Fortunately, an irrevocable life insurance trust (IL IT) funded with a survivorship insurance policy offers an actuarially leveraged income and estate tax-free method to provide the dollars to offset these taxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]