Insurance Solutions for Private Clients

Gateway Financial’ s private clients are financially sophisticated high net-worth individuals, business owners, senior executives and dynastic families.  The primary reason that they buy life insurance is to pay certain costs that are coincident with death.  Expenses that demand large amounts of cash at death include:

  • Federal Estate Taxes (as high as 40% of an individual’s net estate) may be applicable for an individual with a net worth in excess of $11.7 million or $23.4 million for married couples.  This tax is generally due and payable within nine months following an individual’s death or for married couples nine months following the death of the surviving spouse.
  • State Death and Inheritance Taxes
  • Federal Income Taxes (including taxes on pension distributions)
  • Probate and Administration Costs
  • Debt Repayment

Although the executor of the estate can liquidate estate assets to pay these expenses, in some cases this option is unrealistic due to the short time frame in which the cash is needed or the lack of an asset’s marketability.  In other cases the liquidation of estate assets is undesirable since certain assets (such as a vacation home, artwork, jewelry, etc.) are intended to be passed onto heirs.

Our private clients also buy life insurance because they believe the flexible and tax-favored nature of life insurance is the most efficient and effective way to provide specific inheritances or charitable bequests and potentially bolster the rate of return on assets intended for their heirs.   For more information, please refer to the Top 10 Reasons Why Clients Buy Life Insurance.

Gateway Financial’s role on our client’s professional advisor team, typically consisting of their attorney, accountant and investment advisor, is to develop, implement and administer a comprehensive plan of action that meets our mutual client’s objectives in an orderly cost-efficient manner.  Some of the specialized strategies we have implemented include:

  • Blended Family Trusts
  • Stock Redemption Agreements
  • Family Limited Partnerships
  • Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts
  • Private Split Dollar Arrangements
  • Premium Financing
  • Multi-Generational Trusts
  • Incentive Trusts
  • Charitable Giving with Wealth Replacement Trusts
  • Spousal Access Trusts
  • Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts
  • Pre-Nuptial Agreements