Beneficiaries and Dependents

Life insurance offers strategic advantages for estate planning. Use your policy to create tax-free wealth for your heirs. Or provide cash to pay taxes and preserve existing assets. With careful planning and a smart tax strategy, you can turn life insurance into a great legacy for your family.

To ensure the death benefit from your life insurance won’t be taxed as part of your estate, you must name a beneficiary. It’s a tax efficient way to bequeath money directly to members of your family.

You could also use your policy to establish a trust fund to support a child or other vulnerable family members. If you name more than one beneficiary, the death benefit will be divided among them according to the percentages you specify. Your Carte Financial Advisor can guide you in carefully planning how you want your policy to benefit your family.

Be sure to specify that your beneficiary is ‘revocable,’ which means you can change this designation at any time. It allows you to adjust your estate planning as your family grows and changes. An irrevocable beneficiary requires written permission from the original beneficiary for you to make such a change.