business insurance

Standby Survivorship Trust an Alternative to an ILIT for Insureds Desiring Control

Situation: The uncertainty of the estate tax laws has created a dilemma for many taxpayers, estate planners, and insurance professionals. Should moderately high net worth couples take action today to shelter a significant amount from estate tax (under the $12.92 million exemption) by making a large gift; or should they hold off making a large […]

Men are from Mars & Women from Venus in the LTC Universe

Situation: A financial representative called her dedicated DBS Case Design Analyst with concerns about balancing the life insurance and long-term care goals of a married couple. Her client’s husband refused to attend a planning meeting to discuss long-term care, but always attended meetings in the past. The client was very interested in discussing long-term care […]

Case Study – Strategy for Uncertain Estate Tax Environment

Read our print-friendly version here Situation:A producer contacted DBS’ in-house advanced case design resource to discuss an insurance structure for a couple in their late 40’s with $8 million net worth. The producer noted that the net worth was less than the current joint exemption ($24.12 million), but more than the prior exemption which is […]

Finding Life Insurance Opportunities Using Form 1040

A careful review of a client’s tax returns can provide insight into their insurance and financial planning needs. A review of the lines on a tax return can lead to conversations about: • Basic needs analysis and college funding • Retirement and extended care planning • Legacy & charitable planning • Business planning Additionally, comparing […]

Is it Possible to Fund a Buy-Sell Agreement with a Personally Owned Policy?

Situation: Nearly all buy-sell agreements that use life insurance as a funding vehicle do not have the business owner owning their own policy. In an entity purchase arrangement (where the business buys back/redeems a departing owner’s interest), the business is the owner and beneficiary. In a cross purchase arrangement (where the remaining owners purchase interest […]

Business Uses Of Life Insurance

There are six key ways in which life insurance may benefit your business Business Transfer: Businesses or business owners can execute a buy-sell agreement and fund it with life insurance. A buy-sell agreement is an arrangement for a business to continue in the event of the owner’s death, disability, retirement or early withdrawal from the […]

Opportunity Knocks in 2021

The industry is constantly evolving, and we continue to see change in many areas that affect the work you do with your clients. The good news? With all of this change comes opportunity. Terri Getman, DBS Business Development Director, has laid out three big opportunities to take advantage of NOW. She’s also identified which of […]

A Closer Look: Life Insurance Product Landscape

Most can agree that 2020 was an unprecedented year, bringing change to nearly all aspects of life. It was certainly felt by the DBS Case Design Team with more change than ever in the form of new products, reprices, illustrated rate changes, and regulation compliance. This was even after losing a number of products as […]

DBS Announces LeClair Group Partnership

DBS announced today a partnership with LeClair Group to act as the exclusive service and support arm for LeClair Group’s life insurance business. All LeClair Group agents will be referred to DBS for life insurance licensing and administration, and this venture will allow each company to service a wider range of agents seeking a brokerage […]

SLAT: Is It Possible to Have Access to Trust Assets Without Estate Inclusion?

Situation – With the amount sheltered from estate tax (exemption) at a historic high of $11.7M ($23.4M for a couple), many high net worth households are looking for opportunities to minimize their federal or state death tax exposure by gifting assets during their lifetime. By gifting assets when the exemption is high, a high net […]