It almost sounds too good to be true! A trust to replace wealth!

It can be done. Suppose that you would like to make a sizeable contribution to your favorite charity or church, but if you do you will cut into what you can leave your heirs and you may short change yourself of your living expenses down the road.

Or suppose you have an estate that exceeds the amount currently exempted from estate tax (currently $1,000,000, rising to $1,500,00 in 2004, $2,000,000 in 2006, $3,500,000 in 2009, no limit in 2010, and back to $1,000,000 in 2011). Your estate will be forced to make a contribution to the Internal Revenue Service on the excess starting at 18% on the first $10,000 and rising rapidly to 49% (2003 rates).

The solution to both of these situations is THE WEALTH REPLACEMENT TRUST. It is technically known as The Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust but that name does not begin to hint at the wonderful things that you can accomplish for your self, your heirs, or your favorite charitable organization(s).

THE WEALTH REPLACEMENT TRUST is used in conjunction with THE CAPITAL GAINS BYPASS TRUST to create a situation where you can benefit your favorite charity, get an immediate income tax deduction, have an income for life and still leave money to your heirs! For more information, see the page on THE CAPITAL GAINS BYPASS TRUST.

Another very common use of THE WEALTH REPLACEMENT TRUST is to either save taxes or pay taxes. If your estate is over $1,000,000 for a single person or $2,000,000 for a couple (who have an appropriate living trust) you will probably owe estate taxes. As noted above, estate tax rates are almost confiscatory. If your estate consists largely of non-liquid assets, such as real estate or your business, your heirs may be forced to sell them at fire sale prices in order to pay the taxes, leaving little for your heirs.

You can forestall this situation by creating a WEALTH REPLACEMENT TRUST, which then buys an insurance policy to pay the taxes. If you personally buy the insurance policy the proceeds become part of your estate and are themselves taxable so it pays to create the trust and avoid the tax on the insurance proceeds.

For more information, click on the "CONTACT US" button or call 1-800-354-PLAN.