This helpful article from Scripps Howard summarizes the estate tax treatment of life insurance very well. One can shield the proceeds of life insurance from being taxed as stated in the article: ” If the policy was not owned by the insured, none of the proceeds are included or taxable in the estate of the insured, unless the policy had been transferred by the owner within three years of his or her death, in which case, the total proceeds are included in his estate.” To accomplish this, the owner of the policy can be another individual or several people (child or children for example) or it can be set up in an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT). To read more about this subject you can go to the survivorship life insurance and estate planning page on the lifeinsure.com site.

I thought that I’d diverge and talk about different ways that we can each do something about what’s going on in our world and do our part to make it a little better. In the wake of the disasters that have occurred, both natural i.e. Katrina and nasty i.e. 9/11, it has become important for each of us to step up where we can. I’ve gotten more active (off my butt) and gotten involved in volunteering. Here are some places where you can learn how you can help: There is the Volunteer Ministers Program, the famous “guys with the yellow shirts” that have been commended by officials in the U.S. and around the world for disaster relief after 9/11 and for their work in Tsunami relief and Hurricane Katrina and wherever a hot spot in the world needs help. Also, another great place to volunteer is with The March of Dimes, which has a great mission; taking care of babies and making sure babies are born healthy. That’s a great purpose. I have a very good friend whose son is a healthy 18 year old and wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for research done by The March of Dimes Find something where you can help that aligns with your purpose and see where you can help!