Friday, June 11, 2010

Defining a Joint Survivorship Life Insurance

There are several kinds of life insurance for seniors and all of them aim to provide financial help in the event of death of the policyholder in Puritan Financial Group. Though most of these are intended for an individual alone, there is a specific life insurance available for two people, usually a married couple. This is called a Joint Survivorship Life Insurance, also known as second-to-die life insurance.

The life insurance company does not release the accumulated money to the policyholders’ beneficiaries until the second person dies. One advantage of this type of life insurance for seniors is a standard policy could still be issued even if the other person has health problems. In rare cases when the other person is not insurable, a policy can still be issued given that an acceptable premium is agreed on.

There are several benefits of a survivorship life insurance and these are elaborated below.

Estate Taxes – Most people bequeath their properties to their spouses, and when one does, the transfer of all assets upon death will be considered tax free. With the use of a joint survivorship life insurance, the federal estate taxes owed by both spouses are paid by the death benefit from a second-to-die life insurance.

Equal Inheritance – Parents can make use of a second-to-die policy to even out the inheritance of their children. They can leave a larger amount of money to one child while a lesser amount is provided for the remaining offspring.

Post pone a Buy Sell – If one policyholder takes a part in a business shared with another business partner and both of them approved of a buy-sell agreement, the death of the policyholder will allow his spouse to inherit his interest in the business resulting for the delay of the buy-sell agreement unless the spouse dies.

Less Expensive – Since a survivorship life insurance has lesser premiums, it is more affordable than single-insured life insurance.

Provide for Heirs – The death benefit can fund other needs by the heirs. For example, policyholders have particularly purchased the insurance to benefit a special child right after they die.

If you want to invest on this type of Life Insurance for seniors, you should think of consulting a specialized lawyer first to further help you.