Insights
Notes from the practice.
Short, practical pieces on the planning problems we see most often — published monthly, written by John Rullman. Written for clients and for the advisors who work with them. No product pitches.
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When the buy-sell agreement and its funding no longer match
A company’s value climbs for a decade while the life insurance behind its buy-sell stays flat. Here is how the gap opens, what it costs the people left running the business, and the short review that closes it.
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The in-force review most trust-owned policies never get
Trustees have a duty to monitor trust assets, and a life insurance policy is a trust asset. This piece will cover what the duty requires in practice, what an in-force ledger shows, how often a review should happen, and what the trustee should keep on file.
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Nonqualified deferred compensation, in plain terms
What an NQDC arrangement is, why a closely held company would offer one, what “unfunded” and “informally funded” actually mean, and the questions an executive should ask before enrolling.
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Nine months to find the money
Why estate tax is a liquidity problem before it is a tax problem, what the usual fallbacks cost a family, and how life insurance owned outside the estate changes the arithmetic.
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Your group disability plan probably stops short
How group long-term disability treats bonus and pass-through income, why the replacement ratio for a high earner is lower than it looks, and what individual coverage is meant to fill.