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Problem Irrevocable Life Insurance TrustsProblem Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts

The client has an ILIT and doesn’t like it—what can you do?

Richard L. Harris

March 21, 2022

9 Min Read
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Your client may be suffering from irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) fatigue. This syndrome occurs when clients question the wisdom of keeping ILITs that have been in place for a number of years. Clients may have this fatigue for a variety of reasons. For example, they may question their choice of beneficiaries or be concerned about how the beneficiaries will use the money. Or they may now have grandchildren whom they didn’t have at the time the ILIT was created.

In certain cases, the ILIT will have to be undone. In others, the ILIT can be left alone. In all cases, the insurance should be re-assessed to see if it is, among other things, performing well or whether another product may now be better than the original one.

Here are some s...

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About the Author

Richard L. Harris

Greenberg & Rapp Financial Group

Richard L. Harris is the managing member of Richard L. Harris LLC, a life insurance sales and consulting firm devoted to helping the very wealthy and their professional advisors deal with issues regarding life insurance. He works as a back office life insurance expert for many accountants, attorneys, and trust officers. With 40 years experience, Richard is a nationally recognized expert in the very advanced areas of life insurance. He brings together expertise and cutting edge ideas in designing and implementing solutions incorporating life insurance that integrate and address the issues at hand. Apart from acting as a life insurance strategist and purchasing agent for life insurance for the very wealthy, he is often consulted about fixing or improving advanced strategies using life insurance that have become problematic because of legislation, poor performance, or change in circumstances. Richard consults on proposed advanced strategies using life insurance providing second opinions on the viability of the transactions. He also provides litigation support both forensically and strategically and serves as an expert witness regarding sophisticated life insurance transactions. Richard is a graduate of Long Island University where he majored in Accounting and Literature. He holds the professional designations of Chartered Life Underwriter, Registered Trust and Estate Practitioner, and Accredited Estate Planner. He is Chair of the Insurance Committee of Trusts & Estates Magazine, on the Editorial Advisory Board of Wealth Strategies Journal, a Contributing Editor to Private Wealth Magazine and is listed in Who's Who in Finance and Industry. He also serves on the Board of the Northern New Jersey Society of Financial Services Professionals and the Advisory Board of HighCap Financial.

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