Transferring Life Insurance by Gift or Sale

A client who has a personally owned life insurance policy comes to you. You convince her to either sell or gift the policy to an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT). You need to get the value of the policy, so you call the insurance company. It quotes a value so high that you and your client get sticker shock! The gifting or sales strategy suddenly becomes unattractive, if not totally impossible.