Life Insurance Trusts — Drafting Advice

In Drafting Flexibility into an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust, Prob. & Prop., Sept./Oct. 2005, at 62, Richard C. Baier (assistant vice president-advanced sales for Jefferson Pilot Financial in Greensboro, NC) examines “trust design features that recognize the changing needs of the trust grantor or beneficiary and provides some sample language to assist the attorney with the drafting.”

Important topics covered by Mr. Baier’s article include the following:

• advantages and disadvantages of irrevocability,
• powers of appointment (general and special),
• spousal access limited to an ascertainable standard,
• loans from the trustee to the grantor or the grantor’s spouse,
• trust protectors, and
• intentionally defective grantor trusts.