If you're like most people, you bought life insurance to provide for your loved ones in the event of your death. But because you're self-employed, you may have an even greater need for life insurance: You'll want to protect your family after you die, as well as protect the financial needs of your business.

​Why life insurance is important
As long as you are alive and healthy, your income-producing capability is relatively secure, and you and your family can enjoy the lifestyle you have established. If you were to die, however, your family could face hard economic times. Your family's financial needs may include:

• Final expenses, such as burial and funeral costs
• Unpaid medical bills
• Income replacement
• Mortgage balance
• Debt repayment (credit cards)
• Education fund for children
• Emergency expenses

Why life insurance may be even more important when you're self-employed
As a sole proprietor, you are personally liable for all of the debts of your business. Legally, there is no difference between personal and business assets. By definition, a sole proprietorship ends when the owner dies. So, any losses or financial obligations at your death become the responsibility of your estate. It is possible that personal assets may have to be sold or transferred to pay off business debts. Business debts may include:

• Business loans
• Mortgage or lease payments on business location
• Payments due to suppliers, vendors, consultants, employees, and so on
• Taxes due to local, state, and federal taxing authorities
• Fees to lawyers, accountants, and other advisors to settle business affairs

Life insurance can be used to cover these debts, as well as to provide for the ongoing needs of your family after your death.
What to do about it
​Ask your financial professional or insurance representative to help you assess your need for life insurance and design a program to fit your needs.

Content in this material is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly.
The information provided is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax planning or legal advice. We suggest that you consult with a qualified tax or legal professional.
LPL Financial Representatives offer access to Trust Services through The Private Trust Company N.A., an affiliate of LPL Financial.
This article was prepared by Broadridge.
LPL Tracking #1-945927

 
A job loss is not the end of the world, even though it may feel that way. Mapping out your priorities and drafting a bare-bones budget can help you come up with your own financial strategy for job loss survival.

You may have lost your job already, or it's something you're concerned about. Either way, the keys to surviving a job loss financially are to plan ahead, take stock of your income, and cut your expenses.

Plan ahead
If you haven't been laid off, it's a good idea to plan ahead for that possibility. It's hard to know how long you'll be out of work, so to be on the safe side, prepare for at least six months of unemployment. You might find a job much sooner, but you don't want to be forced to take the first opportunity that comes along, especially if it isn't suitable.

Come up with a financial plan for unemployment, and design your plan with some flexibility to allow for adjustments if your situation changes. Circumstances can vary based on how long you're out of work, and whether unanticipated expenses arise while you're unemployed.

Prepare a survival budget
A big part of your unemployment plan is a survival budget. Start with a list of all your income and expenses. You might already have a budget that you can use as a base, but your survival budget should be a bare-bones version of your regular budget. Include only expenses that are necessary.

The goal of your survival budget is to have a good idea of what income you need to actually survive.
Your plan also should include an emergency fund that's equal to at least six months of living expenses from which you can draw to supplement other sources of income. If you haven't set up an emergency fund, you may still have time to do so. You'll be amazed how fast you can deplete your regular savings if your unemployment lasts more than a couple of weeks.

If you lose your job, find some income
Start by checking with your former employer. Are you eligible for severance pay? Whether it's available depends on your employer's policy, but if you're offered severance pay, you might have the option of taking it in a lump sum or as a continuation of salary for a fixed period of time. Taking severance pay in a lump sum gives you control over your money, but you may lose some employee benefits such as group health insurance. If you take your severance as a continuation of salary, you may be able to keep your benefits, but you'll be dependent on your former employer's ability to make payments to you.

But don't stop there. Check with your local unemployment office to find out if you're eligible for unemployment benefits. You can receive at least 26 weeks of benefits (more in some cases). Generally, to qualify for unemployment benefits you must have been laid off. You may even qualify if you've been fired, so long as it's not for misconduct. You probably won't qualify if you quit your job, however.

Reduce your expenses
If you're unemployed, you may find that your income won't support your current expenses. Aside from reducing your debt by selling big-ticket items like your car or house, there are other things you can do to minimize your living expenses.

One of your first considerations should be to identify and discontinue discretionary expenses. Such items as magazine subscriptions, health club memberships, extra phone services, credit cards you don't use that have an annual fee, dining out regularly, and extra pay services on your cable television are examples of some of the expenses you can trim from your budget. You also may have to put off that planned vacation until you're back on your "working" feet.

Talk with your creditors
Another way to cut your expenses is to try negotiating with your creditors to lower interest rates on your credit cards, defer a payment or two on your car loan, or reduce your monthly payments temporarily. You also may be able to lower your home mortgage monthly payments by refinancing to a lower rate (if you can qualify in spite of your job loss), or by negotiating a longer repayment period. You'll have to admit that you're facing some financial difficulty due to your job loss, but if your credit is good, now's the time to make the calls--not when you fall behind in your payments.

​Along those same lines, check with your mortgage company or credit card companies or look at your billing statements to find out if you have credit insurance. Credit insurance will make your bill payments when you're unemployed. However, you may have to wait a while before receiving benefits.

While technically not an expense, you can also decrease your spending by reducing your contributions to retirement or education funds. However, the less you contribute now, the less you'll have for retirement or college, so this option should be a last resort. But you might be able to make up for the reduction in contributions by increasing payments to those funds when you're back on your feet financially.

Increase your income
You've cut your expenses and spending as much as possible, but you still don't have enough income. Here are some ideas that might help you meet your expenses while unemployed.

Consider a part-time or temporary job. This will provide another source of supplementary income while you search for your next full-time job. And your part-time job could turn out to be your next full-time job--or at least it might lead to another opportunity with another potential employer. Also, your spouse or partner may be able to get a job if he or she is not already working, or pick up more hours at a present job.

Another income-generating option is borrowing from the cash value of your life insurance policies. But you'll be limited as to how much you can borrow by the amount of cash available and other policy restrictions. And you'll be charged interest on the borrowed funds, so if you don't repay the loan, it can reduce your death benefit or even cause the insurance to lapse.

If you're really strapped
Your home is another source of savings you may be able to tap into. If you have enough equity in your home, sometimes you can obtain a home equity line of credit even if you've lost your job. You'll only pay interest on the portion you use. But you'll still have to make a monthly payment, so make sure you're able to afford the new loan payments before you put your house on the line.

​If you're still strapped for cash, consider withdrawing from your tax-deferred retirement accounts, such as your IRA or employer-sponsored retirement Any money you withdraw from these types of accounts likely will be taxed as ordinary income for the year in which you make the withdrawal. Also, you may have to pay a 10% penalty tax for early withdrawal if you're under age 59½ unless an exception to the penalty applies.

Tip: If you're considering taking funds from your IRA or retirement plan, you should consult a tax advisor regarding the specific tax treatment of your withdrawal, because not all of it will necessarily be taxable. For example, if part of the withdrawal from your traditional IRA or employer's retirement plan represents nondeductible contributions, you may not be taxed on that portion of the withdrawal.

If all else fails
If money really starts getting tight, be prepared to take more drastic steps. You might consider moving from your home and renting it temporarily. Obviously you'd have to find cheaper alternative housing, but the rental income from your home may be enough to cover your rental expenses while your tenants pay for most of the home costs, such as utilities and even real estate taxes. However, any decision you make in this area should be made with careful consideration, and only after evaluating how much you can actually get out of the deal.

As a last resort, you may have to consider selling bigger items like your car or even your home. Since these larger possessions usually carry a debt, by selling them you're not only generating some cash, but you're decreasing your expenses by ridding yourself of the debt attached to the item sold.

All is not lost
A job loss is not the end of the world, even though it may feel that way. Mapping out your priorities and drafting a bare-bones budget can help you come up with your own financial strategy for job loss survival.
 

Content in this material is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly.
The information provided is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax planning or legal advice. We suggest that you consult with a qualified tax or legal professional.
LPL Financial Representatives offer access to Trust Services through The Private Trust Company N.A., an affiliate of LPL Financial.
This article was prepared by Broadridge.
LPL Tracking #1-260409

​Understanding the importance of life insurance is one thing. Understanding the tax rules is quite another. As insurance products have evolved and become more sophisticated, the line separating insurance vehicles from investment vehicles has grown blurry. To differentiate between the two, a mix of complex rules and exceptions now governs the taxation of insurance products. If you have neither the time nor the inclination to decipher the IRS regulations, here are some life insurance tax tips and background information to help you make sense of it all.

Life insurance contracts must meet IRS requirements
For federal income tax purposes, an insurance contract cannot be considered a life insurance contract--and qualify for favorable tax treatment--unless it meets state law requirements and satisfies the IRS's statutory definitions of what is or is not a life insurance policy. The IRS considers the type of policy, date of issue, amount of the death benefit, and premiums paid. The IRS definitions are essentially tests to ensure that an insurance policy isn't really an investment vehicle. The insurance company must comply with these rules and enforce the provisions.

Keep in mind that you can't deduct your premiums on your federal income tax return
Because life insurance is considered a personal expense, you can't deduct the premiums you pay for life insurance coverage.

Employer-paid life insurance may have a tax cost
The premium cost for the first $50,000 of life insurance coverage provided under an employer-provided group term life insurance plan does not have to be reported as income and is not taxed to you. However, amounts in excess of $50,000 paid for by your employer will trigger a taxable income for the "economic value" of the coverage provided to you.

​You should determine whether your premiums were paid with pre- or after-tax dollars
The taxation of life insurance proceeds depends on several factors, including whether you paid your insurance premiums with pre- or after-tax dollars. If you buy a life insurance policy on your own or through your employer, your premiums are probably paid with after-tax dollars.

Different rules may apply if your company offers the option to purchase life insurance through a qualified retirement plan and you make pretax contributions. Although pretax contributions offer certain income tax advantages, one tradeoff is that you'll be required to pay a small tax on the economic value of the "pure life insurance" in the policy (i.e., the difference between the cash value and the death benefit) each year. Also, at death, the amount of the policy cash value that is paid as part of the death benefit is taxable income. These days, however, not many companies offer their employees the option to purchase life insurance through their qualified retirement plan.

Your life insurance beneficiary probably won't have to pay income tax on death benefit received
Whoever receives the death benefit from your insurance policy usually does not have to pay federal or state income tax on those proceeds. So, if you die owning a life insurance policy with a $500,000 death benefit, your beneficiary under the policy will generally not have to pay income tax on the receipt of the $500,000. This is generally true regardless of whether you paid all of the premiums yourself, or whether your employer subsidized part or all of the premiums under a group term insurance plan.

Different income tax rules may apply if the death benefit is paid in installments instead of as a lump sum. The interest portion (if any) of each installment is generally treated as taxable to the beneficiary at ordinary income rates, while the principal portion is tax free.

In some cases, insurance proceeds may be included in your taxable estate
If you hold any incidents of ownership in an insurance policy at the time of your death, the proceeds from that insurance policy will be included in your taxable estate. Incidents of ownership include the right to change the beneficiary, the right to take out policy loans, and the right to surrender the policy for cash. Furthermore, if you gift away an insurance policy within three years of your death, then the proceeds from that policy will be pulled back into your taxable estate. To avoid having the policy included in your taxable estate, someone other than you (e.g., a beneficiary or a trust) should be the owner.

​Note: If the owner, the insured, and the beneficiary are three different people, the payment of death benefit proceeds from a life insurance policy to the beneficiary may result in an unintended taxable gift from the owner to the beneficiary.

If your policy has a cash value component, that part will accumulate tax deferred
Unlike term life insurance policies, some life insurance policies (e.g., permanent life) have a cash value component. As the cash value grows, you may ultimately have more money in cash value than you paid in premiums. Generally, you are allowed to defer income taxes on those gains as long as you don't sell, withdraw from, or surrender the policy. If you do sell, surrender, or withdraw from the policy, the difference between what you get back and what you paid in is taxed as ordinary income.

You usually aren't taxed on dividends paid
Some policies, known as participating policies, pay dividends. An insurance dividend is the amount of your premium that is paid back to you if your insurance company achieves lower mortality and expense costs than it expected. Dividends are paid out of the insurer's surplus earnings for the year. Regardless of whether you take them in cash, keep them on deposit with the insurer, or buy additional life insurance within the policy, they are considered a return of premiums. As long as you don't get back more than you paid in, you are merely recouping your costs, and no tax is due. However, if you leave these dividends on deposit with your insurance company and they earn interest, the interest you receive should be included as taxable interest income.

Watch out for cash withdrawals in excess of basis--they're taxable
If you withdraw cash from a cash value life insurance policy, the amount of withdrawals up to your basis in the policy will be tax free. Generally, your basis is the amount of premiums you have paid into the policy less any dividends or withdrawals you have previously taken. Any withdrawals in excess of your basis (gain) will be taxed as ordinary income. However, if the policy is classified as a modified endowment contract (MEC) (a situation that occurs when you put in more premiums than the threshold allows), then the gain must be withdrawn first and taxed.
Keep in mind that if you withdraw part of your cash value, the death benefit available to your survivors will be reduced.

You probably won't have to pay taxes on loans taken against your policy
If you take out a loan against the cash value of your insurance policy, the amount of the loan is not taxable (except in the case of an MEC). This result is the case even if the loan is larger than the amount of the premiums you have paid in. Such a loan is not taxed as long as the policy is in force.
If you take out a loan against your policy, the death benefit and cash value of the policy will be reduced.

You can't deduct interest you've paid on policy loans
The interest you pay on any loans taken out against the cash value of your life insurance is not tax deductible. Certain loans on business-owned policies are an exception to this rule.

The surrender of your policy may result in taxable gain
If you surrender your cash value life insurance policy, any gain on the policy will be subject to federal (and possibly state) income tax. The gain on the surrender of a cash value policy is the difference between the gross cash value paid out (plus any loans outstanding) and your basis in the policy. Your basis is the total premiums that you paid in cash, minus any policy dividends and tax-free withdrawals that you made.

You may be able to exchange one policy for another without triggering tax liability
The tax code allows you to exchange one life insurance policy for another (or a life insurance policy for an annuity) without triggering current tax liability. This is known as a Section 1035 exchange. However, you must follow the IRS's rules when making the exchange.

When in doubt, consult a professional
The tax rules surrounding life insurance are obviously complex and are subject to change. For more information, contact a qualified insurance professional, attorney, or accountant.

Content in this material is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly.
The information provided is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax planning or legal advice. We suggest that you consult with a qualified tax or legal professional.
LPL Financial Representatives offer access to Trust Services through The Private Trust Company N.A., an affiliate of LPL Financial.
This article was prepared by Broadridge.
LPL Tracking #1-393921

You may already be aware of the importance of having enough life insurance coverage to handle financial matters that could affect your family in the event of your death. However, determining the appropriate amount of coverage for your family can be complicated. Rather than using an arbitrary formula, such as having enough coverage to equal five to seven times your annual salary, you may want to conduct a “needs analysis.”
A needs analysis incorporates an evaluation of your family’s most important financial obligations and goals. It can help you plan to address mortgage debt, college expenses, and funds for your family’s future, as well as liquidity for meeting potential estate tax liabilities with life insurance coverage.

Mortgage Debt
You may want to consider whether your life insurance proceeds will be sufficient to help pay the remainder of the mortgage on your home. If you are carrying a large mortgage, you may need to increase your life insurance coverage. If you own a second home, you may also want to factor that mortgage into the formula.

College Expenses
Many people want life insurance proceeds to help cover their children’s undergraduate college, and possibly graduate school, expenses. The amount needed can be roughly calculated by matching the ages of your children with projected college costs adjusted for inflation.
Because it may be difficult to project costs that far into the future, it is important to revise this calculation periodically, as your children get closer to college age.
When estimating long-term savings goals, it may also be a good idea to be as conservative as possible.

Your Family’s Lifestyle
The amount you may need to help provide for your surviving spouse and dependents will vary according to your age, health, retirement plan benefits, Social Security benefits, and other assets, along with your spouse’s earning power. Many surviving spouses may already be employed or will find employment, but your spouse’s income alone may not be sufficient to cover your family’s current lifestyle. Providing a supplemental fund can help your family maintain its standard of living in the event of your death.

Estate Taxes
Life insurance has long been recognized as a method for establishing liquidity at death to pay estate taxes and maximize asset transfers to future generations. Be sure to work with your tax and legal advisors to help you establish the desired results.

Existing Resources
If your current assets and any other death benefits are sufficient to cover your financial needs and obligations, you may not need additional life insurance for these purposes. However, if they are inadequate,
the difference between your total assets and your total needs may be funded with life insurance.
You must consider many factors when completing
a needs analysis. In addition to the areas already mentioned, ask yourself the following questions:

• What are your estimated Social Security benefits at retirement?
• How do you “inflation-proof” your family income, so the real purchasing power of those dollars does not decrease?
• What is the earning potential of your surviving spouse?
• How often should you review your needs analysis?
• How can life insurance help provide resources for your retirement?
• How do you structure your estate to reduce the impact of estate taxes?
• Which of your assets are liquid and which would not be reduced by a forced sale?
• Which of your assets would you want your family to retain for sentimental reasons or for future growth possibilities?

As you evaluate your insurance needs, remember to assess your existing policies. Calculate the additional coverage you may need based on your family’s financial obligations and any other resources, such as retirement benefits and personal savings. Planning now may help to preserve your family’s financial future.
 
Important Disclosures
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any insurance product. To determine which insurance product(s) may be appropriate for you, consult your financial professional prior to purchasing.
This information is not intended to be a substitute for specific individualized tax advice. We suggest that you discuss your specific tax issues with a qualified tax advisor.
This article was prepared by Liberty Publishing, Inc.
LPL Tracking #1-05258205