Quote:
Originally Posted by Danzig
a lot of wealthier people buy 'second to die' life insurance policies. that way, when both parts of the married couple pass, the benefits are paid, tax free of course, to the person inheriting in order to pay estate taxes. |
That is very interesting; I didn't know that. I know someone who works in trusts and estates at a law firm, and he said most of what the law firm does is help ultra wealthy folks figure out how to avoid their estates paying out any taxes at all when they die. Lotta money and valuables held "in trust," which means that an individual doesn't technically own it, a trust, which never dies, owns it.
Of course, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has estate tax on everything a person owns, and if you aren't a direct descendant of the person, the tax will be 15 percent (it's 4.5 percent on direct descendants). So probably the best legal advice there is not to die as a resident of Pennsylvania.
