News Room
Guaranteed Universal Life Survivor from Mutual of Omaha Ensures Estates go to Heirs Instead of IRS
Omaha, Neb. - (August 18, 2009) Clients looking for ways to ensure their estate goes to their heirs instead of the IRS can now turn to Mutual of Omaha's New Guaranteed Universal Life Survivor (GULS) plan.
GULS is a special type of insurance, sometimes called "second-to-die life insurance" designed to provide funds after the second insured dies.
According to Mutual of Omaha Vice President Andy Hutchison, Product Development, under current federal law there is no estate tax on assets left to a spouse who is a U.S. citizen, but the estate tax kicks in after the second insured dies and the assets are left to children or others.
"Far and away, the most common use for survivor life insurance is to pay the federal estate tax," Hutchison said. "That reason alone probably constitutes at least 90 percent of the cases we see."
Uses for GULS:
- Fund buy-sell agreements for businesses to buy the company when the last surviving owner dies
- Provide a special needs trust for a couple with a special needs child to provide support after the parents die. The GULS policy can name a "special needs trust" as the beneficiary without disqualifying the child from state aid or SSI
- Cover estate settlement costs when they are typically the highest, after the second death
- Preserve charitable gifts efficiently and economically without impacting the estate plan
Mutual of Omaha is a full-service, multi-line provider of insurance and financial services products for individuals, businesses and groups throughout the United States. Founded in 1909, Mutual of Omaha and its affiliate companies manage assets in excess of $21 billion.