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Home » Business And Finance Articles » Second To Die Life Insurance Policies

Second to Die Life Insurance Policies

A second-to-die life insurance policy, or survivorship life as it's sometimes called, insures two lives - a husband and wife usually or business partners. However, the death benefit isn't paid out until the second insured person dies.

Usually, the death benefit from a second-to-die life insurance policy is intended to go to the children , a charity or pay taxes owed after both spouses pass away.

In the U.S. there is a marital deduction permitting you to leave an unlimited amount of assets to your surviving spouse with no taxes payable at your death. Those assets then become part of the estate of the spouse and if it includes a second to die life insurance polciy it could help pay any taxes. In Canada, there is more lenient tax treatment.

There are also tax ramifications for small businesses, which is why business partners also purchase second-to-die policies.

THE REASON TO BUY SECOND TO DIE LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES

With a second-to-die life insurance policy your beneficiaries can pay debts with the proceeds of your policy, so they won't be forced to sell your house or liquidate assets to pay the bill.

A second-to-die life insurance policy can help to construct a financial plan reducing the tax burden of wealthy individuals by creating trusts and using second-to-die life insurance as part of the estate-planning process.

ADVANTAGES TO SECOND TO DIE LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES

1. Less expensive. Second-to-die life insurance is usually less expensive than life insurance but depends on the blend of the ages. The premium is based upon the joint life expectancy.

2. Estate Preservation. A second-to-die policy appeals to individuals who feel strongly about preserving their estates with the life insurance paying the taxes.

3. Easier to buy. It's easier to qualify for a second-to-die policy than for individual life insurance. Since both insureds must die before the benefit is payable, the insurance company is less concerned that one of them might not be in good health.

* Builds your estate. In some cases, second-to-die life insurance is marketed as a way to build an estate, not just insulate it from taxes. Much like individual life insurance, the death benefit of a second-to-die policy can ensure that certain people receive money, even if you spend every nickel.

4. Second-to-die life insurance might make sense for people who don't have a lot of money but want to leave an estate for their children.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

How To Start A Video Blog

Web logs, commonly referred to as "blogs," came into the mainstream about 2 years ago.

Not really a newsletter or traditional html page publishing, blogs resemble more of a web-based diary where the creator records their thoughts, posts links, or responds to questions.

Initially, blogs contained only text and pictures, but then came "audio blogging," which entails the use of audio on a blog.

Audio blogging also gets referred to as "Podcasting" because of the ability to let people with iPods and other portable MP3 players download your MP3 audio.

The simplest form of video blogging, or "vlogging," means putting a video file online, linking to it from your blog, and anyone subscribing to your rss feed (automatically created by your blogging software) will get notified about your new video.

They can then open up your latest blog post in their "feed reader" and view your video by clicking the link.

More advanced forms of video blogging include getting your "vlog" accepted by Apple's iTunes so their subscribers can find and subscribe to your vlog (which gives you access to 19 million users at last count).

Vloggers use a variety of video file types (like Windows Media, Quicktime, Real Media, and MPEG) and there's no restriction on which file type you use to be considered a "vlog."

However, two file types stand above the rest if you want to reach the widest possible audience.

For video Podcasting, you must publish in either the FLV (Flash Video) or SWF (Shockwave Flash) file formats if you want people on both MAC and PC to view your video files.

FLV is better suited for full motion video, but they both work on smaller length video files.

For Video PodCasting, you must publish in the MPEG4 file format or Apple's proprietary version of that format known as M4V.

Apple's QuickTime Pro software rates the simplest and easiest way to convert your video files to the proper video PodCasting format.

To create a basic "vlog," you need the following list of equipment and software: a web cam or digital camcorder; a microphone, production software; a blog; an rss feed to "syndicate" your content.

A webcam will work for a basic vlog, though a digital video camera will create much better results because they contain better optics.

Using a separate microphone instead of the microphone built into your web cam or camcorder will also produce a much better sound quality.

Once you shoot your video you need to produce it to display on the Web. At a minimum, if your computer operates with Windows XP, you can use the Windows Movie Maker software that comes free with XP.

Though you can't save as an FLV or SWF, you can save as a Windows Media file (wmv) to get you started.

For a blog, you can use the free Blogger.com service. To create a feed to syndicate your site, you can use the free service at FeedBurner.com.

Though audio blogging received mediocre acceptance from the mainstream Internet audience, "vlogging" should do extremely well simply because of our fascination with moving pictures.

If you're looking for a precedent, look how far TV has come in the last 50 years compared to radio.

Copyright 2005 Jim Edwards