How To Avoid Estate Taxes On Life Insurance? 
With the unified credit exceeding 10 million dollars for married couples , most Americans may not need to create an irrevocable life insurance trust -LRB- ILIT -RRB- to own a life insurance policy . But they may need an -LRB- ILIT -RRB- to avoid their state of residence estate tax because most states did not replicate the federal law . If your assets and your desired death benefit exceed federal or state limits an ILIT may be the way to go . Some grantors use their children as policy owners as a tactical planning option as well . But ownership has its privileges which includes the childs access to the policy or its draw backs by exacerbating the childs total estate . Before moving forward with any estate strategies , seek out legal advice . 