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Advisers, is your client's life insurance truly working for their estate plan? 

Writer's picture: Inherit TeamInherit Team

Life insurance can be a cornerstone of your client’s estate planning strategy, providing much-needed financial security for loved ones in the event of their passing. However, it’s crucial that these policies are fully integrated into the broader estate plan. The right beneficiary designations and ownership structures can make all the difference between seamless asset distribution or unnecessary estate complications.


For example, if a life insurance policy nominates a beneficiary, the proceeds bypass the estate and go directly to the beneficiary. But if the goal is to cover estate debts or provide liquidity for the estate, designating the estate as the beneficiary might be more appropriate. Regular reviews are essential, especially when life circumstances change, like marriage, divorce, or the birth of children.


Key steps to guide your clients:


Review life insurance policies: Assess existing coverage and beneficiaries to ensure they meet estate planning goals.


Clarify intentions: Ensure your clients clearly communicate their wishes for distributing proceeds, whether to beneficiaries or the estate.


Review ownership structure: Consider transferring ownership to a trust or reviewing the structure to minimize estate taxes.


Update beneficiary designations: Regularly revisit and update these designations, especially after significant life events.


Consult professionals: Work with legal and financial experts to ensure policies align with estate planning goals.


Document decisions: Include clear instructions in the estate plan regarding the handling of life insurance proceeds.


Review regularly: Schedule periodic reviews of both the policies and estate plan to reflect any changes in circumstances.


By taking these steps, you can help your clients ensure that their life insurance works as a powerful tool for estate planning, protecting their loved ones and safeguarding their legacy.

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Made in Mornington /  Victoria

Inherit Australia is located on the picturesque Mornington Peninsula, just an hour's drive south of Melbourne. Our local team, boasting over 50 years of combined experience in legal and technology, is committed to addressing the complex challenges of estate planning. From Power of Attorney documents to comprehensive estate plans, we cater to a diverse clientele, including retail customers, financial advisers, and legal professionals. Our proprietary software and data, proudly 100% Australian-owned, designed, and hosted, underscore our commitment to delivering secure and tailored estate planning solutions.

At Inherit Australia, we understand that your information is sensitive. In order to setup your account we need to verify your email address to ensure your identity. This will allow you to access your data in the future and communicate with us from a verified email address or Google account.

Further, our software platform that gathers your information maintains the highest data security and privacy standards that have been approved by Xero in line with the ATO data security guidelines. All data transactions occur over a secure transit layer (SSL). Our data is stored at Microsoft Azure Australian-based data centre (Port Melbourne) that carries the following internal data security controls and Data centre certificates: ISO 27001, ISO 27018, SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC3, FedRAMP, HITRUST, MTCS, IRAP and ENS.

Your sensitive data is also encrypted at the application layer using a random key and seed generated exclusively for your Life Vault. The keys and seeds are stored in corporate-grade key storage hosted separately from your data and maintained by Microsoft Azure.


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Phone:    (+61) 3 5976 6565

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