A Sensible Approach to Planning Your Estate

Goals include, but are not limited to:

• Accumulating or creating your legacy

• Planning for the orderly distribution of your assets

• Passing your assets intact by incorporating the necessary liquidity

Please note: This document is designed to provide introductory information on the subject matter. MetLife does not provide tax and legal advice. Clients should consult their attorney and/or tax advisor before making financial investment or planning decisions.

What is Estate Planning?

1.What do you want to accomplish?

2.What are the basics?

3.What are the challenges?

4.What strategies are available?

5.What can you do to ensure your goals are achieved?

Five Questions to Consider

Estate Planning Goals

• Organize your personal affairs

• Provide for a surviving spouse and/or dependents

• Leave assets to your beneficiaries

• Reduce estate costs and taxes

• Protect your assets from unintended recipients

1. What Do You Want to Accomplish?

• Property in your name

• Your interest in joint property

• Life insurance you own in your name

• IRAs and retirement plans

What’s Included in Your Estate?

2. What Are the Basics?

How Property Passes at Death

You

Operationof Law

Will Operationof Law

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ContractContract

2. What Are the Basics?

Work with a Team

• Financial professional

• Accountant

• Estate planning attorney

2. What Are the Basics?

Documents to Create with Your Attorney

• Will

• Power of Attorney (Health)

• Durable Power of Attorney (Financial)

• Living Will

• Documents related to small business ownership

• Trusts

2. What Are the Basics?

Trusts

• Grantor - Sets it up

• Trustee - Executes the instructions

• Beneficiary – Receives the benefits

3. What Are the Basics?

Final Expenses

• Debts

• Long term care

• Funeral bills

• Medical bills

• Probate expenses

• Taxes (federal and/or state)

4. What Could Present Challenges?

Probate• Public can access documents

• Process can be slow and costly

4. What Could Present Challenges?

Income in Respect of a Decedent (IRD)

• Not only can you not “take it all with you,” but IRD may also prevent your beneficiaries from “taking it all with them” too.*

• If you didn’t pay tax on accrued income, your beneficiaries will have to.

*IRD tax deduction may be available.

4. What Could Present Challenges?

Potential Transfer Tax Exposure

• Federal estate/gift tax on estates over $5M per

person (indexed for inflation after 2011)

• Residents of certain states with inheritance

taxes or states which have decoupled

• Owners of highly appreciating assets

• Individuals expecting additional inheritances (resulting in a total estate over the basic exclusion amount)

4. What Could Present Challenges?

Unlimited Marital Deduction and Spousal Portability

No estate taxes due on assets passing from one U.S. citizen spouse to another

5. What Strategies are Available?

Lifetime Gifting

• Annual gifting of up to $14,000*

• Unlimited payments directly to institutions providing certain education or medical expenses on behalf of another individual

• Unlimited gifts to charitable organizations

5. What Strategies are Available?

*$28,000 if spouses split the gift.

5. What Strategies are Available?

Applicable Exclusion Amount

Year2013

Estate/Gift/GST$5.25m

Amount exempt from estate, gift and GST tax by the applicable credit

Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust

• Trust is owner and beneficiary of a life insurance policy

• Donor dies, trust lends money to, or purchases assets from, the estate

• Cash used to pay estate taxes

5. What Strategies are Available?

5. What Strategies are Available?

Life insurance• Income tax deferred growth potential• Income tax free death benefit

• Creates liquidity to pay taxes or divide illiquid assets more equitably

• If large charitable gifts are planned, may replace value of those gifts for heirs

• Possibility to leverage a limited number of premiums into sizeable death benefit

• Potential for guaranteed death benefits*

Within an irrevocable trust• Gifts to irrevocable trust reduce size of taxable estate• Estate tax free death benefit*Guarantees are subject to the claims-paying ability and financial strength of the issuing insurance company.

5. What Strategies are Available?

• Do they reflect your current wishes?

• Are all of your assets addressed?

• Do they reflect your current beneficiaries?

• Is there adequate liquidity to accomplish your goals?

• Are they flexible to accommodate future changes?

Review your wills and trusts

Important InformationPursuant to IRS Circular 230, MetLife is providing you with the following notification: The information contained in this document is not intended to (and cannot) be used by anyone to avoid IRS penalties. This document supports the promotion and marketing of insurance products. You should seek advice based on your particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor.

MetLife, its agents and representatives may not give legal or tax advice. Any discussion of taxes herein or related to this document is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be complete or cover every situation. Tax law is subject to interpretation and legislative change. Tax results and the appropriateness of any product for any specific taxpayer may vary depending on the facts and circumstances. You should consult with and rely on their own independent legal and tax advisers regarding your particular set of facts and circumstances.

Like most insurance policies, MetLife’s policies contain charges, limitations, exclusions, termination provisions and terms for keeping them in force. Consult the policy for costs and complete details.

Insurance Products:• Not A Deposit • Not FDIC-Insured • Not Insured By Any Federal Government Agency

• Not Guaranteed By Any Bank Or Credit Union • May Go Down In Value

CLVL23130 L0613328552 [0614]© 2013 METLIFE, INC. PEANUTS © United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

Life insurance products are issued by:MetLife Investors USA Insurance Company5 Park Plaza, Suite 1900Irvine, CA 92614

And in NY only by:Metropolitan Life Insurance CompanyFirst MetLife Investors Insurance Company200 Park AvenueNew York, NY 10166