Your Estate Has a Gap of
Your Estate Plan Has a $4.12M Gap
We close it before the IRS does.
Shield architects irrevocable trusts, split-dollar arrangements, and premium financing for $10M+ estates. Carrier-agnostic. Illustration-verified. Built to outlast the exemption sunset.
$18.4M
Avg. Estate Protected
340+
Structures Placed
12 carriers
Carrier-Agnostic
Second-to-Die UL — ILIT Structure
$20M Estate Illustration
Est. Annual Premium
$312,000
Second-to-die UL inside ILIT. 40% estate tax rate assumed. Illustration only.
Carrier-Agnostic
12 A-rated carriers
Attorney Co-Design
Works alongside estate counsel
CPA-Ready Modeling
GAAP-compliant illustrations
ILIT Specialists
Irrevocable trust architecture
Premium Financing
Liquidity-preserving structures
$20M Estate — No ILIT
Gross Estate Value
Business + real estate + liquid assets
Federal Exemption (2026)
Sunset provision reduces to ~$7M/individual
Taxable Estate
Exposed to 40% federal estate tax
Estate Tax Due
Payable within 9 months of death
$20M Estate — Funded ILIT
Gross Estate Value
Same estate, different architecture
ILIT Policy Death Benefit
Held outside estate, income-tax free
Estate Tax Offset
Premium financing preserves liquidity
Tax Liability Eliminated
Trust receives benefit, pays tax
The Gap
$5,200,000
Lost to estate tax without an ILIT
Transfer to Grandchildren — No GST Trust
Intended Transfer
To grandchildren or dynasty trust
GST Tax (Flat 40%)
No exemption allocation made
Probate Exposure
Legal fees, delays, public record
Net to Grandchildren
After all transfer costs
Transfer to Grandchildren — Dynasty Trust + Policy
Intended Transfer
Same intent, engineered execution
GST Exemption Allocated
Lifetime exemption used strategically
Private Trust Transfer
No court, no public record, no delay
Policy Multiplier
Leveraged inside the dynasty trust
The Gap
$8,800,000
Difference between uninstructed transfer and engineered transfer
$15M Business — No Buy-Sell Policy
Business Fair Market Value
At time of owner death
Forced Liquidation Discount
30% distressed sale penalty
Estate Tax on Business
Illiquid asset, cash still required
Partner Dispute Costs
Litigation, valuation disputes
$15M Business — Split-Dollar Buy-Sell
Business Fair Market Value
Locked in via funded agreement
Policy Funds Buy-Sell at Death
Entity-purchase or cross-purchase
No Forced Liquidation
Successor pre-funded, no fire sale
Estate Tax Offset via ILIT
Coordinated with estate plan
The Gap
$7,300,000
Destroyed in an unplanned business succession
The Exemption Sunset Is Real
The 2026 sunset reduces your exemption by $7,000,000.
Every month without a structure is a month the IRS wins.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act exemptions expire December 31, 2025. What was a $12.92M individual exemption reverts to approximately $7M. For a $20M estate, that's an additional $2.37M in federal tax that didn't exist last year. The structures that eliminate this exposure take 60–90 days to implement.
Private consultation. No carrier referrals. No cold calls.
Figures shown are hypothetical illustrations based on common estate structures. Individual results depend on health, estate composition, carrier underwriting, and applicable law. Shield Estate Architecture LLC is not a law firm and does not provide legal or tax advice. Work with your estate attorney and CPA to evaluate suitability.