Securing your Legacy
for Generations

Split dollar can allow an organization to provide a significant life insurance benefit to a particular executive while retaining an economic interest in the dollars it contributes. Done well, that solves a problem a simple bonus cannot. Done badly, it leaves both parties managing an arrangement nobody knows how to unwind.
When does PPLI make sense and when should we walk away?
That’s changed.

Private equity entry does not just change who owns a professional services firm. It changes the questions the management team needs to be asking about their benefit programs, and the urgency with which those questions need to be answered.Attorneys want to know when it fits into estate plans. CPAs want clarity on the tax mechanics. Wealth managers want to understand how it’s actually implemented. And nearly everyone asks the same underlying question:

When does PPLI make sense and when should we walk away?
That’s changed.

Most law firm partnership agreements include a buyout or equity redemption arrangement; a mechanism for compensating retiring partners for their ownership interest. The structure varies and may include lump sum payments, installment arrangements, formulas based on years of service or origination credit. What most of these arrangements share is that they are unfunded.
Attorneys want to know when it fits into estate plans. CPAs want clarity on the tax mechanics. Wealth managers want to understand how it’s actually implemented. And nearly everyone asks the same underlying question:

When does PPLI make sense and when should we walk away?
That’s changed.