Crummey Trust

What Does Crummey Trust Mean?

A Crummey trust is a type of trust that allows assets to be given to beneficiaries as “gifts” up to a specified amount per year. By keeping these gifts within a certain threshold, the recipient can avoid paying gift taxes.

Insuranceopedia Explains Crummey Trust

Many people use Crummey trusts as estate planning tools to minimize tax liabilities while maximizing the assets they can pass on to beneficiaries. The gift tax exclusion covers contributions made to the trust, and a separate set of rules determines whether life insurance is taxable once the death benefit is paid out, since many Crummey trusts are funded with a life insurance policy.

Crummey trusts are often established by parents with their children as the beneficiaries. Typically, parents maintain the trust until their children reach a certain age, at which point the children gain full access to the assets in the trust. When life insurance is the asset being passed down, the usual life insurance beneficiary rules still apply to how the payout is eventually claimed.