"Having the kids pay the premiums is a fairly common strategy,"
No it is not. It's make for an funny commercial by an investment company that has no idea what they are doing, but please understand, almost no one does this. The problem is three fold.
1) First, if you have 4 children, I will almost guarantee you that at any given time, at least one of them will have difficulty putting aside money for this due to their financial circumstances and because of the next reason.
2) If your children are 25 or so and supposedly ready to make some premium payments, the parents are usually around 50 to 60. They have probably another 30 to 40 years before this plan pays the children anything and it is simply too long term for at least one of your kids to direct his/her needed money towards.
3) All the benefits of this plan come to them on the day their parent/s die. That is a day most kids have set aside to be sad and they emotionally attempt to prevent anything from interupting that (there are exceptions to this of course, but very few and I hope those exceptions are not your children).
My advice to you. Forget the whole idea. By the time your children receive this money their financial condition and personalities will most likely be ingrained. Sure anyone would appreciate $1 million dollars at almost any age, but younger than 60 would be more useful. Even as a retirement plan for your children, it does not have a guaranteed vesting date (although it could have, that depends on your conviction to it. I am kidding here)
Good luck to you.
No it is not. It's make for an funny commercial by an investment company that has no idea what they are doing, but please understand, almost no one does this. The problem is three fold.
1) First, if you have 4 children, I will almost guarantee you that at any given time, at least one of them will have difficulty putting aside money for this due to their financial circumstances and because of the next reason.
2) If your children are 25 or so and supposedly ready to make some premium payments, the parents are usually around 50 to 60. They have probably another 30 to 40 years before this plan pays the children anything and it is simply too long term for at least one of your kids to direct his/her needed money towards.
3) All the benefits of this plan come to them on the day their parent/s die. That is a day most kids have set aside to be sad and they emotionally attempt to prevent anything from interupting that (there are exceptions to this of course, but very few and I hope those exceptions are not your children).
My advice to you. Forget the whole idea. By the time your children receive this money their financial condition and personalities will most likely be ingrained. Sure anyone would appreciate $1 million dollars at almost any age, but younger than 60 would be more useful. Even as a retirement plan for your children, it does not have a guaranteed vesting date (although it could have, that depends on your conviction to it. I am kidding here)
Good luck to you.
