I am planning in changing my life insurance policies so my wife and I will have seperate policies, both being paid into a trust if either of us die, with the other being the sole beneficiary. This seems fairly standard and will mean no inheritance tax is due on the amount paid out.
First question: If my policy pays out to a trust for which my wife is a beneficiary, can she access the money straight away, or does there have to be a trustee to distribute the funds? If so, can that trustee be my wife (I assume not), or can the trustee simply pay the full amount straight out to my wife?
Second question: Should my wife and I die at the same time, with no remaining beneficiaries for either policy, where would the money go? We have 2 children and I would like the money to go to them and have been led to beleive that the two policies will go into our estate and would be divided up as per instructions in our wills. If this is the case, then subject to the inheritance tax issue, I'd be happy.
Can you clarify?
Thanks