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One of the products gaining a significant amount of attention right now is "linked benefit" or "hybrid" products. These are some variations on the theme of providing death benefit as well as accelerated benefit provisions for chronic and critical illness, with some also including disability coverage as part of the mix. The hook is that these products provide coverage for any number of the "what ifs" in life in one easy to understand package.

The question in my mind is, "Are these really as easily understood by the public as we all think?"

We all know this.  Despite that fact, some still try to bury their heads in the sand about some of the planning pitfalls we face.  Case in point - foreign nationals.  It would seem on the surface that foreign nationals holding US assets would be subject to US estate taxes on the assets held in the US, right?  Well, sort of.  While they are subject to US tax laws regarding transfer taxes, the actual laws are very different from those for a US resident. 

How different?  An estate tax exclusion amount of $60,000 versus $5 million.