Steven A. Horowitz, Esq., Gerald Nowotny, JD, LLM and Bradley A. Barros | Dec 14, 2020
In 1752 when Benjamin Franklin formed The Philadelphia Contributionship, the organization became the first insurance company in the American Colonies. While much has changed over the past 268 years, the Contributionship still remains in business today, and along with it, the concept of transferring “value” in exchange for goods and services.
Since the beginning of 2000, high-net-worth families have worked with the world's leading law firms in developing custom-designed variable universal life insurance policies to provide a more complete life insurance solution for their families (a wide array of benefits to their loved ones) and for charities. These policies have been sold via the use of Regulation D “private placement” documents or “PPMs” for securities law purposes. These customized insurance policies are frequently funded with a combination of cash and certain noncash assets, which can include interests in private equity, real property, hedge funds, artwork, aircraft and qualifying majority-owned entities via in-kind contribution.