“EYELIDS? I DON’T SEE WHAT EYELIDS HAVE TO DO WITH IT.”
These exact words were directed at me a few years ago by my Trusts professor in law school. The professor is a very well-known scholar in the wills/trusts/probate field, but as someone who doesn’t practice he failed to recognize that I was saying “ILIT,” common parlance in the field for an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust.
My professor’s problem illustrates a potential one for Estate Planning clients. Most attorneys realize that they are dealing with complex and often obtuse concepts that can make an uninitiated client dizzy, and do their best to explain things carefully and at a reasonable pace. However, it may still be a challenge to take in, particularly with terms that sound confusing (like ILIT) or are used interchangeably with other terms, so after the jump, a glossary of common terms likely to cause confusion: