Estate taxes issue with Suze Orman being a lesbian- quick question out of curiosity?

This is in the article about Suze Orman. (KT is Kathy Travis her life partner.) In reaction to Orman's coming-out, numerous media outlets have focused on her statements regarding her inability to legally marry her partner and the financial repercussions of that status. "Both of us have millions of dollars in our name," Orman told the New York Times Magazine. "It's killing me that upon my death, K.T. is going to lose 50 percent of everything I have to estate taxes. Or vice versa." IS THIS TRUE???..... She doesn't have to pay the 50% estate taxes OUT OF POCKET. She can buy life insurance to help pay the estate taxes. ??? (because that is what someone said this morning to me) I am just asking because of whether Suze Orman is correct ;or the lady who told me Suze Orman is wrong in her statement? Can Suze avoid out of pocket costs on her Estate Taxes by way of insurance?

Public Comments

1. Absolutely not true!! For a person that supposedly knows so much about money that is an incredibly ignorant statement(if indeed the quote is accurate).
2. You know what literally the first question I asked on here was if she was gay. I got a violation and the question removed. I am a fan of her show and did not ask it in a malicious manner! I don't know about the other stuff, but watch out you may get violated.
3. 'tis true. For whatever it's worth, she was interviewed in the February 25, 2007 New York Times. If you have access, here's a link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/25/magazine/25wwlnq4.t.html?_r=1&scp=6&sq=suze+orman&st=nyt&oref=slogin Scroll down about halfway through the interview. So, if it's not true, it was a good bluff.
4. Her net worth is between $10 million and $100 million. To buy between $5 million and $50 million in life insurance at her age would be a very big out-of-pocket expense.
5. Yes, Suze Orman could buy insurance...but the value of the insurance would be ADDED to her estate (making 50% of it taxable) and getting insurance in that stratosphere is expensive. She probably will live to 80 or 90 years of age. To buy insurance each and every year will cost a lot. Suze's point is that she and KT shouldn't *have* to buy that insurance.
6. If you own or in any way control an insurance policy for your own life, the benficiary is not taxed, but it is part of the taxable estate if the beneficiary is not a spouse. Even if you can only set beneficiaries for a policy owned by someone else (company policy for example), the insurance is part of your gross estate. So her partner would need to own and totally control the policy in order for the insurance itself to be excluded from estate tax. And if she got a new partner, the old partner who owns the policy could still keep the policy and benefit from her death. Although, if Suze owned the policy, the half left after estate tax could still offset other estate tax.