What are the ins and outs of using a whole life policy to cover tax liability?

Many people are told that life insurance is the answer to the tax bill their estate will face at death, and this piece encourages a 62-year-old in planning mode to pause and ask whether she truly needs more of it. The real question underneath is not how the policy works, but whether buying coverage to cover taxes is actually solving a problem she has. The thinking walks through what those taxes at death might look like, what assets are already there to handle them, and whether the cost of new insurance is worth it compared with simply letting the estate pay. It is most useful for someone in their sixties sorting out estate plans who has heard the insurance pitch and wants to weigh it honestly. Sometimes the tidy solution is the right one, and sometimes it is coverage you do not need.