A large federal estate-tax exclusion does not eliminate estate-planning risk. Surgeons may still face estate-liquidity challenges when wealth is concentrated in a medical practice, commercial real estate, deferred compensation, or other illiquid assets. Learn how an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT) may provide liquidity for estate obligations, business-succession planning, family equalization, and potential state estate-tax exposure—along with the tradeoffs, Crummey-power requirements, and three-year-rule considerations involved.