Legal Dictionary of Pakistan

incident of ownership

(usu. pl.) Any right of control that may be exercised over a transferred life-insurance policy so that the policy's proceeds will be included in a decedent's gross estate for estate-tax purposes <because Douglas still retained the incidents of ownership after giving his life-insurance policy to his daughter, the policy proceeds were taxed against his estate>. ( The incidents of ownership include the rights to change the policy's beneficiaries and to borrow against, assign, and cancel the policy. incident power See POWER.