split dollar - issues with 409A compliance

[Guest SHM]

My questions relate to how to amend an equity-split dollar arrangement to comply with Section 409A and Notice 2007-24:

1) If the arrangement is amended to remove the employee's ability to unilaterally terminate the arrangement, does this amendment constitute a material modification?

2) Are there other issues/provisions of an equity split-dollar arrangement that need to be reviewed and possibly amended in order to make a standard arrangement compliant with 409A?

3) If the business owner and the employee are one in the same, does this cause a problem? In other words, even though the agreement is amended so that the employee cannot change the time/form of payment (in his role as an employee), is he deemed to be able to do so indirectly because he has the right to terminate the agreement in his role as the business owner?