Kurt is a 64-year-old widower. Comfortably retired, he likes to go the gym and play a lot of golf. His financial advisor is confident Kurt’s financial situation, while not unlimited, will allow him to do that for the rest of his life. Except for one thing; Kurt doesn’t have enough resources to protect him from...
Background: A recent UBS study found that 56% of widows experience a financial surprise at the death of their spouse. Additionally, a widow can expect an average 37% decline in income – money that won’t be there to maintain their standard of living. Many times, those bad outcomes result from the absence of a good...
When I met Mike and Shelly, they were living in a small apartment with two young children. Their love for each other and commitment to family values was readily apparent. She was a stay-at-home mom, and he was on the beginning rung of a career he loved. The most immediate need was to move from...
Contrary to popular belief, not all life insurance companies are the same. Buying similar plans can end up with dramatically different results later on, depending on the quality of the organization issuing your policy. Here’s why: Problem When we conduct an independent policy review, an important part of our process is checking out the issuing...
Here’s a very recent example: In March one of our attorney partners was redrafting a succession agreement for a business client. As team members, we were asked to review the existing insurance policies. Our analysis showed they were both excellent and deserved to be retained. The total amount, however, was $500,000 short of the amount...
At the peak of the COVID pandemic, my friend Joe hadn’t seen his wife for over five months. He had rushed her to the hospital and had to watch from the door while the gurney wheeled her away. It turned out she had an aneurism that needed immediate attention. The doctors saved her life, but...
Fred and Barney are the same age and in good health. They both need the same amount of life insurance protection and they both have discretionary income. Fred is a saver and Barney is a spender. As a saver, Fred doesn’t like to rent things-he likes to accumulate. Since he’s already saving it makes sense...
Ronald Reagan popularized the phrase “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” In many cases, that’s good advice. If, however, you’re a crew member on a submarine (like I was) – it’s not good advice at all. We were trained to a higher standard of care. We made sure it was working, but it was...
Fred’s attorney had no indication of whether Fred’s life insurance policy was healthy or not. According to Fred, it hadn’t been looked at in almost ten years. Familiar with how we’ve added value to other clients in the past, the attorney asked us to review the policy for Fred. Here’s what we found. Problem The...
The reason to consider a Life Settlement of an existing life insurance policy is to be sure you don’t leave any money on the table. Many clients don’t realize they might be sitting on an asset that can be turned into cash – the sale of an unaffordable or unneeded life insurance policy. (We have...