We work with many qualified financial planners to assist clients with comprehensive estate and financial planning. But we don’t work with everyone, and sometimes we see unscrupulous sales methods employed that take advantage of trusting clients, particularly the elderly. Just such a case is brewing now in Indiana, where an insurance brokerage was disciplined for the unauthorized practice of law – and is now the defendant in a class-action lawsuit. According to insurancenewsnet.com, the insurance brokerage used estate planning as the hook for a lucrative business selling other insurance products, including annuities. Sadly, this is not an unfamiliar tale….
Financial and insurance products have long been key retirement planning components – helping savers mitigate retirement risks and provide retirement income. According to a recent issue of MarketWatch, however, those types of products are getting harder to find as some of the major companies back out of the market.Genworth last week said it will stop selling variable annuities and MetLife decided late last year to stop selling long-term care insurance policies.Why? These are all business decisions based on current economics. But in the case of long-term care insurance, it seems some of the bigger providers got their pricing wrong. Many…
The suspicion should be nothing new, but Consumers Union and the LA Times recently released warnings about reverse mortgages, and it’s worthwhile to repeat them here. The biggest problem with reverse mortgages is that they can be made to appear too attractive to retired senior citizens, when in fact they can be quite risky. Seniors should be wary of reverse mortgages, rather than be misled by them. Reverse mortgages allow seniors to tap into their home equity for cash or a line of credit, often with the claim that the money needn’t be paid back until the borrower dies….
Everyone understands sales people, including those in finance and insurance, make money when people buy their products or services. But residents of senior living communities – such as the 94-year-old mother – can be especially vulnerable targets.
Frederick, MD 
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