Estate planning

It is very typical for clients to have some or all of their life insurance held in a trust. The reasons are numerous (too many for this article) but suffice it to say that this ownership structure is utilized frequently and is part of sound estate planning. Each of these trusts must contain a trustee or trustees who have accepted the responsibility …

The sad truth is that estate attorneys indicate that approximately 70% of Americans die without a will. In my opinion, this is unacceptable! Why? Because Americans truly love their families and would prefer not to place any unnecessary or additional burden on them at a time of such great emotional hardship. Here is why this is such a terrible memory …

Nobody wants to talk about death or dying. However, since we know for a fact that it WILL happen some day, shouldn’t we have a place in our planning for this event? So many people and financial professionals spend their entire lives attempting to create the “perfect financial plan” with the hopes and dreams of becoming financially successful and independent. …

You can get referrals from clients and prospects without even asking. All you need to do is plant seeds into their unconscious and watch them go to work for you. I teach 10 different ways to plant powerful referral seeds with prospects and clients. Here are five of them you can use right away: 1. Celebrate meeting a new prospect …

A lot has changed since 1985 when I entered the senior insurance market.  Back then, I worked with a captive company and learned as much as I could about Medicare, long-term care, and individual life insurance and fixed annuities. When the government standardized Medicare Supplement plans in 1992, this product became a commodity.  This was great for consumers, but not …

We’ve all heard the old adage that timing is everything. This is certainly true in the world of estate planning and wealth transfer, especially right now. In 2010, the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act postponed higher taxes and lowered the estate tax exemption we expected in 2011–but only until 2013. The act included a higher exemption …

Many agents walk away from potential sales because they think the client is too sick or too old to obtain coverage. Years ago, there was a true impaired risk market where companies such as US Life and State Life would underwrite cases using different criteria and many times accepted risks that other companies would not. That is no longer the …

One of the most lucrative markets for insurance sales is family-owned businesses.  And, as the estate planning market wanes or possibly even disappears, the business succession planning market is likely to become even more important as well as more competitive. One of the biggest challenges facing practitioners is how to differentiate themselves from the competition in their chosen market.  If …