Estate Planning
2 June 2010
Celebrity follies get our attention when flashed in the breaking news headlines.. but we can get much more out of this news then just the entertainment value. As Eleanor Roosevelt said... “Learn from the mistakes of others. You can't live long enough to make them all yourself.”
I recently read the article “The lessons of famously bad Estate Planning” in the May issue of Insurance news net magazine. Where many celebs are named that did not have their will and estate in order before their death. Therefore creating a disaster of problems for the loved ones left to deal with the mess.
Some Examples:
Jimi Hendrix – died September 18, 1970 at the age of 27 years old, without a will. Over 30 years later his estate was still in court, ultimately his $80 million estate went to his father's adopted daughter.
source: http://www.legalzoom.com/legal-headlines/celebrity-lawsuits/battle-over-jimi
James Brown – His 2006 Christmas day death, brought out much bickering over where the proper burial place should be. A year later the estate continued to be in limbo as some surviving children put fourth a challenge on the estate.
source: http://www.legalzoom.com/legal-headlines/celebrity-lawsuits/james-browns-estate-still
Sonny Bono – Following his January 5, 1998 skiing accident that resulted in his death, Sonny's widow, Mary had to schedule her grieving time for later. She was thrown into having to take action right away by going to court to be appointed the estate's executor, and file a court petition to manage royalties. There was a line of people to make claims on the estate. That is never a good thing for those left to deal with it all.
source: http://www.insurancenewsnetmagazine.com/may10/ “The lessons of famously bad Estate Planning”
When we do not have our wishes communicated legally before our passing, our failure of action puts a burden on family members who must spend weeks, months or even years trying to straighten everything out. Which is not a stress free task to tackle. I'm sure most of us do not wish to create such a burden for our loved ones. In order to prevent such burdens on family members, it is necessary to do some simple pre-planning.
I know we don't want to discuss things that involve our death, but it is essential in order for family members and loved ones to maintain their stability. So what are you waiting for? Contact a qualified representative today!
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Employer Sponsored Life Insurance
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Group Life Insurance Introduced?
21 May 2010
What year was it when the first Group Life Insurance for employees was introduced?
(1909, 1911, 1915, 1920)
1911 – Introduction of Employee Group Life Insurance
source: American Council of Life Insurers. Life Insurers Fact Book
Why Can't I Get Life Insurance
13 May 2010
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Life Insurance is designed to take care of one's dependents after death... but you can't always buy life insurance when you need it. Why? You have to be in reasonably good health to purchase most types of life insurance products.
It may seem logical to ask: Why can't I get life insurance if I'm dying? Let us look at an example to understand the answer to this question.
Say you make $50,000 a year, and have $3,000 in your savings account. You have a $200,000 term life insurance policy that costs you $38.00 per month. [Now if something were to happen to you – your family has $200,000 to live on instead of only the $3,000 in your savings account.] The life insurance company has this $200,000 to give to your family because they have collected $38.00 per month from similar people who did not die, therefore the insurance company can afford to pay the $200,000 to your heirs.
Now let us assume a life insurance company sells $200,000 life insurance polices to high risk – terminally ill people. The company realizes the high probability of paying out the $200,000 on many policies. In order for the insurance company to be able to pay out on several $200,000 policies they would need to collect some crazy amount like $50,000 per month from a lot of similar people, knowing that only a few will survive.
This example shows: that the more unhealthy the group is … the more the insurance company will need to charge each person in the group.
Most life insurance companies do not offer high risk life insurance policies. This is why you need to be reasonably healthy to get a life insurance policy.
This is also why we are so passionate about Life Insurance. It makes my heart ache when someone calls to ask about life insurance for their husband because just received 4 stints in his heart and has diabetes -or- My Aunt needs life insurance because she was just diagnosed with a tumor. Usually (not always) by then it is too late to be accepted by the life insurance company.
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