Facing Terminal Illness?

 Where will the cash flow come from for all the extra medical and care expenses? For people facing this situation, we need to take a look at other possible sources for this cash flow need. Armed with the right knowledge,intelligent choices can be made about how to make the best use of benefits.

Probate, outdated trusts, incorrect beneficiaries or other changing circumstances can tie up assets for years in probate or leave behind a nightmare of legal issues. I can help sort through your financial and retirement savings accounts and other assets to make sure beneficiary designations reflect current wishes. With a trusted attorney I can help you properly apply the law and compose necessary legal documents such as living wills, health care surrogates and simple trusts.

Kids as Direct Beneficiaries! Is not a good Idea!

 When you buy a life insurance policy it is usually to protect and provide for your family after you die. So it seems to make sense to designate your children as beneficiaries , but this can have complications if you were to die while your children are still minors.

For the protection of minor children they cannot receive or control proceeds from assets until the age of 18 in most states. In such cases insurance companies can keep the funds until they reach 18. Eventually they will get the money, but do you know how a 18 year old would handle all that money? This is not how people intend for their children to benefit from life insurance!

So if not children as beneficiaries then what about the next most popular choice a Guardian for your minor children? This to can be a bad idea as here you are creating a moral obligation that the Guardian will use all the funds for the benefit of your children. Another problem that can be created by doing this is what if this person is incompetent at the time of your death ?

On the other hand if you create a Revocable Trust you can control when your children receive their inheritance. The insured establishes the Trust, chooses a Trustee and dictates under what terms the assets in the trust can be used therefore insuring the proceeds from a life insurance policy can be used for the benefit of your minor children.

You should always think twice before naming beneficiaries on your assets , if you have already don’t worry it is an easy fix! Do it right create a personalized Revocable Trust this will allow you to pass your financial assets to your family in the way that you intended and help you preserve your family values and family legacy.

Advice for a Healthy Financial Future - Karla White

Having faced the diagnosis of terminal cancer, and then subsequently the loss of my husband, I know
firsthand that everything can change in an instant. Don't make the mistake of not getting help with this
important issue, as it can have a huge effect on your loved ones.

“IT CAN ALL CHANGE IN AN INSTANT”
We all have the things we want to do ‐ “our bucket lists” – but how many times are these dreams suddenly changed when the unexpected happens. We have all heard, or even had some firsthand experience, of the stories where the impact of illness or death of a family member is catastrophic, leaving some families in complete devastation. While doing nothing is an option, I do not believe it is the best one. Everyone will at some point in the future face the inevitable, and putting a plan into place can substantially improve the outcome ‐ it will not tempt fate.

“THE BEST TIME TO PLAN”
One question that a lot of people ask is when is the right time to start the process? People hesitate
because they're not sure if they have enough assets to make an effective plan, or are not sure if estate
planning will affect them, or how to handle long term health ramifications. But without careful planning,
your money and assets could end up going to the wrong people. If you want to ensure that your loved
ones can survive after you have passed on and that your hard earned assets are protected, plan now when you are still healthy and insurable.

“THE FUTURE IS NOW”
No matter what age you are, you need to consider your financial future now. Accidents can happen at any time, and you never know when you might pass away. While planning can be difficult to define, it involves caring for yourself and your family and distributing the assets and property you have saved and managed most effectively. You don't need to take any extra chances, when it's perfectly within your power to do something about it now. Sit down with me and together we will be able to come up with the best plan for supporting your family. I can use my real life experiences combined with my professional financial background to help you get the job done right and make sure that your loved ones are well taken care of.

Make an appointment to find out if I might be the right financial advisor for you I will reward you with a $75 Gift Card to ‘La Te Da Salon and Spa’ for your valuable time.

Please call my office today and ask Colleen to set up an appointment for an Opportunity Meeting with Karla and I will have your gift card waiting for you when we meet. (239) 288-0977

Double Your Money - The Rule of 72

I don’t know about you but I like things explained to me in simple terms.

Do you know what I mean?

I like things explained to me in terms that are easy to understand.

Do you ever feel when someone is explaining something to you that they are talking to you in a foreign language.

Do you ever want to respond with “so basically what you are saying is..…”

Because I do (actually I really do!!).

Do you ever feel that financial strategies seem difficult to understand?

Have you ever thought to yourself, if things were easier to understand, maybe my investments would be making more money for me!

Well let me explain the rule of 72 to you and I will keep it simple.

To figure out the rule of 72 you take the number 72 and divide it by the annual rate of interest that your money is earning to determine how many years it is going to take for your money to double.

In other words if you are getting a 1% rate of return a year.  It is going to take you 72 years to double your money. 

So to a 30 year old who is thinking of investing $10,000 in a bank CD with a 1% rate of return, they will be 105 years old by the time their money has doubled and they have $20,000.

If we take that same person but this time they were to put their $10,000 into an investment that they were going to get a 4% rate of return on their money  now their money will double every 18 years, so by the time they reach the age of 65 they will have $40,000. 

Starting to look better isn’t it?

Well, how would it look if again we took that same person and we were able to get them  an 8% rate of return on that same $10,000, this would then double their investment every 9 years so by the time they reached 65 they would have $160,000.  Now that is a much better investment.  I am sure you will agree.

So I think you will see that it is vitally important to learn the basics in order for you to reach your financial goals, in other words you need to have your money invested wisley in order for it to do the best job for you and help you achieve that financial independence that we are all looking for in our retirement years.