About Those Assets... The Inside Scoop

Preserve Your Estate (or Your Parents' Estate) Part 1

Will you be able to give the entire inheritance to your heirs?

Or will your resources be depleted from expenses and unforeseen circumstances of your golden years?

Leaving an inheritance to our children or a gift to the causes that are important to us are two of the main reasons we work so hard and put assets aside instead of spending every dollar we earn. It gives us a sense of pride and accomplishment when we plan and prepare for those we hold dear; it is as if we are placing the final touches on our legacy. We take satisfaction in knowing we have prepared for the future.

Unfortunately, there are other factors at work against the assets you have set aside and designated to loved ones. Let's consider some of these events:

Catastrophic illness, accident or failing health can place a devastating drain on your family's finances.

Medical bills can quickly run into the tens of thousands of dollars. Many times certain procedures or prescriptions are not covered by health insurance. In order to receive proper care, not only could you deplete the resources you have designated for your own care, you must then draw from the assets you have set aside for your legacy. Even if you get well, there is no end in sight to the expenses that will creep up to maintain your health.

The average cost of a nursing home in Monroe County, New York, is $96,000 per year. That's about $8,000 per month.

How long can you afford to pay for a nursing home? Is that how you want to spend your kids' inheritance?

SENIORS BEWARE! Long Term Care Insurance. This is where my feathers get a bit ruffled. OK, a lot ruffled.

The LTC Insurance scheme, in my opinion, is obscene.

Seniors are getting violated left and right by smooth talking LTCI salespeople who promise coverage they know full well that their company may not deliver. Let me explain.

Did you know that insurance companies have aggressive legal teams whose only job is to find ways to deny paying out benefits on claims? They have their own attorneys who examine your application, your medical history, your current medical condition, and any other information they can get their hands on to find legal ways to deny your claim. (They can claim any number of promises in their literature, without government regulation, but in the end, they have the last say in what coverage you will actually get.)

How does that affect you? Well, after you have signed up for a LTCI policy based on what your sales rep "promised" you about your coverage, and after you've paid thousands of dollars over a number of years, when it comes time to file your claim for coverage, you may get CLAIM DENIED! Yes, it happens. And it happens so often to so many seniors with such devastating consequences and no recourse that the US House Select Committee has issued severe warnings: SENIORS BEWARE!!!

How much money did you spend? Most reputable insurance companies issue basic policies for a mere $2,500 per year per spouse (better policies cost considerably more). In only five years that's $25,000 per couple. In ten years that's $50,000. And insurance companies are "recommending" that you purchase your LTCI policy while you are younger to get lower rates and avoid medical conditions that may increase your premiums later. That means the earlier you take out a policy, the longer you will pay these premiums. And then they may deny your claim, or only pay partial benefits. But…

What if you never even need a nursing home? There's a 50% chance you will never need long term care. $50,000 for a "what if."

What a tortured way to slowly eat up your resources…

And I'm not done! What about:

Not qualifying for LTCI due to:
 Pre-existing medical conditions
 Family medical history limitations
 Undiagnosed (possible) future health conditions

Not being able to afford LTCI due to:
 Outrageous premiums based on existing health conditions
 Limited resources to pay for premiums

Losing coverage when financial conditions change and premiums cannot be kept up

Other issues equally problematic

Fortunately, there are simple, affordable alternatives to watching your resources waste away over these insurance gambles and medical situations.

In Preserving Your Estate (or Your Parents' Estate) Part 2 we will look at more threats to your estate and assets, threats that are lurking behind every estate, even if you believe your estate is small and uncomplicated.

Later, we will discuss:

WHAT ABOUT MEDICAID? Can you qualify without losing your estate or spending down everything you have?

Do you have a WILL? Will a WILL protect your estate and guarantee your heirs will receive what you want them to have?

What types of SECURITY do you have concerning your assets? A TRUST? A LIVING TRUST? ASSETS IN YOUR SPOUSE'S NAME? Will these measures really protect your estate and assets? Find out what your lawyer doesn't want you to know.

Please join us at the 15th Annual Health & Fitness Fair on Thursday, October 7, 2004 at the Dome Arena in Henrietta, New York, sponsored by Senator Jim Alesi.

Stop by our ARMOR GROUP booth to sign up for Dinner for Four at the Crescent Beach Hotel on Lake Ontario.

Looking forward to our next visit.

No One Screamed At Us / Threats To Your Assets

Blogging Boot Camp.

0900 Hours-1600 Hours
Intense AIT (Advanced Individual Training)

This boot camp was unlike any other. No one screamed at us. There was no marching in formation. No push-ups, no inspections, no drill sergeants. No obstacle course or machine gun training.

In fact, it was quite the opposite. Our commanding officers, Yvonne DiVita, also known as "Jane" of Dickless Marketing and Lip-Sticking fame, and Tom Collins, recovering attorney and current knowledge gatherer for the educated, and experienced author at Knowledge Aforethought, were professionally mannered, even kind, to those of us who were first-day recruits into the blogging world.

And thus began a whole new dimension to my life as a blogger, and to Armor Group, the company I work for. (NOTE: Our website, ArmorGroup.net, is currently changing DNS, but it should be back up and available within a couple days. Thanks for your patience.)

John, my beloved boss, president and inspiration of Armor Group, wasn't convinced that a blog was even remotely beneficial to his expanding business. Fortunately, though, Yvonne and Tom challenged him to let me attend the Boot Camp. He reluctantly agreed, wrote out the check, and while I was registering in the outer office, my associate, Steve McCarthy, was marketing the blogosphere to John in the other room. Thank you, Steve, for your support!

You see, John is a "hands-on" kind of guy, and the computer world is the last thing on his mind. He much prefers a face-to-face encounter with real human beings, not a simulated relationship via the "search-and discover" method of the keyboard. But he's a most generous man when it comes to supporting his associates and encouraging them on to the things that they believe in. So with his blessing (and his money) I am able to prove to him the value of current, relevant information through the blog. Thank you, John. (Read more about John in the "About" link above)

So with that introduction, let me offer a bit about what this blog will give you, the inquisitive reader.

About Those Assets… The Inside Scoop is designed to pass along to the unsuspecting world some of the secrets and hidden threats to your assets, and ways to maximize and protect the assets you have worked so hard to achieve. Tangible assets are those things that accumulate because of hard work, long hours, and successful ideas that you labor over for the benefit of your family, your business, and your lifestyle.

Everyone has assets, even if they are small or may seem insignificant. The computer you are reading this on is an asset. The chair you are sitting on to read the screen is an asset. You may own a home, a farm, a business, equipment or machinery, a fleet, recreational vehicles or homes, stocks, bonds, or other investments, insurance policies, collections, jewelry, books, heirlooms, and on and on. Everything you own is an asset.

What most people don't know is that there are threats to your assets that come along as everyday events in your life. When your insurance company refuses to pay a claim, and you must contribute money to satisfy the judgement (after paying thousands of dollars in premiums to the company pledged to protect you), that is a serious threat to your assets.

When your liability insurance costs you more when your business brings in more revenue (not just profits) such as is the case with contractors, and the premiums skyrocket, forcing you to choose between food on the table and staying in business, that's a serious threat to your assets.

Paying way too much in taxes? Own rental property with lead paint or mold? Fearing a malpractice suit? Bankruptcy? Failing health? Catastrophic illness? Pre-existing medical conditions make you un-insurable? Can't afford expensive long term care insurance premiums? Want to preserve the estate for your heirs?

And you can think of plenty of your own threats and fears lurking in the shadows.

They're out there. That's why we're here.

Stay tuned for some of the most explosive tips and strategies available to maximize and protect your assets with certainty.

I have to get onto another assignment for John, so until next time, be thinking about what types of threats you may have to your assets. You may be surprised at what you come up with.

NOTE: Our website, ArmorGroup.net, is currently changing DNS, but it should be back up and available within a couple days. Thanks for your patience.

WE WILL NOT FORGET

September 11, 2001.

It is the anniversary of the most frightening day in modern history.

It rings in our memories as the media reminds us of memorials to the fallen, presents stories of the survivors, and throws blame this way and that.

Election year "weaponry" is thrown around like fiery javelins, aiming for the kill at political agendas... but it has missed its intended mark. The poison arrows are actually piercing the sacred memory of the tragic day, cursing the heroes, the victims, and the children (and most adults) of our society who lost their childlike belief that we, as Americans, are safe.

Never again can they believe that people are good and that we (or the government) can protect them. They have learned that evil has no face, and can wreak havoc by the element of surprise. More disturbingly, the magnitude of evil can never again be measured by crime rates or distaste to common decency.

Evil now has an agenda.

Opinions and accusations rage -- did the government know the attack was coming? When did they know? What really hit the Pentagon? Was Flight 93 actually shot down over Shanksville, PA? Did we really go to war in Iraq to fight "terrorism?" Whose war is it, anyway?

Some of these questions will never be answered because we have a government bent on concealing information and rewriting events to dis-inform the people. In the bigger picture, that is the way of a government. In the smaller picture, that simply grates on my sensibilities.

But 9-11 will always stand as a tragic loss of mothers and fathers and sons and daughters and friends and rescue workers, and a story of surviving the pain and loneliness of grief endured by those who loved them and those who needed them.

It is not only about political or religious lobbing of the the ball of power and control. It is about a nation shaken to its core by unthinkable scare tactics, a nation bound together through the grief of horrendous loss coupled with the pride and patriotism inherent in the USA, OUR USA. It is about new beginnings, a changed outlook on life, and the struggle for normalcy amidst a world that harbors tyrants who would kill for a cause.

I will never forget that shocking day. Many blessings to the families who are rebuilding their lives. May the memories of their loved ones bring them pride. May they not be buried under the weight of blame or unforgiveness so that they can live full lives and enjoy the great fruits of America.

Max

Around Rochester NY for 9-11

Operation Patriot at Ontario Beach Park "Honoring Those Who Ensure Our Freedom" Operation Patriot begins with an 80-mile motorcycle / classic & sports car ride...
SEE THE WEBSITE! http://www.operationpatriot.org/

9/11 National Remembrance Flag pictures from around our area http://www.911remembranceflag.com/photos.phtml

September 11 Pictures Worth Seeing http://www.september11news.com/