You Don't Have To Be Famous To Screw Up Your Estate

Did you know that Prince didn't have a will at the time of his death?  Now a judge is having to distribute the musician's $300 million estate to his 6 siblings. 

James Gandolfini was worth $70 million when he died in 2013, but because he didn't finish his planning, his estate paid approximately 55% taxes.  That's hefty!

Florence Griffith Joyner (FloJo) had a will, but failed to let anyone know where it was.  It took a probate court 4 years to close out her estate.

These are just a few examples of how famous people with lots of money and resources still managed to screw up their estates.  For the rest of us, there are plenty of resources and information.  Here are a few.

1.  Your accountant knows more about your financial situation than anyone.  Let this professional help you.  The less the government gets in taxes, the more in the pockets of your heirs.

2.  Your attorney should be able to let you know if you need a trust (for tax avoidance purposes) or not.  Keep in mind that estate planning attorneys are usually not the same person you use to get you out of a speeding ticket. 

3.  Your life insurance agent can plan for where insurance proceeds go after your death.  Remember that most death benefits are tax-free.  As an attorney friend of mine says, "A contract trumps a will, and a life insurance policy is a contract." 

If you have questions about planning, let us know at Surf Financial Brokers.

Why Small Business Owners Need a Buy-Sell Agrement

What happens when a partner in a business dies?  How does this impact the surviving partner?

Let's create a scenario.  Bill and Mary open a business and own it 50/50.  The business is doing well.  But one evening on his way home to his family, a truck crosses the center line and hits Bill head on.  Bill dies.

After Bill's funeral, Mary realizes that she's now in business with her new partner, Bill's widow, Susan.  Susan knows nothing about the business but insists that she can "get to know how things work".  Mary needs to get back to running the business, not teach Susan, who has been a stay-at-home mom for the last 10 years, the workings of her company.

A few months pass and Mary is doing all the work, with the interruptions and input from Stanley, Susan's new boyfriend.  Stanley likes to come around and let his friends know that he's running a business now.  Mary is confused and angry. 

All of this could have been avoided if Bill and Mary had completed a buy-sell agreement and funded it with life insurance.  In a nutshell, the agreement would state that if one partner died, the other would have life insurance proceeds to buy the deceased partner's share of the business. 

Mary could have given Susan enough money to pay for Bill's share.  If properly structured, Susan could pay off her house and Mary could keep the business going without the interference of others who have no knowledge of the company's goals or values. 

If you have a business partner, have you considered what would happen if one of you died?  We can help you with a buy-sell agreement and keeping it funded with life insurance. 

The Agents' Problems With Health #Insurance

As we all know, health insurance changed dramatically in this country several years ago with the ACA or Obamacare rules.  Instead of individual policies with various deductibles, companies were forced to offer policies with "essential health benefits" or ESB's, which meant that all policies had to offer certain coverages.  This, as well as forcing carriers to cover people with pre-existing conditions, drove rates through the roof.

But how did it all affect your health insurance agent?  

First, the law mandated that 70% of premiums had to go toward claims.  This left 30% to go toward administrative costs, overhead, salaries and, yes, commissions.  Those commissions shriveled up like a Sunsweet raisin.  I don't sell based on commission only, however, this is my job, not a hobby.  I need to make a living as well.  Obamacare created several new outlets for people to get their coverage, including a website, an 800 number and navigators, which are non-insurance licensed enrollers.  People don't need an agent.

Secondly, we have a short window of time, the open enrollment period, to enroll you.  Outside of that time period, we can enroll if you have a special situation, ie you lost coverage through your job or you got married.  But the companies have decided NOT to pay commissions on those sales.  Again, it's not a hobby.

Finally, the agents we talk to are generally disgusted with the whole process and don't want to keep investing their time and energy getting certified each year while not knowing if our politicians are going to repeal, replace, tweak, fund or defund the system.  

With all of this in mind, we at Surf Financial Brokers have made the decision to stop offering health insurance until conditions get much better.  However, we are taking the time to make sure we offer the best options when it comes to Medicare Supplements, life insurance and group benefits (minus health) for our clients.  

Please let us know if we can assist you!

"You're Going To Be Great At This!" now available on Amazon.com

Recently, Chris Castanes, the president of Surf Financial Brokers, has released his first book, "You're Going To Be Great At This!", a humorous look at his career in sales.  Part primer and part memoir, this books gives you the inside scoop on recruiters, sales managers and crazy customers.

If you are considering a career in sales or are already in the business of selling, this book can give you the lay of the land so that you will see the obstacles before they become problems.  Drawing from a career selling insurance, office supplies, retail and even telemarketing, "You're Going To Be Great At This!" is filled with lessons learned and plenty of "dumb stories".

And if you are a customer, client, buyer or consumer, there's something in the book for you as well.  With a mixture of humor and a little bit of bad taste, "You're Going To Be Great At This!" might give you a chuckle or two.

"You're Going To Be Great At This!" is available on Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle edition and can be found here.

Does Your Beneficiary Know Where To Find Your Life Insurance Policy?

So you've purchased a life insurance policy because you are very responsible and want to make sure that your loved ones have enough money in case you die too soon.  That's awesome, but you have one more job to do and that job is to make sure your beneficiary knows where to find the policy.

Many times, we throw the policy in a cabinet or a safe box and forget about it.  Big mistake.  Here are some basic suggestions to help you make sure your policy does what it is intended for.

• Let your beneficiary know you named them as such.  I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone say, "I don't want to tell them because they might kill me."  I hope they are kidding, but if not, why would you name them beneficiary in the first place? 
• Let the beneficiary know they will know where to find your policy, as well as other documents they will need.  This can include your social security card and death certificate. 
• Don't put your policy in a safe deposit box at a bank.  This may sound like a great idea but many times the only one with access to the safe deposit box is the deceased and the bank won't open it without a court order. 
• If you are pre-planning your funeral you can give your life insurance information to the funeral home and they can access your policy at your death.
• Don't name minors as your beneficiary.  Life insurance carriers won't pay until the child is of legal age (usually 18 years old) and that can result in the much needed funds not being dispersed for the intended uses.

Also remember that your beneficiary will have a more difficult time if you buy your policy online without an agent.  Will they know which website you bought from or which 800 number to call?  Make the job of your beneficiary hassle free!

We can help you with your life insurance planning needs at Surf Financial Brokers. 

Do You Have the Face For Life Insurance?

Once again a new technology is changing how we can expedite life insurance sales.  According to NerdWallet, Lapetus Solutions has developed new facial analytic technology which can determine how long someone is expected to live.

The new technology, called Chronos, could help people get a policy approved in as little as 10 minutes, thus avoiding a medical exam. 

Many companies are easing away from full medical exams for lower face amounts of coverage.  A few of the companies we represent at Surf Financial Brokers offer term life coverage with no exam if the policy amount is under $250,000, and more carriers are heading in that direction.  But with this new technology, life insurance policies should get issued quicker and more efficiently.  Let's hope it works!

Great News For Business Owners Who Offer (Or Would Like To) Benefits

Part of our work at Surf Financial Brokers is helping businesses who wish to offer benefits to their employees.  Through our network of agents, we help with dental, vision, disability,  and life insurance, as well as cancer and critical illness plans, to name a few.

For the most part, the employees pay for these plans by having the premiums deducted directly from their paychecks by their employer.  There are those occasions, though, when the employer doesn't want to deal with this process.  We now have a way to deal with this situation.

We can offer the same benefits to employees on a non-payroll deduction platform, and at the same group rates!  The employee can pay for the policies with a debit card or have the premium drafted directly from their bank account on a monthly basis.  This keeps the employer from having to deal with billing while still allowing the staff to enjoy the same peace of mind that these policies offer.

And we can even set up a call center for the employees to use to enroll in these great benefits.  For more information, give us a call or contact us through our website.