A viatical settlement is the sale of a life insurance policy by the policy owner before the policy matures. Such a sale, at a price discounted from the face amount of the policy but usually in excess of the premiums paid or current cash surrender value, provides the seller an immediate cash settlement. Similar to reverse mortgages, viatical settlements involve insured individuals with a life expectancy of less than five years. In countries with high health care costs (such as the United States), this is a practical way to pay extremely high health insurance premiums and other senior care expenses that severely ill people face. Some people are also familiar with life settlements, which are similar transactions but involve insureds with longer life expectancies (two to fifteen years). - From Wikipedia and other sources 5/2007How to Start Planning Now for a Worry-Free Retirement
Orem, UT (PRWeb) March 5, 2007 -- Planning for retirement is a challenge nearly everyone will have to deal with in their lifetime. As a successful attorney with more than 35 years of experience in estate planning, Robert Lamoreaux knows how important financial planning services are. Realizing that many people were unable to take advantage of such services, he wrote "Winning or Losing: The Financial & Retirement Race" (ISBN 978-0978798802, Devere Publishing, 2006) in an effort to make this basic information available to as many people as possible.
The book lays out the basics of money management, investment, insurance, estate planning and retirement, while explaining tricky financial concepts, such as net worth, cash flow and budget, in laymen's terms. "Winning or Losing" provides the general public with a straightforward formula for enjoying retirement. The first few chapters help the readers asses their current financial situation, set their desired goals for retirement and formulate a plan on how to achieve those goals. The book also provides an overview of different financial tools available: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, insurance and 401ks.
The urgency of joining the financial race is the prominent theme of "Winning or Losing," because "The Golden Years" would certainly be distressing if an individual outlived their savings. However, while Lamoreaux advocates his book for anyone age 20 or older, he readily admits that when he was younger, he didn't have a clue about what was involved in aging or retirement. Now married for 44 years with 14 children, Lamoreaux has learned to value spending those "Golden Years" surrounded by supportive loved ones.
While retirement may seem too far away to think about, Lamoreaux recommends starting to prepare for it at a young age. The hard reality of retirement requires overcoming the "villain of inflation." Retirees live on a fixed income, but with time, the price of living continues to rise, while income remains the same. "Winning or Losing" offers practical financial advice for anyone - no matter how near or distant his or her retirement may be.
Lamoreaux has a successful private practice where he continues to work. His extensive experience with financial and estate planning includes hundreds of clients whose estates range in size from minimal to estates in excess of $500 million. "Winning or Losing: The Financial and Retirement Race" (ISBN 978-0978798802, Devere Publishing, 2006) can be ordered at online bookstores or through http://winningorlosing.com.
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