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 5/2007State of Nevada Office of the Attorney General Wrong about Reverse Mortgages Says Stephanie Prather
Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) March 7, 2008 -- Stephanie Prather (www.stephanieprather.com), Reverse Mortgage Planner with Envision Lending, today issued a caution for seniors in Nevada to beware of what she calls "flagrant inaccuracies" about Reverse Mortgages as reported in a recent Press Release from the Attorney General?s office in the State of Nevada.
Seniors today are scared of outliving their money. Many are worried they will be a burden on their children or spouse in later years, others are embarrassed they still have to work in their 70?s and even 80?s. Some are petrified they will have to choose between medicine and food, and others are angry that their retirement/investment portfolios have been annihilated by recent market activities. Several are mad that their fixed incomes are not keeping up with rising costs of living and finally some are sick and tired of high taxes. Seniors around the country benefit in countless ways from this program. Many seniors use the program out of financial necessity: to pay medical co-pays, pay taxes, payoff credit card debt, make home repairs or to avoid foreclosure. Other seniors can afford to pay for a vacation of a lifetime, to buy a new car, or to purchase life insurance to leave their heirs more money than if they merely were to inherit the home.
A common fear among seniors is that if they choose a reverse mortgage, the lender will ultimately own the home ? but the lender never owns the property. Typically at the end of the loan, after both spouses die, the heirs sell the home to repay the reverse mortgage loan. If there is any money left after the sale, the remaining money passes to the heirs.
Ms. Prather has worked in the mortgage lending industry for nearly 10 years and has guided hundreds of families through the reverse mortgage process. She is a national speaker on the topic of reverse mortgages and has been interviewed in television, radio, and newspapers regarding seniors and housing issues. She is the President of the National Association of Professional Mortgage Women, LV, and a member of NRMLA, the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association.
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