Bruce Starks, CPA, CFP® – Page 45

Cash Surrender Option

Course: Insurance PlanningLesson 13: Life Insurance Policy Provisions and Conditions Student Question: Concerning the cash surrender option, is this stating that I can receive an amount of cash from my whole life policy based on premiums paid, accumulated dividends and interest earned minus any loan repayment with interest? And can I cash out at any…

CFP® Certificants in the News: CFP® Professionals, Job Satisfaction and Demographics

CFP Board Releases 2019 Survey of CFP® Professionals. CFP Board surveys its Certificants every two years. The 2019 survey canvassed 800 CFP® Professionals and addressed a number of topics, including job satisfaction and key demographic metrics. Job Satisfaction CFP Board reported a continued trend of high job satisfaction among CFP® Professionals working as financial planners.…

Liability Legal Defense Costs

Course: Insurance PlanningLesson 2: Insurance Planning Student Question: Are the defense fees in a liability case charged against the total liability that an insured carries? For example, I have a $100,000 liability policy. I have to pay $80,000 to the injured party. Legal fees on my behalf are $50,000. Am I going to be out of pocket…

4 Ways to Afford Long-Term Care Insurance

How can the average American afford Long-Term Care insurance (LTCi)? Before we answer that question, let’s refresh our memory on the strategic use of LTCi. In our previous blog, we identified the following strategies to manage long-term care costs: Self-insure If you can comfortably afford catastrophic (e.g., dementia) long-term care costs of as much as…

Unused Premium

Course: Insurance PlanningLesson 8: Gift and Estate Valuation Student Question: Could you please clarify for me what the unused premium would be in term life insurance? I don’t quite understand how you could not use the premium. Thanks. John Instructor Response: Hey John- Certainly. A lot of different terms in insurance, to be sure. Assume…

CFP® Professionals and Recession Preparedness

While pundits have predicted a recession that has yet to happen for several years, clients do worry about the impact to their finances if a recession occurs. According to a recent survey by CFP Board, CFP® professionals and other financial advisors make a difference in client confidence when facing recession concerns. According to the survey,…

CFP® Certificants in the News: Are You Committing Financial Planning?

CFP® Certificant in the News A CFP® Certificant is subject to a greater duty, the duty to adhere to the Practice Standards, to clients when providing Financial Planning vs. when providing Financial Advice. As we will see in just a moment, a Certificant may be subject to the Practice Standards based upon what the client…

Child Care Credit Calculation

Course: Income Tax PlanningLesson 14: Tax Credits, Payments, and Forms Student Question: Could you show me the calculation for Question 3? I calculate 20% of $12,000 , which is $2,400. Emily’s job requires that she put her three children, all under the age of 13, in daycare. She is unmarried and files as Head of…

Three Perilous Long-Term Care Mistakes That Can Wreck Your Retirement

Good to Know “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.” That common but deeply flawed bit of conventional wisdom is based upon a comment made almost 450 years ago. It was flawed in the 1500s and it remains flawed today. As but one insight, any retirement plan that ignores long-term care risk could be a…

How Many Tax-Free IRA Rollovers Per Year?

Course: Income Tax PlanningLesson 1: Using IRAs to Build and Distribute More Retiremnt Income Student Question: Is it okay to roll over ( via direct trustee, not 60–day) from Traditional to Roth several times throughout the year if needed? Thanks, Matt Instructor Response: Great question Matt. The IRS limits tax-free IRA rollovers to one per…