As individuals age, their lives may become much more complex. Whether it’s an increased need for medical care (and navigating bureaucratic barriers to access it), the necessity of estate planning, the challenge of caring for an ailing spouse, the search for affordable living assistance for themselves, the battle with various forms of ageism, or contending with other age-related variables that add complexity to their situations, seniors have unique needs. These needs are rarely simple and generally warrant specialized consideration and legal expertise.
In response to these and other needs, the field of elder law emerged. Elder law attorneys specialize in legal services that are informed by, and attuned to, the unique challenges that tend to appear with advanced age, ensuring that seniors have access to legal representation, protection, and advocacy in navigating the complexities of later stages of life.
Elder law spans multiple fields of legal practice and various sub-specialties, including the preservation and transfer of assets to prevent spousal impoverishment; social security and disability claims; administration of trusts; home equity conversions; the creation of living wills to guide financial and health care decisions; conservatorships and guardianships; disability planning (including power of attorney and other ways of granting decision-making authority in case of incapacity); appeal of Medicare claims; supplemental and long-term health insurance issues; elder abuse and fraud-recovery cases; mental health law; and much more.
Elder law attorneys ensure that seniors are making legally sound, informed decisions in relation to the complex and critical choices with which they are commonly confronted. Like all legal professionals, elder law attorneys are there to look out for their clients’ best interests and to safeguard a secure future for them. This can be accomplished by advising them of their best options and protecting them from being taken advantage of by unscrupulous people or “lost in the shuffle” of bureaucratic systems.
An elder law attorney is an excellent resource to consult when considering a life settlement—the sale of a senior’s existing life insurance policy to a licensed buyer for more than the policy's cash surrender value, but less than the net death benefite. The purchaser of the policy assumes responsibility for future premium payments and receives the death benefit when the insured person passes away.
Under certain conditions, seniors may no longer want or need their policy. The policy may have become prohibitively expensive in relation to a senior’s dwindling financial resources (and thus is in danger of lapsing), or the beneficiaries may be financially well off making the benefits of little consequence to them. Life settlements are mpaid to the policy seller in a lump sum and allow qualified seniors to “unlock” the liquidity of an asset to pay for urgent needs or pressing care expenses.
A life settlement is not right for every senior, but under certain conditions, there are compelling reasons for, and obvious benefits to, selling a life insurance policy. An elder law attorney can help their client confidently decide what makes the best sense for their situation.
If you’re thinking about retirement or estate planning and wondering what makes sense for your future, Ashar Group can be a part of that process. We’re secondary market and valuation specialists whose advisors adhere to the strictest of ethical standards in helping you unlock the value of an existng life insurance asset. wWe’re here to assist you in confidently taking the next step toward a secure future, and we invite you to contact us today.