ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Insurance Agents and the Fiduciary Rule Putting You First The Department of Labor’s (DOL) long-awaited “fiduciary rule” recently took effect and ushers in significant changes to the annuity and life insurance industry. The fiduciary rule holds advisors and insurance agents to a higher standard of conduct in recommendations […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER What to Expect From Your Financial Advisor Rules Governing Investment Recommendations Every day financial advisors recommend all kinds of investments to American consumers. Recommendations come from stock brokers, insurance agents, bankers, financial planners, and investment advisors. Different government, industry and company rules govern these recommendations. Generally, one of […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER IOVAs: Investment Only Variable Annuities What are IOVAs and How Do They Work? Tax deferral is the key to successful retirement savings. IRAs, 401(k)s, SEPs and the like offer deferral but annual contribution limits are relatively low for high earners. Annuity carriers offer another possibility. Investment Only Variable […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Prosecuting Healthcare Fraud Under the False Claims Act Healthcare Fraud and Whistleblowing Healthcare fraud costs the United States billions of dollars per year. The fraud is perpetrated in myriad ways against a variety of victims but by far the nation’s largest healthcare fraud are false claims against the […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Understanding Income Riders Income Riders Flood Annuities Market A flood of new income riders on annuities partially explains a recent boom in sales. Annuity sales hit a record $203 billion last year. Before you climb abroad this fast-moving train, make sure you understand what annuities are, what income […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The Downsides of Annuities Annuities Low interest rates are good if you’re young and need to borrow, but they’re not so good if you’re older, past your borrowing days, and looking for higher income in retirement. Some of us remember grandparents enjoying double-digit CD returns in the late […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Life Insurance Surrenders: The Tax Consequences Surrendering Life Insurance Whenever an insurance agent starts talking about surrendering or “changing” or “replacing” your life insurance policy, remember one important thing if nothing else: there will be tax consequences. We here at Evans Law Firm are not tax attorneys but […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Financial Elder Abuse and How To Protect Yourself Financial Elder Abuse Financial elder abuse is happening at unprecedented rates, and it is only getting worse as the years go on. Sadly, it’s often the victim’s family members who perpetrate the financial elder abuse. This can be children, grandchildren, […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Worldwide Whistleblowing A former automotive engineer and employee of South Korean auto manufacturer Hyundai believed his former employer was hiding a dangerous product defect in its cars. He supposedly presented documentary evidence to both the South Korean and United States governments to substantiate his allegations. The whistleblower alleged […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Life Insurance and Financial Elder Abuse For years seniors have included life insurance as a part of their estate plan. Sometimes the policies are held outright and sometimes in trust for tax planning reasons. As policy owners age, insurance brokers encourage cashing in older policies and replacing them […]