Posts Tagged ‘financial planning’
Friday, August 27th, 2010
After years of hard work, you and your business partner have built a successful company. What started as just an idea is now a valuable asset to you, your co-owner and your families. During those early months of getting your company off the ground, sound financial planning was the foundation that helped get you where you are today. Now that your business is thriving, if you haven’t done so already, it’s time to make sure that you and your family are taken care of in the event that you or your co-owner unexpectedly dies, becomes disabled or wants to leave the partnership. A buy-sell agreement is a legal contract between partners that provides a clear plan and financial mechanism for you to maintain control of the business you worked so hard to build.
If your partner were suddenly incapacitated, who would take over his or her shares of the business? In many events, control might go to heirs with little, if any, working knowledge of the day-to-day operations of the company, or sold to some unknown bidder. Uncertainty can be dangerous to maintaining good relations with clients, employees and creditors. A buy-sell agreement between you and your partner is a legal framework that ensures a smooth transition in the event of the unexpected. The agreement provides cash for the business partner’s shares at a pre-arranged price, providing stability to both you and your co-owner’s heirs.
The buy-sell agreement can be funded in a number of ways. Upon the end of the partnership and the subsequent buyout, the surviving owner may use business or personal cash to purchase the shares at an arranged price. However, savings accumulate over time and unexpected expenses can arise. What if, at the buyout event, sufficient funds are not present? Also, there may be tax concerns associated with large accumulated savings accounts. Another option involves borrowing funds from a bank. This method has drawbacks as well, including the costs of borrowing and potential problems securing a loan.
Cross-purchase life insurance has become a common way to fund buy-sell agreements. With this funding mechanism, the business buys life insurance policies on the lives of the co-owners. In the event that an owner dies or is incapacitated, the remaining owner, as beneficiary, collects on the policy and uses the proceeds to buy his or her partner’s shares from other heirs. There are many benefits to using life insurance to fund buy-sell agreements, including immediate access to the money when death or disability occurs, and the fact that in many instances, the life insurance proceeds used to buy the remaining shares are attained at a significant discount to the shares’ value.
Detailed financial planning is important through all stages of a business’ development, so talk to your partner about a buy-sell agreement if it hasn’t been set up already. A financial planner can help you navigate through the various options to find a plan that’s right for you, your partner and your family.
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Stephen Daniels is an acclaimed NetBiz SEO 2.0 researcher. For financial planning advice and assistance in the San Francisco Bay Area, he recommends Stoneridge Financial Advisers. These licensed advisers offer buy-sell agreements and other planning services through a multi-disciplinary approach that saves you time and money.
Tags: family life insurance, financial planning, life insurance
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Thursday, August 19th, 2010
When life insurance policies that are no longer wanted for one reason or another are sold, it’s referred to as life settlements. The elderly are the ones who often take advantage of this type of transaction. It will usually be done when the policy’s value is higher to an investor than the the cash that would be paid by the insurance company.
There are several reasons for a person to choose to make this transaction. Sometimes the policy is not necessary anymore. Sometimes the person has become so ill that the policy has more worth as a life settlement than if surrendered. Other times, the person may not be able to pay the cost of the premiums or the policy may be performing poorly.
Cash that is received from a life settlement is usually more than the surrender value but less than would be paid out upon death. The life settlement company will take over responsibility for premium payments and will be the beneficiary upon the person’s death.
Often times, a life settlement is chosen because the cash is necessary now for some reason. It may also be considered when needs change due to death or divorce. If the original beneficiary upon death was a spouse, for example, who is now dead or has been divorced, cash today might be preferable.
Life settlement brokers often negotiate the life settlement transaction for policy owners. There are many different considerations that go into determining how much one will be paid. Therefore, it is important to sit down and discuss the options with more than one life settlement company to get the best offer possible.
Life settlements are a great alternative for many people to get the cash out of an insurance policy they no longer want. Compare this to other possibilities such as borrowing against the policy. Also, bear in mind that the proceeds may be subject to taxation. It is a good idea to consult with a tax advisor or lawyer before making a final decision.
Looking to find the best deal on life settlements, then visit life-settlements-opinion.blogspot.com to find the best advice on using a life settlement broker.
Tags: family life insurance, Finance, financial planning, Insurance, life insurance, life settlement, life settlements
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Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
Dying is an unfortunate reality for everyone and life insurance is designed to protect those left behind. Financial hardships resulting from a family member’s death can be devastating. Life insurance provides some security from the loss of a loved one’s financial contributions. They pay a lump sum to the named beneficiaries when the insured dies.
Today term insurance is one of the more widely purchased life insurance products on the market. It provides life insurance for a specified period of time. Term policies are typically issued for periods of 10, 15, 20 or 30 years. However, the length of coverage varies from product to product. Term policies are attractive because they often provide the lowest cost coverage of any life insurance product. Although, once the term is up, insureds are left without coverage. Insureds often find buying new insurance after term insurance quite expensive since their advanced age is considered a higher risk by carriers.
Whole life insurance is a very popular type of life insurance. It is a permanent policy, meaning the insurance remains in effect until the insured dies as long as the premiums are paid. It carries the additional benefit of building cash value in a set aside account. The cash value can be borrowed against by the policy owner and used at their discretion.
Like Whole life, Universal life insurance is a kind of permanent insurance. Universal life also builds cash value in a separate account. Universal life is thought to be a flexible life insurance because the accumulated cash value can be used to pay premiums. In addition, when premiums are not paid and cash value is not available, the policy may have the death benefit reduced to stay in force. Universal life insurance is becoming one of the most popular forms of life insurance today because of the flexibility it offers.
Life insurance provides a peace of mind that financial security won’t compound the issues associated with someone’s death. There a wide variety of policies available to suit everyone’s budget and particular needs.
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Tags: family life insurance, financial planning, Insurance, life insurance, retirement
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Sunday, May 16th, 2010
When you’re getting the facts on life insurance, take the time to choose a respected company with an exceptional record for service. I would not recommend trying to go for the cheapest policy insurer. Your loved ones depend on the security you are providing them when you go.
Do some preliminary research into the background and performance history of the companies you are interested in doing business with. There are quite a few independent research companies that will uncover and explain the insurance ratings. There are two entities that handle insurance policies; companies and mutual companies.
You may not be able distinguish one from another; even for educated consumers or investors, the differences between types of life insurance policies seem minute. Life insurance is one of the most important policies that you must consider. It allows you to leave sufficient financial security for your family in the unfortunate event of your death.
One crucial aspect of insurance is its ability to take care of loved ones and dependents during a time of transition. You should become acquainted with these three primary types of insurance policies.
Term Life Insurance
As the most common and basic of the life insurance policies, your beneficiary will receive the assured amount after your death; this goes to the designated person in the insurance contract. So you must determine how much life insurance is required; including for premium rates.
One drawback to this product is the clause which states that there is no recovery of money in the event that you outlive your policy.
The facts on whole life policies -
If you’re looking for a safe investment, this is the right insurance program for you. Most of the premium that you pay monthly bills into a savings account and accumulates interest. As your principal grows over time you will have the ability to withdraw money if it is needed.
The insurance company pays up the face value to the beneficiary if the policy holder expires before the end of the policy.
What is decreasing term insurance?
This is a life insurance that is tied into your mortgage and term insurance. It’s a very good option if you take out a mortgage and wish to remain liquid in your cash flow position.
This program must be taken out along with your mortgage. The amount is insured for the life of your mortgage. The money remaining in the insurance policy goes to zero after your mortgage is completely paid.
Shopping around for a life insurance agent has its drawbacks; if they begin to pressure you after you’ve shown an interest. There is no pressure to make a sale if you use the Internet to research your quotes. Online life insurance quotes take very little time and eliminates the sales person.
If you use reputable insurance brokers you are assured that you’ll only be contacted by qualified agents. Before you start looking for your online insurance quote, you need to get your on the type of life insurance in order and there are some things that you need to think about before starting.
Start by collecting all the pertinent information before you begin searching for online quotes. It is in the best interest of these companies to help you answer the pressing questions regarding life insurance.
There are a lot of companies who will just about sell you anything, whether you need it or not. You can safely go online and be assured to find the correct information that will fulfill your life insurance needs.
Looking to find the best deal on life insurance quotes, then visit http://lifeinsurancequotes.didarticles.com/ to find the best advice on life assurance quotes for you.
Tags: Estate planning, financial, financial planning, life assurance quotes, life insurance quotes
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Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
With all the talk about the need for life insurance to protect your loved ones, the question always comes up-what is the best kind of life insurance to buy? Life insurance is broken into two basic categories-term life insurance and whole life insurance.
The spendier option is definitely whole life insurance. It is also the option that provides more features. When you buy whole life, you will not only get a policy that pays your family if you die, it will also provide you with an asset that accumulates cash value over time. You are normally allowed to choose how to invest within the policy-either in stocks, bonds, mutual funds or savings.
A term life policy is far less costly and a much simpler policy. A term insurance policy wont build cash value, instead it will just provide your family with a cash payment upon your death. Also, it typically only runs for a pre-determined term, like 15 or 20 years.
For most people, term life insurance is the best kind to buy. The reason is that you can typically gain far more coverage for your loved ones at a far lower cost than with a whole life policy. Since the main purpose of life insurance is to secure your family in case something happens to you, this is normally the best kind of policy to buy.
Now, it is true that a whole life insurance policy becomes a cash value asset over time that can eventually be cashed out or borrowed on, but the problem is that a lot of the money you put into this kind of policy gets eaten up by maintenance fees and it is very difficult to know how good of a return you will get on your investment compared to other investment vehicles. For this reason, you will normally be far better off with a more direct investment into stocks, bonds or savings.
So, my best advice for the vast majority of persons is to get term insurance, where you receive the best value for your investment dollar. Here’s an example. If you are a healthy 30 to 45 year old, you can probably qualify for $500,000 in term life coverage for only about $20 or $25 a month. To get that same dollar amount of coverage with whole life, you will have to shell out several hundred dollars every month. If you just buy term and invest the difference in cost into another financial vehicle, you’ll be far better off in the years to come.
Get a low cost term life insurance quote from a reliable provider in your area and secure your family’s financial future today at www.lifeinsurancequotetoday
Tags: financial, financial planning, home, Insurance, life insurance, life insurance terms, term life insurance
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Wednesday, May 5th, 2010
Auto insurance can protect you and your finances in the event of an accident. Although it can be seen as smart financial planning, it is also the law in many states. If you are shopping for car insurance, there is no need to worry, because finding the coverage you need can be easy.
If you have a new car to insure, it is best to make a call to the Department of Motor Vehicles in your state to find out what insurance you will need. Laws vary depending on which state you live in and laws can sometimes change. Determining requirements before you go shopping can save you time and money.
Liability automobile coverage is a requirement in the majority of states. Bodily injury liability policies and property damage liability policies can help pay for damages you might cause in a car accident. These policies are required in most states in order to make sure you can pay for damages.
Collision auto insurance is not usually a state requirement. This policy will pay to fix your own car if it is destroyed or damaged in a collision of any type. The state does not usually require this type of policy, but if you borrowed money from a bank to buy the car, the lender will usually require the coverage.
Not all damage is caused as the result of car accidents, and that is where comprehensive insurance can be a great benefit. This type of policy will pay for damages caused by storms, fires or damages caused by vandals. States do not usually require comprehensive insurance, but a lender can require it for financed automobiles.
Many states today require a type of insurance called no fault. These policies combine the coverages of liability and collision policies are have been created to help put an end to lawsuits filed after car accidents. No fault policies can be different from state to state, so checking your state requirement can be important.
If you are looking for a policy for your car, and agent might be able to offer you what you need. Agents who represent insurance companies can be found in most cities, and can help explain your options. If you decide to purchase a policy with the company, the agent can also issue the coverage.
Insurance coverage is widely available over the Internet. Many large brokerage firms are now online and can offer you a wide range of policies from different insurance providers. Brokers can give you rate comparisons that can show you what is available on the market.
Large insurance providers are also on the Internet. Insurance company web pages can give you rate information and help connect you will a qualified agent. Insurance companies also provide educational resources on their websites, to help you learn more about the coverage you need.
Purchasing auto insurance is a matter of responsible planning, and can be a legal requirement as well. If you need coverage for your automobile, you have a wealth of options available. Technology has made has made shopping for auto insurance an easy task.
Too be competitive these days there are many insurance companies that offer auto insurance quotes, where you can get your car insurance online.
Tags: car, car insurance, family life insurance, financial, financial planning, house, house insurance, Insurance, investment, Life, life insurance
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Monday, April 26th, 2010
In today’s uncertain times, there is a lot of chatter about the need to buy life insurance. Also, with life insurance premiums dropping to their lowest levels in history, now is a great time to look around for life insurance quotes. But many people wonder if it’s really necessary for them to have life insurance.
Although you may not view shopping for life insurance quotes as the most entertaining exercise, the fact is that if you are someone who wants to take responsibility for yourself, then you need to have life insurance. How much life insurance you need will depend on your own circumstances.
If you are single with no dependents, then it is easy to figure out your life insurance needs. All you need to do is find out what your debts are and what it may cost to bury you. Better yet, if you prefer to be cremated, then it will cost even less. $10,000-$20,000 in coverage is usually enough, depending on your debt. If you’re young and healthy, you can get a term policy like that for probably less than fifty cents a day.
If you have dependents, then it’s completely different. In this scenario, when getting your life insurance quotes, you need to be accounting for all your debt(including home mortgage) and your income from today till the time your dependents can support themselves.
For example, let’s say you have 2 kids that are 3 and 7 years old, and your annual income is $40,000. Also, your total debts including your home are $200,000. In this case, you would want a 20 year term life insurance policy for about $1 million-$800,000 to compensate for income lost, and $200,000 to cover all debts. Bear in mind these are rough figures and every person’s situation will be a little different.
The main thing to remember is that just about everyone who wants to be responsible needs to have some level of life insurance coverage. In the case of a single with no dependent, it’s not as urgent, although it’s still necessary if you want to make sure your family doesn’t have to deal with a big financial mess if something were to happen to you. In the case of a person who is married and/or has kids, very few things would be more important than to make sure these loved ones are protected from the worst case scenario. If you are part of the latter group, then make sure you have an adequate amount of life insurance coverage today.
Compare the lowest rates on life insurance quotes and get started today on the path toward securing your family’s future at www.lifeinsurancequotetoday
Tags: family life insurance, financial, financial planning, home, life insurance, life insurance coverage, life insurance quote, life insurance quotes
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Sunday, April 25th, 2010
The internet claims to have simplified the lives of a lot of people. Indeed – one look at what happens over the Internet and you would more than agree with that. Online life insurance is something that started all of some 5-6 years back and in this small time it already has become a big hit with people. We believe it has got more to do with the convenience factor – With online life insurance; people can easily apply for insurance plans on the Internet.
Even if you have just a short amount of time and you know where to find the information, you get all you need to know about online life insurance. You wouldn’t have to even move from your chair, and you will have all the details, including the fine print, regarding a life insurance plan.
If you are not an insurance expert, you may be somewhat intimidated by the idea of shopping for online life insurance. This is because of the fact that nearly every insurance company is offering an online life insurance plan, so you are faced with an overwhelming number of options. So to overcome this, you have to know a couple of things-first thing is where you should look, and second thing is to have a good idea of what the life insurance plan should be offering you.
There are a lot of great places you can look online to get the information you need on life insurance choices. A Google search alone will return you lots of options. Generally though, the two main things to focus on are the amount of coverage you need to secure your family, and what kind of monthly payment you will be able to afford.
The amount of coverage you need is based mainly on what it would take to pay off all your debts-including your home-and what it would take to replace your annual income from now until the time when your dependents will be on their own.
Let me give you an example. If you have a total debt including your home of $300,000, you have 2 children-8 years old and 11 years old, and you earn $50,000 a year in income. In this scenario, in order to see to it that your kids are covered till the youngest is 18, you will need a 10 year term insurance policy. The policy will have $800,000 in total coverage-$500,000 to cover lost income and $300,000 to pay off all debts.
When it comes to what you can afford, there are two ways you can save money when buying an online life insurance plan. The first is the purchase the insurance as soon as you can. This is because when you are relatively young and healthy, you will pay far lower premiums than when you get older and develop some health issues. The second is to make sure to buy term insurance, because this is the most affordable type of life insurance, and it will give you much more coverage for a much lower monthly premium than other forms of life insurance.
Get a low cost online life insurance quote from a reliable provider in your area and secure your family’s financial future today at www.lifeinsurancequotetoday
Tags: family life insurance, financial, financial planning, home, life insurance, life insurance plans, online life insurance, online term life insurance
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Friday, April 23rd, 2010
Only a few decades ago, shopping for life insurance rates was far different. At that time, when you were searching for a certain type of insurance plan, you may have had two or three different options to choose from. Today of course, things have changed. Finding life insurance rates today is much like going shopping at the mall.
The one big difference of course is that with life insurance rates you can’t buy a new outfit or a new tv, you can only buy a life insurance plan. Keep in mind though, as boring as it may be, life insurance needs to be part of your financial plan. The consensus of most financial advisers is that everyone needs to have at least some life insurance-the specific amount depending on what stage of life you are in.
Because of all the choices today and the longer life expectancies, life insurance rates are more affordable than ever before. All you need to do to start shopping is go to a life insurance quote website and enter your zip code. When you do, a whole list of low cost life insurance options will pop up from your area.
Now just click on some of these choices and fill out the forms that come up so they can calculate a life insurance rate for you. Then, just wait for these life insurance quotes to be tabulated. In short order, you’ll have lots of quotes to choose from.
Be sure before you go shopping for life insurance rates that you have at least a general idea of the amount of coverage you should have and what can fit your budget. Just like when you shop at the mall, you are far better off knowing what you want beforehand, or else you are likely to end up purchasing things you didn’t want or didn’t need.
There are many websites out there that will help you figure out your insurance needs. In general though, you will want a sufficient amount of coverage to make up for your lost income from now to your retirement or from now till your dependents would be of age.
You also need to calculate enough coverage to retire all debts you may have-including your house. If you’re unsure exactly how much you need, it is always better to leave your family with a little more money than they need rather than putting them in a financial hole.
When you are looking at how much life insurance you can afford, one important consideration is the difference between whole and term life insurance. Term life insurance rates are much cheaper, but the policy only pays a benefit to your family upon your death. Term insurance rates are low enough to fit almost every budget for the majority of people it is the kind of life insurance you will want to protect your loved ones.
Compare the lowest prices on life insurance rates and get started today on the path toward securing your family’s future at www.lifeinsurancequotetoday
Tags: family life insurance, financial, financial planning, home, life insurance, life insurance rates, term life insurance rate, term life insurance rates
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Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
When you are trying to set up your financial future, one of the considerations most people aren’t too excited about is buying life insurance. Sure, you know it’s important and you know you need it, but what type of life insurance should you have?
Well, if you talk to most insurance agents, they will recommend a whole life policy-a policy with a higher monthly premium that gains cash value over the life of the policy.
But, if you discuss this with most financial advisers that are not in the insurance business, they will probably recommend a term life policy-the type that has a far lower monthly cost and pays a benefit only if the policy holder dies.
I would fall into the latter group and recommend term insurance, and I will give you 3 reasons:
1. Term life insurance serves the main purpose of life insurance
When you buy life insurance, your main goal is to cover your loved ones in the unfortunate event that something were to happen to you, and there is no reason to turn the insurance policy into anything other than that. Term life does everything a life insurance policy should-it covers your loved ones during the time that they need coverage.
2. A term life policy is far more affordable than a whole life policy
Term insurance will not only serve the main purpose of a life insurance policy, it will do it far cheaper than a whole life policy would. For example, in many cases, the same dollar amount of coverage will cost several hundred dollars less per month with a term life policy.
3. A term life policy covers your loved ones in the most cost effective way, allowing you greater control with the remainder of your financial portfolio
Why commit hundreds of dollars monthly into a policy where much of that money goes to policy maintenance fees and it is very difficult to tell what kind of return you can expect on your investment. You’d be better off taking that money and putting it into investments that suit your family’s needs and give you more flexibility and freedom with your money.
For the majority of people, the best move is to “buy term and invest the rest.” Compare prices today and see what kind of life insurance policy is best for your family.
Get a low cost life insurance quote from a reliable provider in your area and secure your family’s financial future today at www.lifeinsurancequotetoday
Tags: financial, financial planning, home, Insurance, life insurance, life insurance terms, term insurance, term life insurance
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