ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The Insatiable Appetite for Commissions Broker Stops At Nothing For Commission Dollars Sales commissions in the life insurance/annuity business are big. Typically, annuity commissions hover at 10% and whole life commissions much higher, at least in the first year of premium payments. In a recent case, a broker […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Arbitration Clause in Warranty Struck Down Consumer Protection California consumers gained added protection recently when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a manufacturer’s move to compel a consumer to arbitrate a dispute over product warranties. In Norcia v. Samsung Telecommunications America, LLC, 845 F.3d 1279 (9th Cir. […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Annuity Sales Commissions: A Closer Look Broker Dealers Cracking Down Annuity sales generate large commissions, often around 10% or more of premium. And the size of the commission is only part of the story. The well-kept secret (among salespeople) is that the longer the surrender charge period (i.e., […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER FINRA Senior Hotline Calls Lead to Help There are lots of unsavory people out there preying on senior citizens. Too often, the swindlers are financial advisors, insurance agents or brokers and bankers. People you should be able to trust. The reality is far different. Each year advisors, brokers […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The Terrible Truth of Financial Elder Abuse Financial Elder Abuse Vulnerable populations are often the easiest to take advantage of, and elders are no exception. Financial elder abuse is a crime on the rise, and it costs elders, families, caretakers, and even the government a great deal of […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Beneficiaries Exerting Undue Influence: Writing Other Beneficiaries Out Of Trusts Beneficiaries Whether money is the root of all evil or not, it sure causes a lot of problems. Perhaps most poignantly within families, where greed, old grudges or resentments displace love and affection. Whatever the scale and wherever […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Hospital and Nursing Home Accountability Government Agency Wants Inspection Results Publicized In a groundbreaking announcement, federal authorities are pushing to have details of hospital and nursing home inspections made public. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently proposed that the results of private inspections of medical […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER Caregiver Abuse: Yet Another Form of Elder Abuse Elder Abuse Currently, the largest generation ever in our country’s history is becoming senior“. Growing old brings big change in one’s life and as more and more of our population ages the changes – and adjustments – to aging become […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER The Terrible Truth of Annuities Annuities A lot of people are talked into annuities as a way to save for retirement. Please think twice (or three times) before you are sold an annuity. As more and more people, seniors particularly, end up with annuities, it becomes clear that […]

ATTORNEY NEWSLETTER FINRA Announces Tough New Sanctions Cracking Down on Exploitation The financial industry is taking a long, hard look at the way its own people approach the consumer. Especially, the vulnerable consumer, who is most susceptible to exploitative practices and, in the case of seniors, financial elder abuse. The […]