200 shares of Harley-Davidson (HOG) to be sold from Dutemple family account the week of February 16.
Pending Trade
To be sold between 2:00 Central 2/12/2009 and end of trading 2/20/2009:
100 shares of Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH)
150 shares of Vanguard REIT Index ETF (VNQ)
100 shares of Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH)
150 shares of Vanguard REIT Index ETF (VNQ)
State Farm Agents Not Fiduciaries
An interesting article from Smart Money - State Farm, none too pleased with changes made to the standards to which their CFP designation holders must now be held, have instructed a few hundred agents who have that designation to abandon it rather than require them to be held to a fiduciary standard when providing advice on insurance.
It is understandable that State Farm would not want their agents to recommend a competitor's product if that were in the client's best interest and this move is an honest revelation that, for insurance sales purposes at least, State Farm wishes the agents to represent State Farm's interests - not the client's. In their defense, State Farm claims an implied fiduciary standard exists in the non-insurance portions of financial planning by their agents.
While no one at Compton Advisors, LLC holds a CFP designation, we support and adhere to the fiduciary standard of placing our clients' interests first in designing a financial plan.
It is understandable that State Farm would not want their agents to recommend a competitor's product if that were in the client's best interest and this move is an honest revelation that, for insurance sales purposes at least, State Farm wishes the agents to represent State Farm's interests - not the client's. In their defense, State Farm claims an implied fiduciary standard exists in the non-insurance portions of financial planning by their agents.
While no one at Compton Advisors, LLC holds a CFP designation, we support and adhere to the fiduciary standard of placing our clients' interests first in designing a financial plan.
2008 IRA Changes
This is an excellent article from Yahoo! Finance and MarketWatch tying together changes in the law, court rulings & private letter rulings (PLRs). Probably the biggest change is the one-year (2009) waiver of the required minimum distribution (RMD) enabled by the Worker, Retiree, & Employer Recovery Act of 2008 passed in response to the economic slowdown.
Long-Term Care & Durable Powers of Attorney
The following scenario came up recently with a Long-Term Care insurer:
The insured was in a position to need the benefits from her policy due to the onset of Alzheimer's but the insurer would not accept a claim filed by her husband and the insured, of course, was in no position to file the claim herself. What a Catch-22! No way to claim the benefits she had paid for for many years.
Fortunately, the insured had executed a Durable General Power of Attorney naming her husband and children attorneys-in-fact before the onset of her illness. The general power of attorney (POA) allowed her husband to file the claim in her place and because it was a durable POA, it continued to be valid even after she became incapacitated.
It should be noted that the insurer specifically denied a Health Care POA as granting sufficient authority to file the claim.
A durable general power of attorney, like all advance directive documents, should be drawn up by an attorney - specifically one experienced in estate planning. Planning ahead can save lots of hassle up the road.
The insured was in a position to need the benefits from her policy due to the onset of Alzheimer's but the insurer would not accept a claim filed by her husband and the insured, of course, was in no position to file the claim herself. What a Catch-22! No way to claim the benefits she had paid for for many years.
Fortunately, the insured had executed a Durable General Power of Attorney naming her husband and children attorneys-in-fact before the onset of her illness. The general power of attorney (POA) allowed her husband to file the claim in her place and because it was a durable POA, it continued to be valid even after she became incapacitated.
It should be noted that the insurer specifically denied a Health Care POA as granting sufficient authority to file the claim.
A durable general power of attorney, like all advance directive documents, should be drawn up by an attorney - specifically one experienced in estate planning. Planning ahead can save lots of hassle up the road.