Cash For The Final Days

A Financial Guide For The Terminally Ill And Their Advisors
By Gloria Grening Wolk, M.S.W.

Foreword by Ralph Nader
Paperback, 224 pages
Published by Bialkin Books
Publication date: February 1997
ISBN: 0965261530

Synopsis:
This consumer-oriented guide to the viatical settlement industry can help terminally-ill people and their advisors decide when or if a viatical settlement would be of benefit to them.

While many people in the viatical settlement industry are honorable folks who provide a real service, we hope that there's a special corner of Hell reserved for the unscrupulous con artists in the business. Since few people have any experience with arranging a viatical settlement, the chances of getting ripped off are high unless you do your homework.

We quote from the introduction by consumer advocate Ralph Nader:

When people are very ill and under extreme pressure to pay mounting doctor and hospital bills, they are very vulnerable to any pitch promising them fast financial relief.

Viatical settlements were created with a promise to get cash into the hands of these very ill people. Viatical settlements are contracts in which a terminally ill person gets cash in exchange for turning over the death benefits in that person's life insurance policy to the person supplying the cash. Sometrebuchet ms the deals struck are fair. Often, however, far too much of the death benefit goes into the hands of those offering the Viatical Settlement contracts....

Until this book, there was no guide for the terminally ill and their loved ones through the maze of the Viatical Settlement industry; no way to maximize the cash going to the ill person; no help in making the decision of whether to use Viatical Settlements at all; no discussion of other options for cash available to a very ill person.

Gloria Wolk has filled that void with this useful book. She leads the reader through the basics of Viatical Settlements, tells us who the players are (some, you'll learn, are not so nice), how to apply for a Viatical Settlement, explains how to maximize the amount of money you get, warns of what the tax consequences are, and itemizes other things to consider before entering into any Viatical Settlement contract. The book is an easy to understand, step-by-step approach to protect yourself when you need money near the end of your life.

The book compares Viatical Settlements with other alternatives such as reverse mortgages and Accelerated Death Benefits, which are paid by insurers and which may pay more and faster than some Viatical Settlements. The role of viatical brokers is also discussed.

The book is intended for professional advisors as well as family and loved ones. Social workers, benefits counselors, tax professionals, estate planning attorneys, clergy, and other caregivers will benefit from learning more about this scam-prone industry.

Because this industry changes so fast, some of the details on providers are no longer as accurate as they were when the book was published (February 1997) but the main lines of the business are still the same and the general advice is solid.

Gloria Wolk is a financial planner and licensed tax preparer. She is a graduate of C.C.N.Y. and the University of Connecticut Graduate School of Social Work.

Table of Contents
Preface to the First Edition
Foreword: by Ralph Nader
Introduction
Chapter 1 - Overview of Viatical Settlements
Chapter 2 - The Viatical Providers
Chapter 3 - All About Brokers
Chapter 4 - The Viatical Process
Chapter 5 - Licensing: Bane or Boon?
Chapter 6 - Grateful for AIDS: The Brian Pardo Story
Chapter 7 - Your Life Insurance
Chapter 8 - Tax Tips
Chapter 9 - Look Before You Leap
Afterword: by Robert Hunter
Appendix I: Viatical Providers Grid
Appendix II: Universal Application
Appendix III: Universal Authorizations
Glossary
Index