Lambda
Book Reports
". . . Author Wolk was
introduced to viaticals as a volunteer financial advisor to people living with AIDS in
Orange county, California. She has become nationally recognized as most knowledgeable on
the subject. She walks you through the process of viaticating a a policy and shows you how
to get the best offer, often thousands of dollars more than otherwise might be offered.
She warns of charlatans and explains that viaticals should be seen as an option of last
resort. The final chapter outlines other financial avenues one should explore first.
"Cash often
seems more a pamphlet on steroids than a book -- and that is said in compliment. This is
the type of purchase one makes for its information, not for hours of reading pleasure. So
Wolk's lucid, simple (but not simplistic) prose is worthy of praise. She has steered
admirably between the two dangers inherent to this type of endeavor, to overly burden the
reader with jargon or to dumb down content for a general audience. She does neither.
"Much of the volume is
formatted as a boldfaced question followed by a few paragraphs, or (where warranted) a few
pages of an answer. It is easy to skim the text to find those areas of individual concern
at the moment and it lends itself to subsequent reference.
"This is an invaluable
guide which should be read by every person who is contemplating viaticating their life
insurance policy and by financial advisors to the terminally ill."
