Library
Journal
"It may be a
little-known fact, but the terminally ill can access their life insurance benefits before
their death by means of a viatical settlement. Financial planner and social worker Wolk,
in a question-and-answer format, details the workings of this new industry, which started
only in 1988, mainly because of the spread of AIDS.
"This is the
first book on the topic ("viatical" keyword search turns up nothing on
LC's database), but Wolk includes many references to the periodical literature. She covers
the tax consequences of these payouts and touches on estate-planning law. In the useful
appendix, she examines and compares the viatical providers licensed to do business in
California (which, along with New York, is in the forefront in regulating these
companies). An invaluable resource."
