Financial Articles

Viaticum is the Eucharist given to a person on the verge of death, or to one who is facing a possibility of death. It is no wonder, then, that this Latin word would be the root of the term – Viatical Settlement.

Viatical Settlement involves the sale of a life insurance policy to an investor. A Viatical settlement is usually carried out by the terminally ill – those who face penury by the cost of maintenance alone, those who expect to live not longer than two years. That being said, a Viatical settlement is purely a financial transaction. The viator, the one selling the life insurance, sells the policy at a discounted price of the death benefit of the policy and is provided with immediate cash settlement. This usually helps in paying the medical bills of the aged person.

The investor is the buyer of the policy. The investor has two options. One is to sell the policy to a third-party, or to stash the policy as a company investment. Viatical settlements are especially attractive to investors and the rates of return, though not guaranteed, are potentially high. As with any kind of deal, risks are always present for both parties. For the Viator, the primary risk is settling for a low price. Of course, compared to the future premiums, the price would be lower, but there is still the danger of the policy being bought at a song.

For the investor, the risks are greater. There is the probability that the investor will not receive the full death benefit should unfortunate circumstances cause the insurance company to go bankrupt. There could also be the ghost of a chance that the Viator may have committed fraud upon signing insurance forms. Or the Viator may have a miraculous recovery and go on to live for another twenty years.

Viatical settlement should be thought more than twice before being engaged into. This is not a regulated investment and crooks abound, waiting to pounce on the gullible and the dying. Here are sound advices, both for potential Viators and investors:

For Potential Viators:

· Check with your insurer to find out if your policy includes Accelerated Death Benefits. This will get you much more money and you will be paid much faster.

· If you are a member of a Credit Union, seek information about licensed Viatical providers.

· Apply to more than one Viatical settlement company.

For Potential Investors:

· Do not use your IRA for Viatical investments. It is prohibited by the Internal Revenue Code.

· To be safe, do not buy a policy that is within the contestability period. That way, if the viator committed fraud on his application and was discovered, you won’t be left with just a return of premiums.

Structured settlements are the financial agreement between two or more parties that plaintiff compromise a statutory cyclic payment contract.
A structured settlement can protect a plaintiff from having settlement funds dissipated, when they are necessary to pay for future care or needs. Sometimes a structured settlement can help protect a plaintiff from himself - some people simply aren’t good with money, or can’t say no to relatives who want to “share the wealth”, and even a large settlement can be rapidly exhausted. Minors may benefit from a structured settlement as well, such as a settlement which provides for certain costs during their youth, an additional disbursement to pay for college or other educational expenses, and then one or more disbursements in adulthood.
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You can use many different methods in order to save money. Some of them come in surprising places, such as consolidation.

When you think consolidation, you often think of those in money trouble. But consolidation is an appropriate approach to finding extra money in your budget. You may not realize how much you can really save by consolidating things in your life.

Let’s consider the most obvious area — your credit card debt. Hopefully, you have a goal to get rid of your credit card debt. Consolidation can be effective in eliminating your debt and saving you thousands on interest charges. The key to consolidation is this: You must cut up your former cards and stop charging to them. If you don’t, you are just adding to your debt, not eliminating it.

Consolidation is simple. You take all of your credit card balances and move them to a single credit card with a lower interest rate. You still have the same amount of debt, but by consolidating them, you will slightly lower your monthly payment. The interest savings may actually trim years off of your debt repayment, and thousands in dollars of interest. Another added benefit of consolidating your credit card balances is that you no longer have to write five checks to pay five bills. You only have to keep track of one bill. This lessens the chance of missing a payment on a card. Plus, you save checks and stamps. And time.

You might be able to consolidate, also called bundling, some of your separate bills inot one. For example, one telephone company offers land-line, cellular, internet and satellite television. By bundling these services into one bill, you could save money through discounts. And remember, you are saving time and stamps as well.

This even works for your banking. If you have several different checking accounts with different fees on each account, you can consolidate them to the bank with the best rate and save money on fees. Plus, you only have one statement to balance, instead of three or four. This saves you time, as well as money.

Think of consolidation as something that can be weaved into your entire life. A multi-vitamin instead of separate vitamins. Buying items with multiple purposes.

With consolidation, you can save money without giving anything up. You are still getting what you are currently receiving, just for less money. Yes, it does take a little thought. Simply go through your finances once a year and see where you can consolidate things.