Carefully Study Workshop Offers

Silver Tips is written by the Senior Citizens’ Law Office in Albuquerque.

CAREFULLY STUDY WORKSHOP OFFERS

Private companies recently have been offering workshops to seniors in many New Mexico cities, touting ways to preserve or protect assets. Some of the workshops promote the purchase of living trusts, and some encourage the purchase of other financial and legal products. Most stress the prospect of limiting your long-term care expenses and taxes, or avoiding so-called evils like probate and conservatorships.

Such promotions are not new. They have been offered for years, sometimes door-to-door. Some may primarily encourage the purchase of a single product, like living trusts; others may promote different types of financial products, like annuities and long-term care insurance. All offer different amounts of information, which vary in quality and emphasis; but they also sing the praises of particular products you can buy or investments you can make.

The tried-and-true rules for evaluating such promotions are:

• Be wary of any company that encourages the purchase of one particular product, especially where the product is promoted as a solution to most of your problems;

• Be sure you understand how the product works, what else you need to do to make it work, and how much it will all cost;

• Be sure that the benefits claimed for the product actually apply to you. For example, the need to buy products to avoid estate tax liability applies to comparatively few seniors. Individuals can currently leave up to $1 million in assets to their heirs (an unlimited amount to a spouse) without estate tax liability.

• Be sure you understand the comparative costs, benefits and downsides of common alternative products you can buy or actions you can take ;

• Obtain as much independent, objective information about particular products and alternatives as you can; and

• Never allow yourself to be pressured into making a decision.

Any reputable company should be willing to discuss this information with you. But don't assume you'll get a completely even-handed discussion. Ask how the company makes its money and how the salespeople make theirs. A company that makes its money by selling a particular product is likely to stress the value of that product compared to alternatives, and salespeople who work on commission are more motivated to convince you to buy.

Additional information on this subject can be obtained from the Lawyer Referral for the Elderly Program (statewide toll-free 800-876-6657, serving persons age 55 and older) and the New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Service Department at 505-476-4799.