Join us as we flip the script on traditional estate planning strategies. Discover the difference between the Money Models—Estate Transfer, Asset Protection, and Family Wealth Building—and learn why a one-size-fits-all solution, like the living trust, might not protect your assets as much as you've been led to believe.

Key highlights include:

• How the Planning Profile Builder helps you create customized solutions across different Money Models.
• Why traditional estate planning often misses the mark on real asset protection.
• Practical ways to approach family wealth building with a broader perspective.

Listen in and challenge your current assumptions about estate planning!

The episode delves into the lack of consideration for the future well-being of these individuals once their parents or primary caregivers pass away. Darol Tuttle introduces the concept of a Family Protection Trust as a potential solution. Unlike traditional special needs trusts, this trust encompasses comprehensive provisions that not only address the immediate financial and caregiving needs but also provide robust asset protection and a financial framework designed to ensure long-term success and stability for the beneficiaries.

Listeners gain insights into the importance of proactive estate planning and the necessity of incorporating both financial and legal strategies to safeguard the future of vulnerable family members. The discussion emphasizes the need for a holistic approach to estate planning, ensuring that all potential challenges are addressed to provide a secure and supportive environment for those who rely on continued assistance.

Key Topics Covered:

• Social Security Claiming Strategies:
• Mayra clarifies the various options for claiming social security benefits, explaining the impact of claiming as early as age 62 versus waiting until full retirement age or beyond.
• She emphasizes the potential benefits of delaying claims up to age 70 to maximize monthly payments.
• Medicare Enrollment Process:
• Understanding the crucial '3-1-3 rule' for timely Medicare enrollment to avoid penalties.
• Importance of adhering to the timeline: three months before the 65th birthday, the month of the birthday, and three months after.
• Medicare Advantage Plans:
• How these plans work, offered by private insurance companies approved by Medicare.
• Addressing concerns about potential conflicts of interest and the wish for a simpler system to better assist clients.
• Client Hesitancy and Personalized Service:
• Tackling client hesitancy and the importance of personalized service in assisting individuals with their healthcare plans.
• Recognizing that each client's situation is unique and requires tailored advice.
• Varying Benefits of Medicare Advantage Plans:
• Explanation of the varying additional benefits between different insurance carriers, including vision, dental, hearing, and wellness programs.
• Importance of carefully examining the benefits summary of each plan to ensure it meets the client's needs.

Darol also shares his plans to create a dedicated podcast episode about Medicare, underscoring the necessity of accessible and understandable information for clients. The group highlights the significant variation in individual needs, stressing the importance of considering various plans before making a choice to avoid unexpected costs and ensure alignment with healthcare needs and financial situations.

Tune in to gain a comprehensive understanding of these crucial programs and learn valuable strategies for maximizing retirement income and selecting the best healthcare plans for your needs.

You will also learn why care costs are so expensive and what that means for many patients.

The reason the medical services industry is the most frequent target of cyber break-ins and theft also explains why so many go broke in retirement. Protecting yourself and your assets require and understanding of why care is so expensive. The Law has solutions but it takes effort.

Health Care Documents - intro to 18:00

especially the Power of Attorney and Advance Directive. Will a Power of Attorney help you end your pain if your state allows physician-assisted suicide?

Medicare Part D and the cost of prescription drugs - 16:00

Median net worth - 19:20

Think strategically about care - 22:10

Definition of plan at 23:00

Hacker answer at 23:20

What happens when you are sick and can't afford care? 24:30 one

Learn more about Medicaid: https://tinyurl.com/3fm4md2r

Learn how federal and state taxes on wealth work, and how to leverage the exemptions available to avoid unnecessary taxation.

Key Points:

- Twelve states have their own estate tax. Ten do not allow each spouse to claim an individual exemption for a total of two. A credit shelter trust solves this problem and is easy to implement.

- Seven state legislatures have bill proposals to tax wealth. One state hopes to assess a 1% wealth tax on non-qualified investments wherever located in the world.

- Capital gains tax is an income tax but assessed against the value of the property when sold. In this sense, it taxes wealth, reduces your net worth, and leaves less to leave as a legacy.

Resources and links:

Three State Wealth Taxes

Estate Tax Masterclass

Case Study: In November 2022, the Washington Department of Revenue reported a 6% increase in its revenue. It now sits on a $15 billion dollar surplus, the largest in state history. Major General Fund-State (GF-S) revenue collections for the December 11, 2022 – January 10, 2023 collection period came in $87.8 million (3.9%) higher than forecasted in November. Cumulatively, collections are $83.3 million (1.4%) above the forecast.

We will talk about rental properties and LLCs, and even if you do not have a rental property but just trying to figure out whether you should bother with forming your business as a limited liability company and making that all-important tax selection for S-Corp. 

Listen in to old salts talk about law, talk about the weather, and yuk it up.

To learn more about Andrew, you can go to ayerslawtv.com.

In the estate tax arena, lawyers recommend lifetime gifting to an irrevocable trust to 1) reduce the value of the taxable estate and 2) pay for a future estate tax bill with pennies on the dollar. Lawyers draft the trust. The trust, however, needs an investment that appreciates tax-deferred because irrevocable trusts are taxed at the highest tax bracket. Also, the trust needs a tax-free pay out to the estate to pay for final costs, including tax.

This kind of trust, in a sense, is a replacement for the amount that the estate shrinks due to the tax paid. Wealth replacement can also be used to pay back long-term care costs retroactively for the benefit of the surviving spouse.

This episode will challenge your thinking. Fact-based from the experience of three and a half decades of combined experience, Darol and Sarry make the argument that listeners can build their own family bank that can grow family wealth for generations.

Learn more about Sarry Ibrahim and how he can help you grow more wealth using this link: https://finassetprotection.com

Illness or advanced old age may render you unable to manage your health and finances alone. In such a case, medical providers require the following legal documents:

Health Care Power-of-Attorney

HIPPA-compliant medical records release

Advance Directive

Financial Institutions require a Financial Power of Attorney.

When you pass, the property you once owned will transfer to your loved ones by one of the following methods:

Last Will and Testament

Revocable Trust

Transfer on Death Deed

Beneficiary Designation

If you are married, the only way to leave your property to your spouse and protect it from Medicaid spend-down and liens if they become ill is by funding a Spousal Protection Trust. Authorized by federal law, this trust also captures any estate tax credit afforded your estate. The following states have a death tax:

Connecticut

District of Columbia

Hawaii

Illinois

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Minnesota

New York

Oregon

Rhode Island

Vermont

Washington

Federal law requires that a Will creates a Spousal Protection Trust. If you are married and wish to avail yourself of the most powerful asset protection trust in American jurisprudence, you must have a Will. Avoid living trusts or transfer-on-death deeds.

In this episode, Darol interviews Dustin Heiner, who explains how to do just that. Dustin quit his job at age 37 because he purchased several rental properties but outsourced the properties to reliable management. You can learn more about Dustin and take his free masterclass by visiting https://www.masterpassiveincome.com/freecourse

You can also take Darol's free masterclass on asset protection by visiting https://boomx.biz/courses/asset-protection-masterclass/

In addition to a tax-free death benefit, all whole life policies also store and pay dividends or accrued interest on the deposited cash, i.e., the "cash value." A portion of this cash pays for the guaranteed death benefit. The unused portion of the cash value grows on a tax-deferred basis.

Do not forget that twelve states impose an estate tax separate from a federal estate tax. Estate planning attorneys often set up irrevocable trusts to pay for imminent estate taxes at a discount because the trustee purchases a whole life policy on the life of the trustmaker. When the trustmaker dies, the death benefit pays the estate tax. The amount of premiums paid for the insurance is far less than the death benefit, which corresponds with the estate tax liability. This is a way to pay a future tax with pennies on the dollar.

In addition, all trusts grow and protect family wealth for more than one generation. Trusts must have cash to distribute to help the family, e.g., college tuition, business start-ups, or even unreimbursed medical expenses. Unfortunately, an irrevocable trust pays the highest tax rate on investment returns. To avoid this, trustees favor tax-deferred and tax-free investments, such as life insurance, annuities, or municipal bonds.

This episode makes the case that Infinite Banking works well in trusts to reduce estate tax and meet family goals generationally.

To learn more about Anne Marie, check out this article about her, her practice, and her background. https://medium.com/authority-magazine/top-lawyers-ann-marie-murzin-on-the-5-things-you-need-to-become-a-top-lawyer-in-your-specific-48572a1ef624

You can also learn more about her law firm here. https://www.generalcounsellaw.com/

Old Bailey, mentioned in the conversation, is a criminal court in London and has operated since the 16th century. For efficiency, Newgate prison was located adjacent to the court until its closing in 1902. The judges of Old Bailey imposed death sentences frequently. The convicted were marched down a path called Dead Man's Walk on their way to their public executions. Along the way, crowds pummeled the condemned with insults and filth such as rotten fruit. Dead Man's Walk became the final resting place for many who were simply tossed in pits after the spectacle.

You can learn more about Old Bailey and read actual court transcripts by visiting oldbailyonline.org.

The Supreme Court case discussed is Dobbs vs. Jackson. Here is the link. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf

The portion of the opinion discussing stare decisis can be found in the opening paragraph, to wit: "The critical question is whether the Constitution, properly understood, confers a right to obtain an abortion. Casey’s controlling opinion skipped over that question and reaffirmed Roe solely on the basis of stare decisis. A proper application of stare decisis, however, requires an assessment of the strength of the grounds on which Roe was based. The Court, therefore, turns to the question that the Casey plurality did not consider."

Question 1: What is the difference between a Spousal Protection Trust, and a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust?

Question 2: If you create a Medicaid Asset Protection Trust, do you have control over the money? Do you pay your own bills?

Question 3: How do Medicaid liens and penalties work? What is the five-year rule?

Question 4: Why is Puerto Rico so loud?

Question 5: When you create a trust, are you required to declare the purpose and intent of a trust?

Question 6: What is the best document to lay out your asset protection/retirement plan?

Question 7: Why does probate get such a bad rap?

The entire presentation that constitutes 38 and 39 was published on YouTube. Here is the link. https://youtu.be/cJSnbhwrcqI

The Nest Egg Course can be found at boomx.biz.

This video lays out the ways property transfers at death, the pros and cons of each method, and when to use each. There are three ways in which property transfers when the asset owner dies: 1) probate, 2) operation of law, and 3) transfer on death deeds and beneficiary designations.

If you do not have time to watch this video and are married, learn all you can about a 42 USC trust. This trust holds the estate of the first spouse to die for the surviving spouse's benefit, and the trust's assets are not subject to Medicaid liens, spend-downs, and transfer penalties. Federal law requires this trust, a Spousal Protection Trust, to be created in a Last Will and Testament. For this reason, transfer-in-death deeds, beneficiary designations, and living trusts will not work. These asset transfer methods do not protect wealth from medical care costs, death taxes, or mismanagement. The only value proposition of such transfers is the avoidance of probate.

The use of a Spousal Protection Trust does not apply to singles unless they intend to leave their estate to a loved one who is disabled. In that case, a single may use a stand-alone supplemental needs trust or the same trust described in the video.

You can check out Jim’s law firm by going to his website at www.cunninghamlegal.com. You can also purchase his book, the Savvy Estate Planner, on Amazon. Here is the link. (The BoomX Show and its host, Darol Tuttle, receive no compensation or affiliate commission of any type by providing this link.)

Some of the topics Darol and Jim discuss are:

Differences in Medicaid laws between California, Florida, and Washington.

How lawyers help their clients understand income and estate taxes specific to each state.

The benefits of a Trust Protector and why every family leader should include Trust Protector provisions even if proposed trustees push back.

What to look for when hiring a financial advisor to include the benefits of a true fiduciary.

In this episode, we lay out these rules and answer questions about retirement account trusts, and they can coordinate with the Spousal Protection Trust. Darol also discusses resources that are available to all Family Leaders at the BoomX Academy. Although this episode includes technical information, it is part of many episodes that put it all together.

As part of Academy weekly Office Hours, Darol answers the following questions asked by a Family Leader: “what happens once you have everything protected in a trust? Is it readily accessible to the surviving spouse or the person in charge of the estate?”

Darol answers this question in-depth and goes further by explaining why the Spousal Protection Trust is what most couples need, its advantages, and how to fund the trust. Authorized by federal law, this trust holds the assets of the spouse who died first for the benefit of the surviving spouse. This trust must be created by a Will. As such, a probate is necessary. There are many advantages to probate, which Darol summarizes. If implemented correctly, the assets in the trust are not subject to Medicaid spend downs, the five-year lookback period, transfer penalties, and Medicaid liens.

Darol also explains the parts and parties to any trust and compares a trust to an estate, which refers to the assets of a deceased asset owner. Darol also explains why he advises that family’s avoid appointing a family member as the trustee or executor of the family trust and probate executor.

BoomX Academy conducts free masterclasses each month on topics related to asset protection. You can learn more about these courses and register by going to www.boomx.biz. This episode is the second part of the most recent masterclass. Listen in and learn more about the following topics:

1) Why estate planning has little value as compared to asset protection, which has great value.

2) How safe harbors in the Law are available to protect wealth against the three threats to wealth in America today.

3) The threats to wealth are high unreimbursed medical care costs, unnecessary taxation, and financial mismanagement.

4) The benefits of a Spousal Protection Trust and how it works.

5) Why two recent legal changes wreaked havoc on inherited retirement accounts.

6) How a Retirement Account Trust gives back what these legal changes took away.

True family wealth building requires more than just growing wealth. It also requires the protection of wealth. The mission of this podcast is to help you learn the methods of doing so.

Estate planning doesn't kick in until you're dead while asset protection reaches out and grabs safe harbors in the law that guaranteed that our wealth will not be lost to number one, unreimbursed medical expenses, long-term care costs. Number two, unnecessary taxation, and then even three, can we use asset protection trust to protect against mistakes, family mistakes financial mistakes, stock market risks.

But the question remains, how do we pass wealth on to our kids so that it is financially responsible. And it is a money-making machine for them. And that brings harmony to the family through structures in which conflict is resolved efficiently and inexpensively. Today, we will talk about two very important provisions that you've probably never even thought about.

One is the trust protector. The second is provisions inside of your estate plan for trust reporting so that all the beneficiaries know what is going on and are emotionally invested in it. These are great topics. They will bring value to your trust in the estate plan for literally, generations.

We take a deeper dive into Medicaid in this episode. I walk a BoomX Academy student through Medicaid strategies, basic Medicaid rules, how Medicaid works, and proven strategies to use Medicaid to your advantage, lawfully and ethically.

Trusts are similar to limited liability companies because the trust is able to protect assets if drafted correctly. Learn the two most important benefits of trusts that hold your family's wealth.

How do I give a gift to my surviving spouse in order to avoid not only estate tax, not only capital gains tax, but also protect the assets against the possibility of high unreimbursed medical expenses? Some of the questions that he asked and I answer in today's episode is, what is the credit shelter trust?

How does that differ from a spousal protection trust and what is a QTIP trust? In the tax lingo there's unlimited marital deductions, but there's a trap. A mistake that you can make that can lead to significant estate tax if you live in a state with estate tax. All of these principles of course apply to federal estate tax.

If you are high net worth, even if your estate is below a taxable amount of millions of dollars, you should be even more interested because we all have the potential loss of our estate, of our assets during retirement, from high unreimbursed medical expenses, which can lead to Medicaid liens and transfer penalties and spend downs.

This is what we will discuss in today's episode of the BoomX show.

We will also talk about the advantages and disadvantages of a trust. And I will answer a very common question, should I choose a professional trustee or should I choose a family member to be responsible for administering my family trust?

As always, you can find additional content and resources at www.BoomXacademy.com. You also may request the FREE BoomX Retirement Plan provided by SC Financial Group by clicking this link.

Learn what you can do to reduce your estate tax bill and avoid unnecessary taxation completely in many cases. Darol will also describe the most generous provision of the tax code and how you can use it to avoid all capital gains tax.

As always, you can find additional content and resources at www.BoomXacademy.com. You also may request the FREE BoomX Retirement Plan provided by SC Financial Group by clicking this link.

In this episode, we bring you inside Office Hours as a family leader asks BoomX Show host Darol Tuttle the best way to protect his estate for his children from a prior marriage while providing for his surviving spouse if she should die first. Learn how a Spousal Protection Trust works, reduces estate tax bills, and preserves the estate from Medicaid liens. If you are confused about how trusts work and when they are created, this is the episode for you.

As always, you can find additional content and resources at www.BoomXacademy.com. You also may request the FREE BoomX Retirement Plan provided by SC Financial Group by clicking this link.

As always, you can find additional content and resources at www.BoomXacademy.com. You also may request the FREE BoomX Retirement Plan provided by SC Financial Group by clicking this link.

This episode introduces you to the legal construct of a ""trust."" Trusts hold personal assets and business entities, e.g., limited liability companies hold business assets. Darol explains the difference as well as the structure, use, and benefits of a trust. This episode is an example of the companion course's enhanced content so you can decide if a deeper dive into legal literacy is for you. "

This episode is sponsored by SC Financial Group, LLC, located at 1417 116th Ave NE Suite 202, Bellevue, WA 98004. You can reach SC Financial Group by calling (425) 451-2950 or visiting their website at https://scfinancialgroup.com. (Securities and Advisory Services offered through Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor and Member SC Financial Group LLC and Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc. are separate entities.)

SC Financial Group, LLC, was founded by Shane Cloninger. Shane Cloninger has over 30 years of experience in financial services. He is a co-founder of SC Financial Group, LLC and a registered principal of Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc. Mr. Cloninger graduated from Southern Connecticut State University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics/Finance.

He is currently a co-host on the ‘Retirement Freedom’ radio show, a live call-in talk radio show developed to help the average investor gain clarity on a very complex financial world. ‘Retirement Freedom’ is in its 9th year on air and can be heard live Saturdays at 10am on 820 AM KGNW, simulcast on 1590 AM The Answer. The show has been on other stations in the past including KVI 570 AM and KKOL 1300 AM.

You can obtain a FREE retirement planning roadmap mentioned in this episode by clicking this link.

Within the BoomX Academy, members ask estate planning questions in live office hours weekly. Tying the two together, Darol breaks down the archaic asset transfer rule that hindered Lord Grantham and uses it as a backdrop for ways to avoid the problem for the benefit of modern families in the current era. What is a lifetime beneficiary? What is a remaindermen or a “residuary beneficiaries”? These questions originate in British common law but modern trust techniques provide a better way, a way that protects privacy, reduces uncertainty, and even reduces tax erosion.

As usual, you may listen to past episodes and even explore enhanced content at the BoomX Academy found at www.boomxacademy.com.

You can also request a FREE retirement road map, provided by SC Financial Group.

You can join BoomX Academy for free and will be automatically enrolled in the BoomX Show Companion Course. The lesson for this podcast includes the Estate and Gift Tax publication and a thorough explanation of mutual fund taxation. Learn more at www.boomxacademy.com

You also may receive the FREE BoomX Retirement Plan provided by SC Financial Group by clicking this link.

You can join BoomX Academy for free and will be automatically enrolled in the BoomX Show Companion Course. The lesson for this podcast includes the Estate and Gift Tax publication and a thorough explanation of mutual fund taxation. Learn more at www.boomxacademy.com.

You also may receive the FREE BoomX Retirement Plan provided by SC Financial Group by clicking this link.

If you feel confused by it all, this episode is for you. Join Darol Tuttle as he interviews financial advisor and BoomX Show sponsor Shane Cloninger as they summarize basic tax rules and offer powerful tips to turn the tables on unnecessary tax. Referred to as "tax-efficient investing", Shane explains how tax lost harvesting can increase your after-tax returns now and in the future.

Episode Bonuses

BoomX Retirement Plan:

Click this link to receive the FREE BoomX Retirement Plan provided by SC Financial Group.

$1 BoomX Family Leader Membership for thirty days.

Limited liabilities are created by state law. Once formed, the LLC owner may make elect to be taxed as an S Corporation with the IRS. This will allow a portion of profits to be taxed free of self-employment tax.

The LLC operating agreement is the business playbook. With the mandatory annual meeting, the document can create the business' swim lane and set the framework for an envisioned future.

You can join BoomX Academy for free and will be automatically enrolled in the BoomX Show Companion Course. The Companion Course offers enhanced content. For this episode, you may find samples of the documents Michelle received to form her business. Learn more at www.boomxacademy.com.

You also may request a FREE BoomX Retirement Roadmap from SC Financial Group.

BoomX Retirement Plan:

Click this link to receive the FREE BoomX Retirement Plan provided by SC Financial Group. 

This episode lays out the steps to form a new business correctly: 

Step One: Draft, sign, and file your business formation documents with your state’s corporations agency. 

Step Two: Register your business with your state’s tax agency, typically referred to as a department or division of revenue, etc. 

Step Three:  Obtain a federal taxpayer identification number from the Internal Revenue Service.

Step Four: Obtain a city business license authorizing you to conduct business in your town or city. 

BoomX Retirement Plan:

Click this link to receive the FREE BoomX Retirement Plan provided by SC Financial Group.

This episode is sponsored by SC Financial Group, LLC, located at 1417 116th Ave NE Suite 202, Bellevue, WA 98004. You can reach SC Financial Group by calling (425) 451-2950 or visiting their website at https://scfinancialgroup.com. (Securities and Advisory Services offered through Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor and Member SC Financial Group LLC and Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc. are separate entities.)

SC Financial Group, LLC, was founded by Shane Cloninger. Shane Cloninger has over 30 years of experience in financial services. He is a co-founder of SC Financial Group, LLC and a registered principal of Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc. Mr. Cloninger graduated from Southern Connecticut State University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics/Finance.

He is currently a co-host on the ‘Retirement Freedom’ radio show, a live call-in talk radio show developed to help the average investor gain clarity on a very complex financial world. ‘Retirement Freedom’ is in its 9th year on air and can be heard live Saturdays at 10am on 820 AM KGNW, simulcast on 1590 AM The Answer. The show has been on other stations in the past including KVI 570 AM and KKOL 1300 AM.

You can obtain a FREE retirement planning roadmap mentioned in this episode by clicking this link.

In this episode, you will learn that there are five levels of care. Home care, Assisted Living Facility Care, Memory Care, Group or Adult Family Home, Skilled Nursing. Parenthetically, each Assisted Living Facility offers services by their own "levels", usually one through nine levels or "ala carte". Ala carte refers to a menu of services a new resident can select, regardless of the level.

You can pay for long-term care in one of three ways: 1) private pay, i.e., your own funds, 2) government benefit programs such as Medicaid, state waiver programs, or veterans' benefits, or 3) insurance that pays for long-term care. Long-term care is defined as custodial care after 100 days. Medicare does not pay for long-term care. Medicare is a government-sponsored chronic insurance program for people over 65. Part A of Medicare will cover part of the first 100 days of skilled nursing care if certain conditions are met. Medicaid is the national benefits program for long-term care.

Long-term care is either premium-based or asset-based. Premium-based policies are analogous to car insurance policies in which the insured pays monthly premiums for a month of coverage. When the premiums are not paid, the coverage lapses. Policies vary in cost depending on the health and age of the insured and the levels of care desired.

Asset-based policies are structured as lump-sum deposits in which the initial premium is invested by the company and the return is used to grow the value of the deposit and also offer long-term care benefits if the insured becomes ill. Unlike premium-based policies, an asset-based plan can...]]>Most retirees are concerned about long-term care costs. Yet, most people take no steps to mitigate the risk of high costs let alone develop a solid strategy to finance those costs. In this episode, BoomX guest Brian Ott of 525 Advisors explains the ins and outs of long-term care costs and solid tips on making the right choice. Brian Ott is a Retirement Income Certified Professional (RICP), i.e.a financial professional who specializes in retirement income planning. RICPs advise retirees and near-retirees as to the best way to use the assets they have accumulated for retirement to live comfortably within a realistic budget and not run out of money prematurely. You can learn more about Brian and his business by visiting www.525longtermcare.com.

This episode is sponsored by SC Financial Group, LLC, located at 1417 116th Ave NE Suite 202, Bellevue, WA 98004. You can reach SC Financial Group by calling (425) 451-2950 or visiting their website at https://scfinancialgroup.com. (Securities and Advisory Services offered through Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor and Member SC Financial Group LLC and Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc. are separate entities.)

SC Financial Group, LLC, was founded by Shane Cloninger. Shane Cloninger has over 30 years of experience in financial services. He is a co-founder of SC Financial Group, LLC and a registered principal of Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc. Mr. Cloninger graduated from Southern Connecticut State University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics/Finance.

He is currently a co-host on the ‘Retirement Freedom’ radio show, a live call-in talk radio show developed to help the average investor gain clarity on a very complex financial world. ‘Retirement Freedom’ is in its 9th year on air and can be heard live Saturdays at 10am on 820 AM KGNW, simulcast on 1590 AM The Answer. The show has been on other stations in the past including KVI 570 AM and KKOL 1300 AM.

You can obtain a FREE retirement planning roadmap mentioned in this episode by clicking this link.

In this episode, you will learn that there are five levels of care. Home care, Assisted Living Facility Care, Memory Care, Group or Adult Family Home, Skilled Nursing. Parenthetically, each Assisted Living Facility offers services by their own "levels", usually one through nine levels or "ala carte". Ala carte refers to a menu of services a new resident can select, regardless of the level.

You can pay for long-term care in one of three ways: 1) private pay, i.e., your own funds, 2) government benefit programs such as Medicaid, state waiver programs, or veterans' benefits, or 3) insurance that pays for long-term care. Long-term care is defined as custodial care after 100 days. Medicare does not pay for long-term care. Medicare is a government-sponsored chronic insurance program for people over 65. Part A of Medicare will cover part of the first 100 days of skilled nursing care if certain conditions are met. Medicaid is the national benefits program for long-term care.

Long-term care is either premium-based or asset-based. Premium-based policies are analogous to car insurance policies in which the insured pays monthly premiums for a month of coverage. When the premiums are not paid, the coverage lapses. Policies vary in cost depending on the health and age of the insured and the levels of care desired.

Asset-based policies are structured as lump-sum deposits in which the initial premium is invested by the company and the return is used to grow the value of the deposit and also offer long-term care benefits if the insured becomes ill. Unlike premium-based policies, an asset-based plan can grow and when the policy terminates the insured can have his or her premium returned with interest. This assumes, of course, the insured did not become ill and did not draw on the policy to pay for care.

These policies can be structured in different ways. There is no guarantee of a return of premium or a positive return because circumstances and policies vary. It is possible to structure a plan with both types of policies.

You should contact Brian Ott or another long-term care professional to discuss your situation rather than roll the dice and hope for the best.

This episode gives listeners a peek into a values-driven law firm but also a project BoomX Show host, Darol Tuttle, is launching to reduce legal fees to just $40.00 per month. This project, the BoomX Academy, gives users access to his firm's drafting app, live meetings weekly, an online community of students, document storage, and more. You can learn more by visiting www.boomxacademy.com.

Financial planning aside, Darol interviews Lisa Doyle, the owner and operator of Cay Care, a care assessment, management, and placement company. A registered nurse, Lisa lays out the value of a separate assessment before making any care decisions. She succinctly summarizes care options, ways to include and empower the aged patient, and a framework for successful decision making.

In the episode, Darol laid out the costs of care as they existed in 2011. Then, he analyzes the levels of care, the increase in prices in just ten years, and gives listeners an important resource to learn how they can avoid the mistakes this family made.

Darol also announces the launch of "How to Protect Your Nest Egg: How to Pay for Unreimbursed Medical Expenses Without Paying High Insurance Premiums or Hiring an Expensive Lawyer." This course also gives students access to an easy-to-use drafting app so that they can walk through a guided interview and have the legal document they need to start a true asset protection plan delivered to their Inbox in seconds. To learn more, check out the new BoomX Academy.

In this episode, Darol compares the different professional requirements for an attorney as compared to a financial advisor. The education and training aside, the importance of asset protection as compared to the message of the radio show hosts as it relates to basic budgeting. In plain English, Darol lays out a simple test for all listeners of any financial show to use when deciding if the host deserves another second of your time.

Comparing real examples of a sales process when the host solicited advice from two different "business coaches", the episode makes the case that understanding the laws of contracts also bring integrity to your business and will help build a loyal following. 

On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act). The SECURE Act, which is effective January 1, 2020. The SECURE Act has several positive changes: It increases the required beginning date (RBD) for required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your individual retirement accounts from 70 ½ to 72 years of age, and it eliminates the age restriction for contributions to qualified retirement accounts. However, one provision of SECURE nullifies all of the benefits of the act and is a threat to your family’s generational wealth. That is a bold statement, I realize. I stand by it.

The SECURE Act does provide a few exceptions to this new mandatory ten-year withdrawal rule: spouses, beneficiaries who are not more than ten years younger than the account owner, the account owner’s children who have not reached the “age of majority,” disabled individuals, and chronically ill individuals. However, proper analysis of your estate planning goals and planning for your intended beneficiaries’ circumstances are imperative to ensure your goals are accomplished and your beneficiaries are properly planned for.

Most people do not care enough to spend time let alone money on taking specific actions to adjust their plan, if they have one, to account for the changes brought to us courtesy of SECURE. Perhaps, there is nothing wrong with this attitude.  If you view SECURE from the perspective of the government, it makes sense.  Too much money is being protected for the benefit of families and not taxed.  The government and even the economy is better off to get that money back into circulation.  

However, I doubt that people decide to pay unnecessary taxes, fees and stand idly by as wealth is lost because they are on the government's side.  During most of my career, I thought this attitude, that action should not be taken to avoid a financial loss, was just a mental hiccup, a cognitive bias that prevents some people from making correct decisions about wealth.  However, as I have grown in my profession, I now see that it is more related to one, of three, philosophies about wealth.  Unfortunately, the attitude that is passive about protecting wealth is the traditional and, therefore, prevalent model.  The reasons it is traditional is all about human longevity.   Throughout all of human history, humans have lived short lives. In the Middle Ages, when probate and trust law invented, men lived, on average, to be just twenty-five years.  That average age was not doubled until the early 1900s, over a thousand years later.  However, in the last century, the average life expectancy of an American male has almost doubled again. Biologically, there are more opportunities and different challenges than the current perspective of the Law even realizes.  

The law is reactive, not proactive.  As such, the traditional model has only sought to pass wealth from an asset owner to the next generation because the asset owner would live a short life as would the next generation.  Life has been so difficult in terms of survival, the Law has simply left it at that.  As such, 

There are three models in planning, the traditional model is estate planning and views life and, therefore, wealth, as short. The other two models do not.  I will refer to these models often and...]]>This episode is a legal update with a higher view of planning to include three necessary philosophies of wealth planning to help you make the appropriate decisions.  The episode describes the 2020 Secure Act but in the context of estate planning law, dating back to British medieval common law, three other important legal changes in the preceding five years and the new reality of planning with retirement accounts.  This episode introduces you to idea of "workarounds".  Yes, that's right!  We can mitigate the negative impacts of the SECURE Act. 

On December 20, 2019, President Trump signed the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act). The SECURE Act, which is effective January 1, 2020. The SECURE Act has several positive changes: It increases the required beginning date (RBD) for required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your individual retirement accounts from 70 ½ to 72 years of age, and it eliminates the age restriction for contributions to qualified retirement accounts. However, one provision of SECURE nullifies all of the benefits of the act and is a threat to your family’s generational wealth. That is a bold statement, I realize. I stand by it.

The SECURE Act does provide a few exceptions to this new mandatory ten-year withdrawal rule: spouses, beneficiaries who are not more than ten years younger than the account owner, the account owner’s children who have not reached the “age of majority,” disabled individuals, and chronically ill individuals. However, proper analysis of your estate planning goals and planning for your intended beneficiaries’ circumstances are imperative to ensure your goals are accomplished and your beneficiaries are properly planned for.

Most people do not care enough to spend time let alone money on taking specific actions to adjust their plan, if they have one, to account for the changes brought to us courtesy of SECURE. Perhaps, there is nothing wrong with this attitude.  If you view SECURE from the perspective of the government, it makes sense.  Too much money is being protected for the benefit of families and not taxed.  The government and even the economy is better off to get that money back into circulation.  

However, I doubt that people decide to pay unnecessary taxes, fees and stand idly by as wealth is lost because they are on the government's side.  During most of my career, I thought this attitude, that action should not be taken to avoid a financial loss, was just a mental hiccup, a cognitive bias that prevents some people from making correct decisions about wealth.  However, as I have grown in my profession, I now see that it is more related to one, of three, philosophies about wealth.  Unfortunately, the attitude that is passive about protecting wealth is the traditional and, therefore, prevalent model.  The reasons it is traditional is all about human longevity.   Throughout all of human history, humans have lived short lives. In the Middle Ages, when probate and trust law invented, men lived, on average, to be just twenty-five years.  That average age was not doubled until the early 1900s, over a thousand years later.  However, in the last century, the average life expectancy of an American male has almost doubled again. Biologically, there are more opportunities and different challenges than the current perspective of the Law even realizes.  

The law is reactive, not proactive.  As such, the traditional model has only sought to pass wealth from an asset owner to the next generation because the asset owner would live a short life as would the next generation.  Life has been so difficult in terms of survival, the Law has simply left it at that.  As such, 

There are three models in planning, the traditional model is estate planning and views life and, therefore, wealth, as short. The other two models do not.  I will refer to these models often and you should always think in their terms because the model you choose will require actions specific to that planning model. If you view the purpose of your money as a simple, outright transfer to the next generation, then estate planning is your swim lane.  SECURE Act is not a threat because the estate planning model is not focused on the protection of wealth beyond just your lifetime.   However, if you view wealth as the means by which you plan to empower your family for more than your life plus ten years, then one of the two other models are applicable to you.  

THE THREE MODELS OF PLANNING

Estate Planning
The objective of estate planning is estate transfer. The word “estate” is a legal term that refers only to the assets once owned by a now deceased person. The Law is reactive, not proactive. Therefore, traditional estate planning limits its objective to the transfer of assets of a person to either a spouse or the next generation in a limited way. 

Asset Protection
The objective of asset protection is different.  Asset protection, as I define it, includes all of estate planning but has the focus is on the protection  of assets while the assert owner, his or her spouse are still alive.  The trigger event for estate planning is the death of the asset owner. The trigger event of asset protection is now!

Generational Family Wealth Planning

The objective of family wealth is to strengthen a family around a set of core values and a vision for the future.  The assets of a successful family finances the family using all of the tools of estate planning and asset protection but the time horizon is seven generations. There is an entire course dedicated to the devices you used to this model. 

A swarm is what geologists call the grouping of earthquakes that have hit Guanica, Puerto Rico.  Swarm is as good a name as any to describe over a thousand earthquakes in such a small area, many above 5.0 and at least two above 6.0.  While there has not been a "big one", a single massive quake to bring sudden and dramatic devastation, the constant month-long shaking of the homes, road, stores and spirits of Guanica has been even more cruel if not as renowned.  

This tragedy is also headquartered in the one place on earth I intended to call home.  I had spent impactful moments there.  Playa Santa, just outside of Guanica, was the location of a lovely apartment with a view of the Caribbean.  The landlord had my deposit in escrow and only my signature on a lease awaited.  I had gone to a remote beach every other day to clean the plastic from it.  I yelled at Playa Santan roosters that just had to wake at the playful satanic hour of 4 am.  A lot had happened in such a short-time in Guanica and Playa Santa, the launch of this very podcast as one example, that I just had to tell the story of my time there and the friends who still struggle there. 

As if on cue, however, the episode does succeed in laying out an investment idea.  Really, this idea is an investment method.  I first heard of it from a client about a year ago.  I keep this method tucked away until the very last moments of the podcast.  

A cognitive bias is a systemic pattern of deviation from rational thinking.  Mr. Wikipedia lists over one-hundred biases.  Google that.  It is fascinating that there are so many identifiable ways the human brain will fight you in the struggle to make the correct decision. 

I recorded this episode the day after I sent an email to my email list.  The email brought attention to Episode 2 and the story of my father, our relationship and his death.  The next morning, my inbox was flooded with messages of similar stories and expressions of support.   

These stories only confirmed what I had observed in my professional life countless times.  When the family leader fails to lead then dies, emotional and financial carnage results.  

If deep, deep injury is foreseeable with well-nigh mathematical certainty but is avoidable, is not the person who failed to avoid the injury acting intentionally?  In criminal cases, there is a fine distinction between negligence, recklessness and intentional action. Unlike civil law, criminal law requires the prosecution to prove “mens rea”, that the accused acted with a “culpable mind.”  Yet, the prosecution need not prove that the defendant intended or even imagined the crime of which he or she was later convicted.  For example, if a defendant acts with such flagrant disregard as to his or her duty to others is he off the hook because he did not actually plot or even foresee that he would ram his car into a school bus filled with cute kindergartners after drinking a gallon of brown liquor? While he may not have intended to run the red light, he did intend to put a thief in his mouth that would rob him of his wits. Recklessness is intent because the degree of disregard for others is so great. Conviction will result. 

Most people would agree with that.  Yet, within the same group of family leaders who would agree, there are some who will decide NOT to take the action that would avoid the injury to their own family.  Does the family leader have a culpable mind?  They would say “no” as fervently as the now-convicted criminal.  My Inbox is flooded with the children of these family leaders.  These messages tell me stories of great pain directly resulting from a cognitive bias, a hiccup in a mental process. The criminal was sure to hurt someone because his decision making was impaired by alcohol and the family leader was impaired by a bias. 

In this episode, I reveal one such cognitive bias and an exercise I developed to help those who are plagued by this mental hiccup overcome it. 

Wealth is made up.  It is an idea and does not exist in the physical universe.  As long as there are homo sapiens on the planet who value a piece of paper with Benjamin Franklin depicted one hundred times more than a piece of paper that is identical in size, color and dimension but for the depiction of George Washington, wealth will survive you.  

Now, the bias and my solution? Listen to the episode and find out. 

The Law has requirements and they must be met.   This, a constant theme of the show is reinforced as Darol summarizes different real-life cases in which people have passed away with different levels of preparedness for this final contingency.  

The Second Law of Money was described by Jack Tar:  The financial ship always needs a captain. 

The next morning, I felt ill at ease.  My feelings were not grief about my father's death.  As you will soon realize, my father and I were not close.  Rather, I worried that I was about to be hit by a bolt of lightning from Zeus for an unlawful or inappropriately disrespectful speech about the dead.  As the day wore on and I had not been Zeus-whipped into a pile of burnt pleading paper, I began to respond to those who had listened to it. The feedback was as expected.  Likely, the same reaction you have.  

I have debated including this frank and visceral exposure of my true feelings about my father. In the end, I decided to publish it if for no other reason it might help some other person out there think about family, the frailty of life and a parent's obligation.  

I came to the Caribbean to attend a business meeting. I was one of twenty-five entrepreneurs who were lucky enough to participate in a Master Mind with John Lee Dumas and his partner, Kate Erickson. John and Kate operate Entrepreneurs on Fire and Kate’s Take, podcasts on business and business efficiency. After the Master Mind, I stayed in Peurto Rico for a time and recorded the first and third episodes of this new Podcast.

I closed my law firm for many reasons. I admit being burnt out. You wouldn’t think practicing estate planning would be stressful but it was. Lawyers take on the problems of others. Clients bring with them expectations and entitlements. They are seldom appreciative. More often, they are resentful of the fee they pay.

I also had my eyes opened up to a new world I did not know existed. I suspect this world began to sprout when the internet was invented. The Law was invented in ancient times. Estate planning, my area of practice, began, in most part, during the Middle Ages. Lawyers are trained to look back into time to apply a legal rule of old to a current conflict. Naturally, so busy looking backward, I did not know there was a world out there in which young businesspeople used the internet to promote their product or service. With websites, podcasts and social media, thousands were solving problems for a fraction of the costs of traditional brick and mortar businesses. I wanted to do that.

My entire career has been about the laws of money. These laws can be complicated. Legal counsel is necessary to solve some problems but not all. However, in many ways, people seek reliable information. I will go one bold statement further. In many ways, people seek financial awareness that legal documents do not give.

This podcast offers listeners information. It also offers some entertainment. Most importantly, it offers a solution.