Here's the issue with any type of variable universal life policy - the agent's premium and company fees can be set up different ways. Surprise, surprise - the default on running a customer quote is set to the agent/company advantage, NOT the consumer. You can get them to change this - BUT you have to ASK. The agent should be willing to do this, but very few of them will volunteer (not surprisingly). This is a hybrid policy currently very "hot" in insurance circles because so many people think they might be "wasting" their premium dollars. Needless to say, you will pay more for such a hybrid policy, than you would if you just bought level term life insurance and a standard LTC policy. Unless you seriously need life insurance for estate reasons - I have it, but for a very specific reason - I can't see why anyone would buy these types of policies. You pay for auto insurance and homeowners insurance for years, with most people never making any serious claims. Is that money wasted? No - it is intended to mitigate risk in an emergency. LTC insurance is no different. If your life expectancy factors are good, you want to age "in place", and you can't afford to self-insure, then buying an LTC policy can help mitigate the risk of running out of money and being forced into only Medicaid facilities, rather than having a variety of choices open to you. LTC insurance is not for everyone, and there are many policy details needing prudent and careful review. It may indeed be true that a hybrid policy would work well for you...but I would carefully compare it with the standard policy and a level term life quote before making any decision. Good luck to you and others going forward. This is not an easy or simple decision to make. You will need the help of an ethical insurance salesman, and that's something you will need to find on your own. They do exist, so start searching and asking lots of questions.

Hi Christine, I know Dave is a well respected advisor on these boards, but I have to say I have always been told to steer clear of anything other than Term Life. Thanks... uhh, I think? Hopefully I'm not losing any respect from the lack of financial planning experience from whoever 'always' told you to steer clear of anything other than Term Life. Many people here have also "always" been told to pay off their mortgage as fast as possible, "period," regardless of the risks & harm it can create too. What many have "always" heard is not always so valid. Dave perhaps you could clarify why Universal Life is a good option in general and also specifically in this case? I have been on this site off and on for a very long time, however, I have not read that many posts on this particilar board to know your general philosophy on this. Sure. FIRST off, it is most likely the case that "everyone" who "always" advised you to avoid anything but "term" was specifically talking about buying life insurance for the purpose of the insurance DEATH benefits... not the financial planning features available within certain types of it. For the best death benefits "bang for the buck"... Term life premiums are state regulated, so for the most part you pay for the benefit coverage you get, and nothing more, regardless of the carrier (which is GOOD if what you want is a payoff at death.) Differences in term life premiums are generally quite small, and when one carrier appears to be "cheaper" per $1,000 of benefit than another (i.e. if you Google for 'cheapest term insurance' etc.) its generally because that carrier has less capital reserves to protect its policy-holders, thus less costs... and is thus more at risk of being illiquid... *OR* it fights harder NOT to pay all of the benefits expected when its policies mature, and thereby it has less costs of fulfillment. There are OTHER very important financial benefits to life insurance contracts, however, OTHER than the ultimate payoff of a death benefit at policy maturity. Congress has written legal "tax-shelter" features into the IRS code such that cash values sheltered within properly structured life insurance contracts grow and are harvestable UN-TAXED. Universal Life *IS* a term life policy (underwritten through age 100,) that offers a SEPERATE (un-comingled) cash accumulation account with the unique tax sheltered benefits only available inside cash-value life contracts. (NOTE that this is distictively different from old-fashioned "whole life" contracts that inseperably comingle insurance costs with their cash-values.) For FINANCIAL PLANNING purposes we want the maximum shelter benefits with the LEAST actual insurance coverage we can get away with (since, for this particular purpose, we don't care about death benefits.) The cash account within a Universal policy is allowed to grow tax free (no annual capital gains nor income taxes,) and is allowed to be accessed for spending tax free (via zero-interest policy "loans" which have no repayment requirement until the policy "matures"... aka when the insured dies.) Our OP is concerned about college tuition fund planning. The general strategy with college funding is to take advantage of *ALL* external funding resources (public assistance, grants, loans, and public/private scholarships) *BEFORE* dipping into the family-accumulated funds. THe catch-22 is that *MANY* external funding sources are "means tested." This means that they look at the student's fmaily's financial profile 1st... and if the family has funds in reserves, the external sources DEDUCT those from the support calculations (in essence saying "you guys drain your OWN accounts before we'll offer you any support!") Of course, this is completely contrary to the idea of rewarding those who are responsible... which is the whole point of using Universal Life insurance contracts to accumulate college tuition (and subsequently retirement funding for the parents.) Universal Life policies can also be "owned" by someone other than the person that the policy is insuring (the "insured.") The owner can be grandparents, uncles/aunts, god-parents, seperate trusts, or simply trusted friends. Because the ownership of this accumulation asset can be legally seperated from the student's family balance sheet, the student's family does NOT have to drain all of their own reserves before taking advantage of external educational support resources. PERSONALLY (and professionally,) in regards to actual death benefits... I would probably almost "always" harmonize with whoever else was "always" telling you to avoid anything other than term life. For death benefits (replacement of a parent's income for family support, most commonly,) term is generally the best way to go. For FINANCIAL PLANNING, however... age-100 term life coupled with cash values (in the form of Universal Life,) can be a very sharp strategy from both the tax-shelter perspective, and the avoidance of means-testing punishment of the more financially responsbile. Cheers, Dave Donhoff Leverage Planner

minet - You are correct. Regular Notaries are only allowed to charge $10 per signature. DH was doing the Loan Doc Signings. Since you lved in OC, you're somewhat familiar with the area. DH covered a wide area - parts of north OC, parts of LA county, all the Inland Empire, Parts of Riverside and San Brdo. Counties. He also made occasional trips to the Victor Valley-(High Desert) and Big Bear. It was a lot of driving! Advertising popped up everywhere "Make Big Money - Become a Notary Public!" What happened to that retired guy you knew is also what happened to DH - they were finding people who would do it cheaper. I don't know how anyone made money doing signings for only $50.00. The only way is if one had a few per day and close together - like, in their own neighborhood! Plus, like I mentioned, more and more companies were requiring the Notary to print out the Loan Docs on their own - which took a lot more time and cost. OH, and another thing this one company did...they would just put the assignments up on computer - leaving it "up for grabs" for anyone. So, DH had to sit at computer all day long everyday and refresh every couple of minutes to see if something "popped up". (If he was out on a signing, he'd miss out on any new assignments) It got to the point it wasn't worth it anymore. ----------------- runninginplace - Yes, we are not married. Been together for over 20 years. I refer to him as "hubby" most times. "Significant Other" or "boyfriend" or "life partner" just sound odd to me. I sometimes refer to him as my housemate also. "Hubby" is just easy. Someone in a previous post mentioned my 1/2 should be protected. Not sure what that means...should I get out the chainsaw and cut the house in half? haha j/k! ------------ "DH" saw the attorney. (hubby also was able to get most of the file on this specific trx from the lender) Attorney told him to just keep all the info for now, but to NOT respond to the letters...and just wait to see if anything happens. DH hasn't heard anything since. I don't know what the statute of limitations would be on something like this. (Maybe the other guy's attorney told him he didn't have a case? I donno) -------------- And, yes, I was too busy to read the letter when he first presented it to me. DH had already told me most of the highlights in the letter. By the time I was mentally prepared & calm enough to read the letter, it was gone. He had taken it to attorney. Everyone has their own ways of dealing with things. I guess my way is different.

There's cost associated with the policy itself, administrative and the actual cost of the death benefit. Those are probably based on current cost, interest rates and the amount you are paying. The assumptions may include a different premium amount, interest rate etc. It sounds to me as though they are saying they guarantee as long as you continue to make your payments and make no changes to the policy that it will stay in force until the date they give you (15 years). On the other hand to go further than the 15 years, maybe they have increased the premiums, the interest rate etc. to enhance the length of time the policy will remain in force. Is the product fixed or variable? Just curious why you went with the universal life policy?