Discussion:Washington Post Article
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| 9 March 2008 | |
| Thought you might be interested:
Woe to Those Who Owe, but Find a Way to Pay http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/08/AR2008030800048.html?hpid=topnews Tom | |
| 9 March 2008 | |
| Here is another sad one to add to the list ...
We got this long flaming thread going about Non-tax Pro's and DYI's, but which one of us would not have wanted to answer a simple question from these folks and saved them what is probably a good portion of their retirement. | |
| 9 March 2008 | |
The bad thing about the Florida couple is that they acted on the advice of an insurance salesman who knew nothing about taxes. Why wouldn't they ask their tax pro? Sorry, they were duped, an expensive lesson to learn indeed.
The paper got it wrong: the lesson isn't that annuities are bad, the lesson is that YOU SHOULDN'T TAKE TAX ADVICE FROM SOMEONE WHO ISN'T A TAX PROFESSIONAL. | |
| 9 March 2008 | |
| Fair point, Dave and Kevin. I saw that in the article as well. The reporter should point that out. As a matter of fact, one of my clients is an editor for a major newspaper. I think I will make sure she sees this and let her know.
I had a client who thought he did a 1031 exchange and called me and told me, "Okay, I've got the money in my hands. Now I want to do the 1031." I dropped the phone. He never once called me and asked me what to do, he asked his real estate agent. Obviously, he was too late. It should have gone to a third party. What a disaster. Cost him over $25,000. Dave, the point about the DIY thread is that some DIY'ers waste our time when they are too cheap to pay someone. Others get mad when they don't get the answer they want or they don't get their answer right away or they take it out on us for the way the law is written after it's explained to them they can't do this or that. Kevin is correct. They needed a tax professional, not their insurance rep. Tom | |
Bottom Line (talk|edits) said: | 9 March 2008 |
| These people got suckered on two of the rackets we have going on down here which play on the seniors. 1) the "free lunch" seminar frequently at Sam Selters aimed at selling financial products. And 2) (after they fell for the first one) the annuities. I can't tell you how many 70 year olds are sold annuities with a 20 year early cashout penalty. And they're all sold by "nice young men". | |
Southparkcpa (talk|edits) said: | 9 March 2008 |
| Annuities pay the highest commissions to agents. MUCH higher than funds. I ask my clients, is it just a coincidence that the highest paying product is exactly what you need?
Annuities are sold, NEVER purchased. | |
