by Colin Baines | Mar 2015 | Comments
A life settlement or ‘traded life policy investment’ (TLPI) is the sale of an existing life insurance policy to a third party for more than its cash surrender value but less than its net death benefit. Viatical settlements are similar but the person selling the policy...
by Colin Baines | Feb 2015 | Comments
Cyber attacks resulting from data breaches are on the increase. In this country, because of relatively weak reporting systems, we seldom hear about individual hacking cases. In the US where reporting requirements are much stronger, news reports of data breaches are...
by Colin Baines | Jan 2015 | Comments
None too soon, advice given in relation to mortgages is coming under the same sort of regulatory scrutiny as does investment advice. Royal Bank of Scotland was fined £14.5 after the FCA found that only 2 of the 164 sales it reviewed were considered to meet the overall...
by Colin Baines | Nov 2014 | Comments
With two thirds of the population never having made a will, intestacy is a major issue in UK. The rules, originally made in 1925, are draconian and there has been constant pressure from consumer interest groups to water them down. With effect from the 1st October,...
by Colin Baines | Oct 2014 | Comments
Those readers of a certain age will remember the mantra ‘tax avoidance is legal, tax evasion is not.’ This seems to have faded into the past however. Great yardage of print has been devoted to ‘outing’ pop stars and the like who have been advised to put money into tax...
