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Everyone knows Suze Orman, but many do not know her background. She went from being a waitress in Berkeley (1973), to becoming a stockbroker at Merrill Lynch. She then moved to Prudential Bache Securities in1983 and in 1987 opened her own company Suze Orman Financial Group. She stepped down in 1997 as head of her firm to work on her books, appearances and other products.
Suze thinks a better idea is to set up a living revocable trust and name the trust the beneficiary of the life insurance policy. Then you can designate a successor trustee to protect the children's money. According to the FDIC, each named beneficiary in a living revocable trust adds an additional $250,000 in protection. When 5 beneficiaries are added, the total trust protection maxes out at $1,250,000.
“The Good” about Suze is that she helps to raise the public’s perception as to the importance of making good financial decisions, such as not overspending, proper use of credit, having a good credit score, mitigating risk properly, having your affairs in order, investing for the future and on and on. All good and important stuff!
“The Bad” about Suze is that she is still a sales person. Rather than “selling” stocks, bonds and insurance, now she sells books and kits. (Go to http://www.suzeorman.com/and take a look - there is seemingly something for everyone). The issue I have is that her “one-size fits all” approach does not work for everyone and could in fact hurt many folks.
For the first example, Suze said “If you are at least 20 years away from retirement, I think having 80% or more of your money in stocks makes sense. If you are within 10 years of retirement, you might want to keep 30% in stocks with the rest in bonds.” I am sorry, but that is just plain WRONG!
The appropriate asset allocation should be based on your goals (which include the time frame) as well as your risk tolerance and your risk capacity. This one size approach will negatively impact many people.
A second example is in her “Wills and Trusts kit” which she says contains “all the estate planning documents you need”. “It’s like having your own financial planner and personal trust attorney at your finger tips”. Neither of these statements is true. It’s the kind of language that salespeople use to hype their product and I’m sure it sounds good for those that are buying the kit.
The kit states that the information provided is of general nature and for specific advice see your attorney. Yet the CD allows the buyer to produce legal documents, which to me is “very specific”. The instructions also say to take the forms that are produced to your attorney for review. Yeah like that’s going to happen. People purchase the kit because they believe the kit is a way to get out of paying for legal advice.
Estate planning documents can be very complex and should be prepared by an attorney. The layperson has no way to understand the potential legal problems with faulty or incomplete documents.
On the “test” forms that were produced for me, the notary block on each document were incorrect for California and it would be illegal for a notary to notarize such a document.
“The Never Ugly” Her books are top sellers. She is often on TV. She markets “kits” for self-help. She is seemingly everywhere, so we all know that she is an attractive lady. Most entertainers are attractive. If Suze was 50 lbs overweight, wore coke bottle glasses and had naturally colored hair, one may wonder if she would have the notoriety that she commands.
On balance, the good of increasing the public’s awareness to the importance of financial planning overwhelms any bad associated with her “one-size fits all” sales approach. Then, of course….she is pleasant to look at and is very entertaining.
'>Everyone knows Suze Orman, but many do not know her background. She went from being a waitress in Berkeley (1973), to becoming a stockbroker at Merrill Lynch. She then moved to Prudential Bache Securities in1983 and in 1987 opened her own company Suze Orman Financial Group. She stepped down in 1997 as head of her firm to work on her books, appearances and other products.
“The Good” about Suze is that she helps to raise the public’s perception as to the importance of making good financial decisions, such as not overspending, proper use of credit, having a good credit score, mitigating risk properly, having your affairs in order, investing for the future and on and on. All good and important stuff!
“The Bad” about Suze is that she is still a sales person. Rather than “selling” stocks, bonds and insurance, now she sells books and kits. (Go to http://www.suzeorman.com/and take a look - there is seemingly something for everyone). The issue I have is that her “one-size fits all” approach does not work for everyone and could in fact hurt many folks.
For the first example, Suze said “If you are at least 20 years away from retirement, I think having 80% or more of your money in stocks makes sense. If you are within 10 years of retirement, you might want to keep 30% in stocks with the rest in bonds.” I am sorry, but that is just plain WRONG!
The appropriate asset allocation should be based on your goals (which include the time frame) as well as your risk tolerance and your risk capacity. This one size approach will negatively impact many people.
A second example is in her “Wills and Trusts kit” which she says contains “all the estate planning documents you need”. “It’s like having your own financial planner and personal trust attorney at your finger tips”. Neither of these statements is true. It’s the kind of language that salespeople use to hype their product and I’m sure it sounds good for those that are buying the kit.
The kit states that the information provided is of general nature and for specific advice see your attorney. Yet the CD allows the buyer to produce legal documents, which to me is “very specific”. The instructions also say to take the forms that are produced to your attorney for review. Yeah like that’s going to happen. People purchase the kit because they believe the kit is a way to get out of paying for legal advice.
Estate planning documents can be very complex and should be prepared by an attorney. The layperson has no way to understand the potential legal problems with faulty or incomplete documents.
On the “test” forms that were produced for me, the notary block on each document were incorrect for California and it would be illegal for a notary to notarize such a document.
“The Never Ugly” Her books are top sellers. She is often on TV. She markets “kits” for self-help. She is seemingly everywhere, so we all know that she is an attractive lady. Most entertainers are attractive. If Suze was 50 lbs overweight, wore coke bottle glasses and had naturally colored hair, one may wonder if she would have the notoriety that she commands.
On balance, the good of increasing the public’s awareness to the importance of financial planning overwhelms any bad associated with her “one-size fits all” sales approach. Then, of course….she is pleasant to look at and is very entertaining.
Top StoriesEveryone needs a living revocable trust, says Suze Orman on this week's episode of 'The Suze Orman Show.'
In response to several emails and tweets asking why a trust is so mandatory, Orman spells it out. 'A living revocable trust serves as far more than just where assets are to go upon your death and it does that in an efficient way,' she said. Unlike a will, a living trust also covers you while you are still alive, Orman noted.
You must think about what If something happens and you become ill and incapacitated. 'Who is going to take care of you and pay your bills?' Orman asked. A key difference between a will and a living revocable trust is that the living trust has an incapacity clause that states who you want to sign for your affairs in the event you are unable to do so for yourself.
Be mindful of the key difference between a revocable trust and an irrevocable trust. An irrevocable trust cannot be modified or terminated without permission of the beneficiary. 'Once the grantor transfers the assets into the irrevocable trust, he or she removes all rights of ownership to the trust and assets,' Orman explained.
See more of Suze Orman's advice on this topic on 'The Suze Orman Show ' this Saturday, Sept. 28 on CNBC at 9 p.m. ET.
Suze Orman Living Trust Forms
—By CNBC's Sakina Spruell. Follow her on Twitter @SakinaCNBC.