Beware Mailings from American Senior Alliance

From ElderLaw News, Margolis & Associates, April 18, 2005:

At least one of our clients has received a mailing from American Senior Alliance entitled "Important Elder Law Alliance" purporting to help seniors avoid probate and estate taxes, exempt assets from government or nursing homes, and offering returns at double or triple the interest rate of certificates of deposit. All they want is your telephone number. Others have received a similar mailing from the so-called National Processing Center.

While so far we have not been able to find American Senior Alliance, our best guess is that they are trying to sell annuities. Annuities are not necessarily good or bad investment products. They can be quite useful when purchased by the right individual under the right circumstances and quite harmful when purchased by the wrong individual in the wrong circumstances.

The claims made by the American Senior Alliance mailing are half truths and in and of themselves can be quite misleading. Our fear is that any company using such half truths in their marketing will do the same on the phone when they get your number. Choose whether or not to purchase an annuity with the advice of a competent financial professional who you have found through advice from friends, relatives and other professional advisors.

04/2005