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Yes. It was not an unusual occurrence when I was the Director of Compliance. It primarily happened with internal (corporate) counsel. They were typically lawyers but not necessarily specialists in financial services.It wasn’t a court type of situation. It was an internal one where the lawyers would say “No” and I’d pull the statutes and regulations and argue the points and get the answer my boss wanted as long as it didn’t cross any legal or ethical lines.It was common in the last three companies I worked at until the lawyers go to know me and began trusting me and my word.Here is a letter I wrote in a case where a client’s attorney attempted to bully us into paying the proceeds to the beneficiaries’ parents. The beneficiaries were young minors at the time. The attorney was never heard from again after I responded to the complaint he wrote to the insurance commissioner. All the names have been changed (except the insurance commissioner).The Honorable Jim LongCommissioner of InsuranceState of North CarolinaDepartment of InsuranceReference: Your file numberDear Ms. Smith:Your letter of January 7, has been referred to me for reply.The product is a Dreyfus/Triple Advantage Variable Annuity. These are individual Flexible Premium Deferred Annuities.I will begin by stating that no claim has been denied under the above contracts since a claim has not been filed. There have been several telephone conversations between Mr. Bob White, an attorney who indicated he represented the beneficiaries noted above, and various individuals at Ins Co.Our research indicates that Ins Co can prudently pay the proceeds of the above contracts to a court-appointed guardian of the minors’ estates. Paying the proceeds to anyone else would expose us to the risk of an action against us when the minors attain the age of majority in which they could prevail if the funds were not handled prudently by a self-appointed custodian. North Carolina, and every other state in the U.S., has adopted guardianship laws in order to protect minors against such mishandling. There are some exceptions to formal guardianship proceedings, e.g., the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, payment to the Clerk of the Superior Court, and direct payment, but they do not allow the payment of amounts as large as the ones at issue. We really cannot comment on counsel’s representation that other insurers have paid benefits to the children’s parents when we do not know all the facts, e.g., the amounts of such payments.Mr. Jones communicated to this office that the beneficiaries’ parents offered to sign an indemnification agreement if we would pay the proceeds to them as custodians. Since we lack any means of determining their ability to indemnify us, now or in the future, we are unwilling to agree to this method of distribution. If the parents’ were willing to post a pre-paid bond in our favor we could be willing to consider such an alternative.On November 12th, Mr. Red Wine of our office spoke to Mr. White and stated our willingness to explore the possibility of paying the proceeds into a blocked account/CD. We heard nothing further regarding this matter until your letter was received.The proceeds are generally paid within seven days of receipt of claim forms in good order. In this case, claim forms in good order would include documents naming guardians of the estate of the minor, a Certified Death Certificate, and the Settlement Election form. According to the Prospectus, the proceeds of these annuities will be paid in a lump sum within one year of the date of death if another method of settlement has not been elected.We are unable to make distribution, nor any other changes to these contracts, until claim forms in good order are received. If they are not submitted, the contract shall continue as it presently exists. The Internal Revenue Code requires distribution within five years of the death of the owner of an annuity. I suggest the clients seek advice from their tax advisors should claim forms in good order not be submitted in time to make the distribution within the prescribed period. Also, since the children have the right to receive the contract proceeds, only their duly authorized representatives can deal with the contract in the interim.Please rest assured that Ins Co has no desire to make this situation more difficult than necessary for the proper protection of all parties involved. It does not choose, however, to expose itself to a situation that could result in adverse legal action when the minors attain the age of majority. North Carolina law obviously favors payment of large sums, in this case $55,000 and $65,000, to a guardian of the estate of a minor. To our knowledge, it does not allow a minor’s parents to receive such large amounts without the minor having the protection of such a proceeding.If you are aware of any statutes that would afford the necessary legal protection to Ins Co and to the minor beneficiaries and allow us to pay these claims without benefit of guardians of the minors’ estate having been appointed, we would be more than happy to have our Law Department review them.Please feel free to contact me at (704) between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. if you have any additional questions.Sincerely,This makes a very good case for why parents should name a guardian for the estate of the minor in their Will. In this case, it was another relative who had died. I strongly suspect the parents’ wanted to get their hands on this money because it is not difficult to have a court appointed guardian for the estate of a minor. I also think the minor children were named beneficiaries because the person leaving the money didn’t want their parents to get it and waste it. The attorney who complained to the department of insurance thought he could bully me into making a mistake.If we had paid the parents and they spent the money, the children would have had grounds to come back and we might have had to pay the claim a second time. There is case law where similar scenarios have played out.

The Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) employee benefits allow employees to pay for eligible out of pocket medical expenses with “pre-tax” dollars.This is usually a good thing. Your net pay is after income tax withholding, and thus a smaller amount than the gross pay. Pre-tax dollars go farther, as nothing is withheld.The original way things worked, employees saved receipts for health expenses, filled out claim forms, sent receipts and claims to the plan administrator and waited for reimbursement from the FSA or HSA.Then, they started using these dedicated debit cards. Now, those out-of-pocket expenses can be put on the card, rather than be paid in cash or by some personal credit card.Receipts and claims may still be required for the FSA. The HSA usually does not need receipts, but the taxpayer needs to save them if ever audited by the IRS.The plan administrator avoids printing and mailing checks and can collect the debit transaction processing fees against the doctors and pharmacies where the employee uses the card.There is a little less fraud, too, as employees cannot create fake receipts for invalid claims, pretending to have paid cash. Any scam would have to involve a debit card transaction at a place with some plausible healthcare products or services.

One thing I will add that anyone may consider worth knowing. If you are moving to Spain make sure you will always have access to your money. Start a bank account then notify and/or apply to have your direct deposit transfer to a financial institution near to where you will be living in Spain. Whatever county you will be moving from make sure your ATM, Debit, or credit card information is updated to reflect your current address in Spain. If your cards are near to their expiration date make sure to contact your card issuer and request replacement cards be sent to you in Spain.I bank with J.P. Morgan Chase and the bank notified me that they will no longer be issuing any ATM cards to any of their depositors but they will issue Debit Cards and Credit cards. Make sure with whatever financial institution you are having your deposits made to will send you cards to Spain or set up a deposit financial institutional account near to your location within Spain so you always have access to your money.It seems like a simple thing but failing to assure you have access to your money can lead to a great big headache and become a major issue for you to resolve.Don’t worry with $3,000.00 per month you should be able to retire in Spain very comfortably even with a family not just for one individual.Excerpt;Organizing Your Retirement To SpainHow should you organize your retirement to Spain? Retirement abroad is increasingly popular with over one million British expats having their pension paid overseas.It is less common for citizens of the US to retire abroad, but there are around 550,000 Americans who receive their social security benefits abroad.VISA REQUIREMENTSAs an EU citizen no visa is required for Britons to retire to Spain. The impact of Brexit will only be clear once negotiations have progressed.Non-EU citizens can obtain a Long Stay visa for retirement in Spain, which allows you to reside without working or doing any lucrative activities. You will need to have a passport valid of one year, medical certificate confirming you have no contagious diseases, proof that you have the financial means to support yourself (and any accompanying family) without the need to work.RENT OR BUYThere are many issues to be considered when deciding whether to rent or buy your home in Spain. Rental arrangements allow for greater flexibility if you suddenly need to return to your home country for unexpected reasons (such as health or family issues). It can be sensible to rent initially even if you plan to buy so that you can get to know the area and experience the lifestyle before committing to buying a property. This also allows you to really know the local property market and be sure you have chosen the right location.Buying your property gives a greater security and allows you to see this as your home with the freedom to do what you want to your home. Whatever the current market conditions, there is always the risk of the market falling and leaving you unable to sell in the short term until the market recovers. Provided you do not intend to leave this will not be a problem, but if you feel you may decide to return home this is a risk to consider.FUNDINGWhen planning your retirement anywhere you will need to know what funds will be available to you. This may include personal and state pensions or social security benefits.UK PENSIONSYou should be sent a claim form 4 months before you reach your State Pension age. Contact the International Pension Center (IPC) if you haven’t received a letter 3 months before you reach State Pension age.If you’ve worked in the UK and abroad, you will need to send the international claim form to the IPC.You can contact the IPC by email or phone, or fill in the international claim form. You’ll need the international bank account number (IBAN) and bank identification code (BIC) numbers for your overseas account.International Pension [email protected]: +44 (0)191 218 7777Textphone: +44 (0)191 218 7280Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pmFind out about call chargesThe Pension Service 11Mail Handling Site AWolverhamptonWV98 1LWUnited KingdomThe Basic State Pension for 2017/18 will be £159.55 a week for a single person provided you have made a minimum of 30 years’ National Insurance contributions during your working life. You can claim this wherever you live once you qualify for the UK state pension. The pension can be paid into a UK bank or directly into an overseas account in the local currency (saving transfer fees and bank charges). You can choose to be paid every four or 13 weeks, but if your State Pension is under £5 per week, you’ll be paid once a year in December.If you work abroad before retirement it may be possible to receive the state pension from more than one country.If you have retired early, or have yet to start drawing a pension, there is the possibility of moving your pension pot overseas. You can do this by transferring it to a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS). These can be based in the new country you are moving to, or set up on an offshore basis. They offer increased flexibility and, once you have been a non-UK resident for five years, are outside the UK tax net. The income from QROPS may also be taxed favourably in your country of residence. Advice should be sought from a specialist IFA before doing this.In Spain a lump sum withdrawn from your pension may be treated as taxable income, so it may be better to leave the money invested.If you decide to return to the UK you will need to call HMRC’s Residency Helpline.US SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITSIf you are thinking about retiring abroad, find out if you can receive your Social Security or other federal agency benefits outside the United States. The Social Security Administration’s Office of International Operations (OIO) provides such information, and consular officers at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate can also assist you.You can have US Social Security Benefits paid while living outside the US. You can find a guide at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/retirement/retirement.htmGETTING THE BEST OUT OF YOUR RETIREMENT IN SPAINYou will know what it is about Spain that has attracted you to retire there, but you should be clear on how you plan to spend your time. As with retirement anywhere you cannot approach it as an extended holiday. You may have spent time in your intended new home area, but have you been there out of season. Consider what you will do when the weather is not as reliable.There are many other expats living in Spain and many clubs around the country, including cricket clubs, American Women’s Clubs and many more. Getting involved with such clubs can be a great way to meet people with similar interests, but there will also be popular bars, restaurants, golf clubs, gyms and other places where as a regular visitor you will soon meet other long term residents.HEALTHCAREEnsuring that you have adequate healthcare is an important consideration for everyone as they get older. The Spanish state health service establishes that all people, regardless of their nationality, have the right to health care. The National Health Service (NHS) is available for Spanish nationals as well as foreigners, who work in Spain and are registered and contribute to the Spanish Social Security System. This also applies to foreigners, who have retired from that system, or for those who work or have worked in an EU country or other country with whom Spain has a Social Security treaty that covers health care.There is generally a health center or ambulatorio, within each neighbourhood, where there is a general practitioner and a paediatrician. To see a physician, you must make an appointment. If a specialist is necessary, the general practitioner must refer you for care.An alternative to the state health care system is private medical treatment. Through this system you can select any physician you wish. You can also consult with a specialist without a recommendation from a general practitioner. 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