 Capitalism’s Growing Pains
By Brett Danko, CFP®
As I am teaching and lecturing throughout the country, financial advisors ask me my thoughts on the government’s existing and proposed regulation of our financial system and whether it is bad or good for capitalism and the markets.
Answering these questions actually forced me to come to grips with my own interpretation of free market capitalism. And gave rise to two analogies: We can think of free markets as the Good Kid or the Baseball Umpire.
For the good kid, we may find him responsible, BUT it is still important to keep a close eye on him to be sure he stays on the right path. For the baseball umpire, we hope that he does his job well, lets the teams play and doesn’t decide who the winner or loser ultimately should be.
But after nearly a decade of seemingly NO ONE watching the “kids at home,” let’s hope our government officials and regulatory bodies are able to find the right market-friendly balance, and do NOT overreact and push the pendulum too far to the other side.
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 Can a Spouse be Disinherited?
By Tara Conti, CFP®
A friend of mine told me that her 80 year old grandmother was disinherited when her husband died. Even though it was a second marriage for both of them, they had lived together and had been married for more than 10 years. Everything in the will went to her husband’s family and my friend’s grandmother was kicked out of her home with nothing to her name.
It’s a shame that my friend’s family did not know their grandmother’s rights and options at the time.
Most state laws provide for a “spousal right of election” which allows a spouse to ignore the will and elect to receive the “elective share” of what is called the decedent spouse’s “augmented estate.” In New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the elective share is 30%, and action must be taken within specific time frames to claim it.
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 Watch out for Stink Bugs...
By Mike Minter, CFP®
Financial Advisors need to make money in up markets for their clients. Of course, if this is the case then they will most likely lose money when the markets go down. The difference between them is how much they will make or lose for you.
Advisors won’t be right all the time and they can’t be too extreme in the positions they take, but if they study history and do their research, they should have a better chance of outperforming their peers in the long run.
But they should also be advising you about how to save your money, how to think about cash flow, reviewing beneficiary designations, compounding returns and how big volatile moves can ruin a portfolio.
So what does all this have to do with Stink Bugs?
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 'Tis the Season to Understand Flood Insurance
By Sarah W. Cammerzell, CIC
Flood is a devastating and common disaster, even in Mercer County, NJ. Many homeowners do not purchase flood insurance for one of two reasons: 1) they believe that if they live in a high risk area, they do not qualify for a flood policy, or 2) they live in a low-risk area, have never had a flood loss and believe they do not need a flood policy. In both of these cases, the homeowners are incorrect. They should buy insurance now. According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), over 25% of flood claims are made by people living in moderate-to-low risk areas.
Homeowners should educate themselves about floods and the coverage available, including what constitutes a flood according to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), what types of policies are available, and what is included in flood coverage as well as specific limitations.
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