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A new report from the non-profit Public Investor Advocacy Bar Association (PIABA) Foundation explains that investors can no longer rely on the BrokerCheck background disclosure system to investigate the backgrounds of brokers. The report was co-written by Jason Doss and Lisa Bragança; to read the full study, please Click Here. What is Brokercheck? BrokerCheck is…

One of the fastest-growing cyberfrauds is the closing payment scam — the theft of home-purchase money wired for closings. How does this scam work? How can you protect yourself? How can you recover losses if you are a victim of this scam? Closing Payment Scam In this scam, the fraudsters hack the email account of…

In a bankruptcy proceeding, trustees can use state fraudulent transfer law to “claw back” certain prebankruptcy payments made by the debtor. Those funds are then available for distribution to creditors as part of the debtor’s estate. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that the IRS is not exempt from these clawback claims. In re…

Beware the substantial risks of buying annuities, particularly when you are older. When you buy an annuity you pay a chunk of money to an insurance company to get payments in the future. Sounds good, but for excessive fees you pay and the fact that you lose access to your money. What if you or…

There are lots of explanations of bitcoin, blockchain, and cryptocurrency out there. How do you find the best? After speaking last week at ABA TechShow 2019, I decided to pull together my favorite resources for understanding bitcoin, blockchain, and cryptocurrency. Before we get to that, I have to share this graphic, which Leah Silverman created…

In December, Justin Steffen, Drew Hinkes, Chris Veatch, Kashan Pathan, Jimmie Zhang, and I did a crypto mock trial to show how blockchain transactions can be introduced into evidence. This was no easy feat. It took many hours of preparation — the creation of a fact pattern, the legal research, the preparation of expert witnesses…

Fran Tarkenton loves equity indexed annuities. That does not mean you should. Tarkenton is 79 years old and encouraging elders to purchase equity indexed annuities (also called fixed indexed annuities) as a way to protect themselves from elder financial abuse. That’s right. Fran Tarkenton is encouraging elders to purchase these high fees, non-liquid insurance products…

The American Bar Association recently published some very helpful guidance for lawyers in considering client capacity to make legal and other decisions. The most important directive is that the correct question is NOT whether a client has capacity — it is whether a client has capacity TO DO A PARTICULAR THING. Persons with significant cognitive…

Digital Coins Digital coins, virtual coins, tokens, or cryptocurrencies are bits of computer code. What makes this computer code special is that it is created on something called a “blockchain.” Blockchain technology allows people to engage in financial transactions directly with each other, without a bank or other financial intermediary. Transactions taking place on a…

Would you fix a pipe if you thought it might be leaking? Just like pipes in your home, your retirement accounts can be leaking excessive fees — which is money you could use in retirement. If you have a retirement account — like a 401(k) or 403(b) account — with a small or medium-sized employer,…