44 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • AUGUST 2, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
health
The Elder Law Minute TM
Be Cautious When Choosing a Financial Professional
ELDER LAW
AGE-GRADING AND AGING
Society has an alternative method
of classifying people by age. Th e distinctions
are based on a person’s life
situation, especially the place held
in society, rather than on number
of years since birth. Sociologists and
anthropologists sometimes refer to
this as an age-grading approach. It
has been the most important basis
of age distinction in many societies,
and continues as a supplementary
approach in industrialized nations
today.
A simple age-grading approach
divides the population into the
young, the grown up, and the aged.
Age-grading can be as powerful as
chronological age in shaping a person’s
life. Th e rules of behavior are
oft en quite diff erent for the various
grades. In some societies children
are indulged. Th ey can enjoy themselves
with a minimum of discipline.
But when they become regarded
as adolescents or adults, they are
expected to be serious and disciplined.
Age-grading is important as a way
of distributing rights and responsibilities.
Th is means that moving
from adulthood to old age can have
diff erent implications, thus giving
credence to the concept of age-grading.
Fo r example: becoming an elder
is oft en an improvement in status
for women in age-graded societies.
She can now enjoy more prestige
and power than ever before and
can delegate to younger people the
chores she most dislikes.
I wish to re-emphasize the following:
chronological age classifi cation
is generally the “offi cial” technique
used to sort us out. Age-grading,
however, still tends to play a strong
part in our lives.
Th e “old timer” may be an experienced
worker who is no older
chronologically than the newcomer
to the job situation. We appear
to need people in both junior and
senior status in many situations,
even if the chronological age diff erence
is trivial, non-existent, or even
reversed.
Dr. Sheldon Ornstein is a
registered professional nurse
with a doctoral degree in
nursing organization. He
has specialized in the care
of older adults and has
published many articles on
the subject. He has done
post-graduate work in gerontology
and has taught
at several universities. In
2013, he was inducted into
the Nursing Hall of Fame at
Teachers College, Columbia
University.
BY RONALD A. FATOULLAH, ESQ.
AND STACEY MESHNICK, ESQ.
Prompted by concern that many fi nancial
advisors may not be acting in the
best interest of their clients, President
Obama had directed the Department
of Labor (DOL) to draw up rules that
would require fi nancial advisors to act
like fi duciaries in February 2015. A fi duciary
must provide the highest standard
of care under the law. Th e “fi duciary
rule” was originally scheduled to
be phased in during the period of April
10, 2017 to January 1, 2018.
A U.S. court of appeals has now
reversed the DOL rule intended to prevent
fi nancial advisors from steering
their clients toward retirement investments
which, although they may be
“suitable,” may not be in their best interest
due to hidden costs and fees. Th e
Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) has proposed new regulations to
at least partially address the same problem.
Th e fi duciary rule required all fi nancial
professionals who work with retirement
plans or provide retirement planning
advice to act as a fi duciary, bound
legally and ethically to meet the higher
standards of that status. While the
new rules were likely to have had at
least some impact on all fi nancial advisors,
it was expected that those who
work on commission, such as brokers
and insurance agents, would be impacted
the most.
Th e fi duciary standard is a much higher
level of accountability than the “suitability”
standard previously required
of fi nancial salespersons, such as brokers,
planners and insurance agents,
who work with retirement plans and
accounts. «Suitability» means that as
long as an investment recommendation
meets a client›s defi ned need and objective,
it is deemed appropriate. Under a
fi duciary standard, fi nancial professionals
are legally obligated to put their client’s
best interests fi rst, rather than simply
fi nding “suitable” investments. Th e
new rule would have therefore eliminated
many commission structures that are
common in the industry.
Several industry trade groups sued
to overturn the fi duciary rule, arguing
that the DOL overstepped its authority
in enacting the regulation. A federal
court judge initially upheld the rule,
but in March 2018, the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Fift h Circuit overturned
it. According to the court, the DOL did
not have the authority to enact the rule.
Th e court criticized the DOL for overstepping
its boundaries into an area that
should be handled by the SEC.
While the fi duciary rule might be dead
for now, the SEC has proposed new
regulations that would require investment
advisers to act in the best interest
of their clients when recommending
an investment. It also requires brokers
to disclose or mitigate confl icts of
interest. Th e proposed regulations do
not, however, defi ne what “best interest”
means, which may cause confusion
for brokers and consumers. Th ere
is a long road ahead before these regulations
are approved. Th e SEC is accepting
comments on the regulations until
August 7, 2018.
Even if the SEC’s regulations are
approved, they do not solve every problem.
Consumers should always use caution
when selecting a fi nancial advisor. In
particular, consumers should check their
fi nancial advisor’s experience and credentials
and beware of false credentials.
Ronald A. Fatoullah, Esq. is the principal
of Ronald Fatoullah & Associates,
a law fi rm that concentrates in elder
law, estate planning, Medicaid planning,
guardianships, estate administration,
trusts, wills, and real estate. Stacey
Meshnick, Esq. is a senior staff attorney
at the fi rm who has chaired the fi rm’s
Medicaid department for over 15 years.
Th e law fi rm can be reached at 718-
261-1700, 516-466-4422, or toll free at
1-877-ELDER-LAW or 1-877-ESTATES.
Mr. Fatoullah is also a partner with
Advice Period, a wealth management
fi rm, and he can be reached at 424-256-
7273.
RONALD FATOULLAH
ESQ, CELA*
“Th ere is more to life
than increasing its
speed.”
Gandhi