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Tax Reform Drives New Discussions About Life SettlementsTax Reform Drives New Discussions About Life Settlements

Implications for estate-planning professionals.

Jon B Mendelsohn, Co-founder and CEO

March 22, 2018

6 Min Read
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Within hours of the passage of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Act), the blogosphere lit up with articles about how provisions in the Act would suddenly induce more life insurance policy owners (POs) to do a life settlement—a transaction in which the PO sells his existing policy to an unrelated third party for a cash amount greater than the surrender value and less than the death benefit. POs have a legal right to sell their existing life insurance in the regulated and institutional secondary market; however, for many, it’s an unknown option. For almost a decade, the life settlement industry has worked with regulators, lobbyists and consumer advocates to educate the public about life settlements as a way to turn an unrealized asset i...

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About the Author

Jon B Mendelsohn

Co-founder and CEO, Ashar Group

Jon B. Mendelsohn is CEO of Ashar Group, a family-owned business focused solely on the life settlement and policy valuation market for more than 17 years. Jon has been published in Trust & Estates and Tax Adviser Magazine and speaks nationally about the importance of treating life insurance as an asset, providing defensible life insurance policy valuations, and planning implications due to increased longevity among senior clients. Ashar Group is a nationally licensed life settlement fiduciary with a reputation as the industry benchmark for transparency, compliance, and innovation. The company has recently filmed a 6-part life settlement series for AALU as well as education for The American College RICP program and has been invited to speak at the AICPA, Forum 400, countless estate planning councils across the nation, and even educational institutions like Harvard Business School and Columbia University’s Ph.D. Finance Program. Jon earned two bachelor's and a master’s degree from the University of Florida. He and Ashar are proud supporters of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation for over 20 years to support his family members living with this challenge. Jon and his wife Angie reside in Central Florida with their two daughters, Ella and Payton. Ashar Group deliberately chooses to partner with organizations whose values align with the meaning of Ashar, “do what is right, and you will be blessed."