Customer Reviews

4 Steps to Financial Security for Lesbian and Gay Couples

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Lustig's book is a must-read for any gay or lesbian couple, as it tackles such sticky wickets as purchasing life insurance when one has serious medical problems, viaticals, and the hurdles of retirement plan assets when a partner with an employer-funded plan dies. It's easy to read with "frequently asked questions" and gives step-by-step instructions for approaching insurance companies, mortgage brokers and traditional bankers. If you think the world of financial responsibility is difficult to navigate with laws and mores directed at traditional heterosexual couples - imagine the nightmare it can be for those who are discriminated against, and for whom there is no protection. The book isn't a long exercise in financial planning - it's an explanation of fundamentals with sound advice and tips. Very worthwhile reading for just about anybody.

This is a well written and easy to understand book that provides some much needed advice for lesbian and gay couples. That being said, the author's advice is not without bias (in favor, for example, of using insurance as an investment vehicle), so readers are advised to compare these recommendations to those of other experts with differing opinions. For myself, I agree with those who look with a jaundice eye at whole or universal life insurance as a planning or savings tool. (Term life is usually best and cheapest: consider the advice of Suze Orman, for example; or the excellent and readable "Personal Finances for Dummies" book by Eric Tyson.) Also, the book's warning that under New York law a lesbian or gay partner is not an "insurable interest" seems incorrect or perhaps out of date: my partner and I had no trouble getting life insurance naming one another as beneficiary. And some of the more complex strategies that involve transferring title to assets don't include a complete set of their disadvantages. On balance, I'd urge anyone reading this book to both (1) read it carefully and (2) assess the advice for your personal situation while comparing approaches from other advisors (like Orman and Tyson).

Still, any book that gets gays and lesbians to focus on savings and legal strategies to protect our relationships is a needed one, and this one provides a helpful focus on issues that are specific to our community.

My partner and I just bought a house, combined our checking account, and were unaware of the problems we could be facing. While we knew we needed rights of survivorship and wills, we didn't think of the tax issues, trusts, and the plethora of other issues addressed so clearly and to the point in this book. If you are queer or straight and committed but not married, this book is a goldmine of information!

Harold Lustig gives us the financial strategies we need to over come the many ways lesbian and gay couples are unfairly treated under the laws.

At long last, money advice we can actually use! Four Steps is the only personal finance book a gay family needs.

This is a must have read. It helps out gay couples in how to deal with money and legal issues.