They can sell the policies at a discount and spend the money on their grandchildren or on a final cruise or on medical care - however they choose. Another group of people likely to use a viadical contract are those who are chronically ill. Sometimes this means those who have a combination of conditions, those who might have been told they have from three to eight years left, she said. The group Cuffe is most passionate about are those who are terminally ill. The viatical contract can keep these people from becoming wards of the state.
People can use nearly any financial instrument to get the ball rolling.
IRAs and CDs can be rolled over into this type of account to benefit people during their lifetime. Cuffe said she was first drawn to this type of financial instrument about 20 years ago. She had gone to a convention where all kinds of health insurance products were presented. While there she was moved by a young man, still in his 20s, who had recently lost both of his parents. His father had been terminally ill for three years and his mother had quit work to stay home and take care of him.