Planning Partners

Armen A. Abrahamian, CLTC, CSA – Bio

Armen is a leading expert against the single greatest threat to your financial security – a long-term care illness. According to the US Dept. of Health and Human Services, 70% of Americans over 65 will face a longterm care (LTC) illness or injury that can easily exceed $100,000 a year! Since 1995, Armen has specialized in helping individuals protect themselves and their families against this high cost risk. His agency has helped clients protect over a billion dollars’ worth of financial protection.

Solutions include:
Long-Term Care Insurance – provides income to pay for LTC.
CT Partnership – guarantees asset protection
Hybrid Plans – provides benefits even if LTC is never needed
Life Insurance with LTC Benefits – guarantees estate protection for your loved ones
Annuities – provides a protected income stream or…pays LTC expenses tax free
Gifting and Transfer of Asset Strategies – alternative solutions

Armen:

• Has helped over 2000 clients
• Is a nationally recognized leader by the American Association for
  Long-Term Care (AALTC)
• Has been selected as an enroller for the nation’s second largest
  LTC benefit offering…the State of Connecticut’s LTC program
• Teaches Continuing Ed. to the CT Society of CPA’s (CTCPA)
• Assists corporations and associations with LTC programs.

Armen attended Lafayette College and holds a BS degree in Electrical Engineering. He contributes his time to several non-profit organizations such as Teen Challenge and Sports World Inc. He serves as an Elder in his church and is an accomplished guitar player. He enjoys life in North Haven with his wife, daughter and son.

Contact Information:
Long Term Care Insurance, LLC
36 State Street
North Haven, CT 06473

Phone: 203-234-8566
E-mail: armenltc@aol.com
Web-site: http://www.LTCStrategies.com

Brent Berti – Bio

Brent is a Senior Reverse Mortgage Branch Manager at Nationwide Equities Corp. in Berlin, CT. Brent has been involved in the HECM program for the last 15 years. He takes great pride in explaining the program from A-Z, the advantages and disadvantages of a reverse mortgage and exactly how they can be used to make one’s retirement years more enjoyable. His philosophy is that this is best achieved through face-to-face meetings with his prospective clients. Brent represents several of the largest Reverse Mortgage banks in the country, thereby guaranteeing the best available plans for his clients.

During his career, Brent has been a Commodity and Futures trader; a Life, Health, Long Term Care and Estate planner for Allstate Insurance and Aetna Insurance. He is a life member of the Million Dollar Round Table and is a Top of the Table qualifier. Brent received his MS at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and his BS at Drexel University.

Brent enjoys everything but more specifically music, Trivia and although he isn’t very good at it, he loves to golf.

Contact Information:
Nationwide Equities Corp./Reverse Loans USA
1224 Mill St., Bldg B.
E. Berlin, CT 06023

Phone: 860-948-0441
E-mail: Bberti18th@aol.com

David L. Cowan – Bio

Dave is a leading expert when it comes to Social Security, being that it is the only source of continuous income in retirement. For most of us making the right choice could mean an additional $100,000 or more in benefits over your lifetime. Social Security has over 2,700 rules and regulations which can make it overwhelming for most to understand. They offer people dozens of options to claim benefits – Dave helps people find the right one for them. He often tells people, “I help hard working Americans to get more out of Social Security without working one more day”.

Dave’s expertise has earned his local AAA Motor Clubs endorsement to their 500,000 members with over 5,000 members attending one of his Maximize your Social Security workshops in the past. Sergeant McCoy, a leader in professional education courses for CPA’s, often has Dave as a guest on their webinars. Last fall and again this June he has been invited to St Louis to film trading videos for a large broker dealer on Social Security and Medicare. These training tapes are available to their 15,000 financial planners throughout the country. He is also invited into local corporations and towns to educate their employees.

Dave offers his clients a simple retirement plan that coordinates their Social Security, pension if available and their assets together into an inflation-adjusted, tax efficient plan. His plans are simple to understand, easy to follow and flexible as life and needs change. He is the author of a book How to have a Stress Free Retirement.

Dave serves his community as Secretary of the Board of Directors of the VNA Community Health Care located in Guilford and is
currently serving over 6,000 clients.

Dave and his wife Renee live in North Haven; in his spare time Dave loves gardening and canning. He is quite known for his dill pickles.

Contact Information:
Legacy Retirement Group, LLC
9 Tenadine Dr.
North Haven, CT 06473

Phone: 203-234-8217
E-mail: dave@legacyct.com
Web-site: http://www.LegacyCT.com

 James W. Cowan Jr. – Bio

Jamie is an Advance Funeral planning expert and is the Founder of Life Planning Consultants, LLC. He specializes in the needs of those, regardless of age, who need to protect their assets and keep their hard earned money safe. He’s your advocate who will walk you through:
– The Advance Funeral Planning process while helping you understand your options.

– Veterans benefits that very few are aware of

– Protecting your hard earned savings, keeping your money, and safe money strategies & planning

– Not losing your savings to long term care services or the nursing home/title 19

– Helping you find tax free money

Jamie Cowan has provided guidance to thousands of families and funeral homes for the past 19 years in Medicaid compliance and structuring prepaid burial accounts. He’s an expert in the field of funeral planning. He has assisted them and helped them protect and keep what they have earned. Jamie also is a frequent guest speaker at various community seminars and workshops discussing topics such as Funeral planning, Medicaid, and Veterans Pension Benefits.

Contact information:
Life Planning Consultants, LLC
74 Glennwood Rd.
Clinton, CT 06413

Phone: 860-664-4118
E-mail: JamesCowanLPC@aol.com

David J. Isenstadt CIC, LUTCF – Bio

David formed New England Insurance Group in 1991. He started in the insurance business in 1980, and worked for two major insurance carriers, Phoenix Mutual and the Guardian Insurance Company. Dave specializes in employee benefit plans for small businesses, 1-50 employees. These programs include Medical, Dental, Life, and Short and Long Term Disability plans for business owners and their employees. New England Insurance Group (NEIG) represents all of the available group medical insurance carriers in Connecticut, which allows us to show our clients multiple options. He has served on a number of broker advisory boards for major insurance carriers, including Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield. He has held leadership positions and is active in several insurance organizations, such as The National Association Insurance and Financial Advisors, NAIFA, a 10-year member of the board of directors for the greater New Haven chapter, the Association of Health Insurance Advisors, AHIA, Health Chair, Connecticut Benefit Brokers, CBB, and the National Association of Health Underwriters, NAHU. He also works in the individual insurance market, in the areas of Life, Health, Disability and Long Term Care (LTC) insurance planning. Dave attended the University of Miami, and holds a BA degree from Southern Connecticut State University in Political Science. He has also earned 2 professional designations, Certified Insurance Consultant, CIC, and Life Underwriter Training Counsel Fellow, LUTCF.

Contact Information:
David J. Isenstadt CIC, LUTCF
New England Insurance Group
2514 Boston Post Rd C-2
Guilford, CT 06437

Phone: 203-453-0471
Fax: 203-453-0877
E-mail: djineig@comcast.net

Thomas Maercklein –Bio

Tom is an independent agent/broker with a Connecticut life and health insurance license. In his 25+ years in the business he has worked for major life and health insurance companies, small property and casualty agencies, and national service organizations. Since 2001 he has operated his own insurance practice from his Branford, CT office.

Over the years Tom has developed and nurtured hundreds of business relationships with his clients, offering them professional advice and expertise in the areas of life insurance planning, individual and small group health insurance, disability insurance, and Medicare supplement and prescriptions drug insurance products.

Whether meeting with clients at their home or office, or his, Tom takes special pride in listening to their stories, analyzing their needs, and developing a sound and comprehensive solution to their individual situations. He also is a frequent guest speaker at various community seminars and workshops discussing topics such as Medicare.

Outside of professional interest, Tom is active in a variety of civic and cultural organizations including Branford Land Trust, The Humane Society, Branford Youth Lacrosse, and the Soundview Stingrays. He loves to travel, hike, bike, ski and play tennis. Tom enjoys life in Branford with his wife and two daughters.

Contact Information:
Phone: 203-483-9076
Fax: 203-483-9076
E-mail: thomas.maercklein@att.net

Thomas J. Perrone, CLU, CIC- Bio

Tom is directly involved with the areas of Estate, Business Planning, Income Planning using tax strategies, and Medicaid Asset Protection Planning. Tom started in the financial services business in 1971 and has developed ongoing planning strategies to help his clients hold on to their wealth, avoid financial landmines, and lower their taxes. He is the president of New England Consulting Group of Guilford, Inc. a firm specializing in Business Succession, Exit and Transition, along with estate and asset protection planning. The firm also specializes in Executive Compensation Planning, a planning strategy that helps business owners and high income executives to create more money for retirement on a tax effective basis.

Tom’s belief is that people and businesses can avoid many of the financial disasters by just having more knowledge of the money traps that cause the loss of assets and income. These include taxes, fees and cost of money factors. He believes traditional money concepts have a cost to them, and teaches his clients other more effective planning strategies to save their wealth. Tom also believes that many of the business owners have not planned an Exit Strategy for the future – the “What ifs of life”

• What if I don’t want to run a company anymore and want to drop out?
• What if I get sick, or disabled, or die?
• What If I lose my key people?
• What if I can increase cash flow or the business economy?

Tom is active in his community and sits on the Board of Trustees of
Blackstone Memorial Library in Branford, and the Friends of Blackstone, and
the board of BCTV Branford. He has also taught advanced planning courses in
business continuation, estate and Medicaid planning for continuing education
for financial professionals. By using effective strategies, Tom works towards
the protection of estate assets while lowering potential tax exposure. Tom
mentors advisors around the area on the topics listed. Tom contributes his time
to many non-profit organizations such as the Community Foundation of
Greater New Haven, and formally spent many years coaching hockey and
baseball for youth groups.

Contact information:
P.O. Box 3155
Branford, CT 06405

Phone: 203-433-4040
E-mail: tpnecgginc@comcast.net

Lance E. Ziaks, CPA. – Bio

Lance is the owner of Duffy & Ziaks, LLC in Wallingford, Connecticut. He has personally run this practice since August 2009. Lance is a Certified Public Accountant and has 30 years of experience.

Professional services include:

• Preparation of Individual Tax Returns (Form 1040)
• Preparation of Business Returns
  • Schedule C
  • Partnership Returns (Form 1065)
  • Corporation Returns (Form 1120, 1120S)
• Preparation of Estate and Trust Returns (Form 1041)
• Assistance to individuals starting new businesses
  • Filing of Forms
  • Bookkeeping Services
  • Preparation of Quarterly Payroll Tax Returns
• Assistance with tax and bookkeeping programs (Quick Books, Peachtree)
• Consultation services are also available.

Lance takes a strong interest in his clients’ overall financial needs. He encourages his clients to schedule appointments to discuss their tax returns and financial questions or concerns. Lance is a member of the Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants. He actively participates in continuing education and keeps abreast of current information and tax laws.

Contact Information:
Duffy & Ziaks, LLC
350 Center Street, Suite 201
Wallingford, CT 06492

Phone: 203-265-1591
Fax: 203-265-1261
E-mail: lance831@aol.com

Renee M. Cowan

Renee is our Office Manager and the heart of our organization. She is responsible for our workshop schedule and appointment calendar. She also is our bookkeeper. She is a graduate of Branford Hall School of Business.  The wonderful mother of two grown children and a proud Grandmother of her first granddaughter Siena Rose.

Contact Information:
Phone: 203-234-8217
Fax 203-234-0448
E-mail: renee@legacyct.com