Wills & Living Trusts

Living trusts are created with a clearly defined objective: to avoid probate. Misconceptions about living trusts have spread to the point where people think they can accomplish much more than they really do. Here is a realistic assessment of living trusts.

If you fear probate, consider a living trust. If you worry about your will being contested or your heirs fighting over your assets, a revocable living trust may be your best option.
You fund a revocable living trust with all, or largely all, of your assets during your lifetime. The trust owns the assets, yet you can still use these assets while you live. Once you die, the revocable living trust becomes irrevocable and the trust assets are distributed according to your wishes by designated successor trustees, exempt from probate.1,2,3
In addition to giving you more control and privacy, a living trust may save your heirs time and money. An AARP survey finds that it takes roughly 18 months to distribute the typical estate because of probate. Settlement costs from probate may eat up as much as 5% of an estate.1,2

Long Time Member Howard "Sherm" Sherman Passes Away

Howard Orson Sherman, “Sherm” passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family early Friday morning May 31, 2013, his favorite time of day, to begin his new journey.

He was born March 24, 1931 in Ogden, Utah son to Trueman Carl and Fushia Olea Bybee Sherman. As a graduate of Ogden High School, Sherm put away his basketball and enlisted directly into the United States Navy in December 1949 serving his country during the Korean War from 1950 to 1954. As a Cryptographer Decoder, he received full military honors ranking Petty Officer 3rd Class in Communications. Upon his return, he studied engineering at Weber State College....

Read the Full Obituary 

Our condolences go out to the Sherman Family. Thank you "Sherm" for making the car industry better for all of us.

AutoTrader.com Partners With Experian Automotive To Enable Dealers To Provide AutoCheck Vehicle History Reports On Their AutoTrader.com Listings

ATLANTA, May 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, AutoTrader.com® announced that it has entered into an agreement with Experian Automotive which will enable dealers to utilize AutoCheck® vehicle history reports when merchandising their inventory on AutoTrader.com. Beginning in September, dealers who subscribe to Experian Automotive's AutoCheck product will have the option of utilizing those vehicle history reports on the AutoTrader.com site. This non-exclusive partnership is a step designed to facilitate choice for AutoTrader.com's dealer customers and allow other vehicle history report providers to work with AutoTrader.com in a similar manner.

"We are listening to our customers and strive to evaluate our products and services based on their feedback," said Alan Smith , chief operating officer at AutoTrader.com. "Our dealer customers have clearly expressed a desire to have more freedom in deciding which vehicle history reports they would like to use to merchandise their inventory on our site, and our goal with this partnership is to make that choice a reality."

Former NIADA President Dies

Joe Eikenberg Sr., a former president of the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association and a past president of U-Save Auto Rental of America, died last month.  Eikenberg, 86, was a national leader in the independent used-vehicle industry in the 1980s and 1990s.  He was named the first recipient of NIADA’s National Quality Dealer of the Year in 1976 and served as NIADA’s president in 1979-80.

During his tenure with NIADA, he was very involved in national lobbying efforts and testified to Congressional sub-committees on several occasions on the rights of independent used vehicle dealers.  "Joe was a very good friend and great leader of NIADA. He was also our first quality dealer of the year. We will all miss him," said Mike Linn, NIADA’s CEO.  Eikenberg was a leader of a small investment group that purchased U-Save Auto Rental served for several years as the company’s president.  During his time as president, U-Save Auto Rental was named in two consecutive years to Inc. magazine’s Inc. 500 list of the fastest growing American privately held companies.

Auto Remarketing’s publisher emeritus Ron Smith called Eikenberg an icon of the independent used-car industry.  “Joe, almost single-handedly, changed the used car dealer’s image from someone you could hardly trust to a respected small businessman.  The respect dealers have today as sharp, honest, hardworking men and women can be traced back to Joe Eikenberg and the way he handled business and relationships,” Smith said.
The Eikenberg name has long been respected among independent dealers in the Maryland market and is still be carried on by his son, Joe Eikenberg Jr.  Joe Eikenberg is survived by his wife Doris, children and grandchildren.

NIADA Scholarship Application Deadline Extended

The application deadline has been extended to April 1st for this year's NIADA Regional Scholarships to be awarded at the NIADA Annual Convention & Expo Leadership Awards Banquet, June 26, 2013, in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace.

• Who's Eligible? --  Seniors who will be graduating in Spring 2013
• How Much Are They? -- $3500 to one top student in each of the four NIADA Regions
• How To Apply? -- Go to www.niadafoundation.org for the application form.

Not only will the top students receive a scholarship to their chosen college or university, they will be guests, along with their parents, of NIADA at the annual event.
“Our scholarship program and the recognition of these outstanding young people would not have been possible without the support of our friends at AutoTrader.com. They have led the way with their annual generous support, demonstrating their vision and values to do more than just connect buyers and sellers, but to connect to their communities,” Mike Linn, NIADA Foundation President.
Students who currently attend or plan to attend Northwood University should contact Northwood’s Financial Aid Office regarding the National $10,000 NIADA/AutoTrader Scholarship.
For additional information, contact Georgia Brown, Director of Education, 800-682-3837.

Professional Presence on the Phone

Within the first 5 seconds on the telephone, you and your employees establish your company’s image with clients and prospects. With each minute that passes in conversation, either strengthen a caller’s confidence… or weaken your professional integrity.

In short, you and your employees’ telephone skills can make or break your business.

1. When you’re on the phone with a client, you’re playing the roles of a good-will ambassador, problem solver, public relations representative, and more. Whether you are having a good day or a bad day, your telephone call is a performance that should leave your client feeling positive about you.

Criminal Charges Filed against Past Insurance Agent

The Utah Insurance Department’s Fraud Division has filed criminal charges against former insurance agent Stewart Ian Rodgers. Rodgers has been operating under the name “SIR Insurance Group Online.”

The Insurance Fraud Division received a complaint from a Salt Lake City car dealership with concerns that their insurance policy with Rodgers appeared to be non-existant, even though they had been paying premiums to an insurance company. Upon checking with the insurance company the complainant believed they were insured with they were told that no policy existed. Since then two other car dealership owners have discovered that they too have been paying for coverage that does not exist. It is alleged that Rodgers has been pocketing premiums for personal use.

Multiple felony charges have been filed against Stewart Rodgers in the Farmington, Utah Second District Court.

The Insurance Fraud Division is asking that anyone who has purchased a policy through Stewart Ian Rodgers or SIR Insurance Group Online, to contact their insurance carrier to verify that a policy does exist. The time period of concern is between January 2011 to September of 2012.

If anyone has information that could help with this investigation, please contact Deputy Director Shane Tiernan at 801-531-5398 or by email to stiernan@utah.gov.