GRIFFITH – At the local Knights of Columbus hall, guests gathered to learn about what many consider difficult, yet inevitable issues in their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Legal and insurance professionals offered clarity and comfort regarding estate planning and extended care funding.
On April 10, Schererville-based attorney Gary Bonk and K of C insurance product specialist Tim Wozniak each delivered presentations to guests hosted by Jim Cassoday, field agent for the K of C Stackowicz Agency, at the Marquette council 3631 hall.
Cassoday, a Portage-based representative, coordinated the local meeting and invited the guest speakers while ensuring the event corresponded with the foundational values of the Knights, founded by Blessed Father Michael J. McGivney.
“The Knights of Columbus were basically a benefits society,” Cassoday explained of the highly rated Knights financial services, and Fortune 1000 status. “Fast-forward 140 years now, the Knights of Columbus owns and operates our own insurance company, so Father McGivney set out and started an insurance company without knowing he was.”
“We started off as a Catholic company back in 1882 and today we’re 100 percent still Catholic. Everything that we invest in, everything that we do is done in a Catholic moral and ethical way. Any time we invest in any company, that company is vested by the (United States Council of Catholic Bishops) to make sure that company has the same morals and ethics.”
Bonk, an estate and elder law lawyer and a brother knight of Marquette Council, practices in a firm with his son, Garett Bonk. He said his transition from environmental and business law in the 1990s has yielded a more satisfying career in which he can simplify seemingly daunting financial issues and promote peace of mind among clients.
A native of New Jersey, who attended college in Pennsylvania and Colorado, Bonk grew up Byzantine Catholic and began attending Roman Catholic liturgies during college. He married and moved to Northwest Indiana "on Halloween Day in 1997.”
“New Jersey was an area a little bit like here, where there were a lot of ethnic people from Eastern Europe,” he explained. “We were parishioners of St. Mary’s (Crown Point) for many years, though we changed to St. Michael’s in Schererville because we moved.”
The local legal professional spelled out how wills are created and how trusts function to protect those with a higher asset portfolio. He also drafts powers-of-attorney and health-related documents.
“We try to make it sound simple: it’s directing how what you own is going to pass (on), who’s going to be in charge and also naming people who can make decisions for you if you’re disabled or incapacitated in some way,” he explained.
Bonk said a properly drafted legal framework for inheritance considerations can avoid probate court issues and potentially acrimonious disputes. “Sometimes guardianships can tear families apart.”
Bonk drafts documents “based on legal advice.” He explained that his conversations focus on identifying their family tree and the people for whom the client is planning. Those are services not offered with low-cost, cookie-cutter online legal forms, he cautioned.
Wozniak presented a series of slides that showed the skyrocketing cost of home care, assisted living and nursing home arrangements across the U.S. Delivering information about costs by the hour and yearly totals into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, he explained that acting ahead of one’s senior years or potential health crises, can avert financial disaster.
He then described a range of policy products that would help pay for various physical and mental health issues that may arise. “Health insurance is not designed to pay if I need help getting out of bed in the morning, getting dressed or moving about the house. Health insurance is not designed to have somebody watching me.”
Knights' long-term care policies satisfy what Wozniak said is the recommended way of approaching payment for such care: transferring the risk to insurance companies, as opposed to self-funding.
Wozniak tipped his hat to Bonk saying, “At the Knights of Columbus, we don't give legal advice, we don't give tax advice. We help with financial planning and funding issues. We can’t do what attorneys do; attorneys don't necessarily do what we do. It’s good to have both on the team.”
Cassoday stood ready to connect interested parties with those services and noted visitor information for future follow-ups.
“I’m going to reach out to everybody just to get their feedback about what they thought of the meeting,” said Cassoday. “Some people are waiting for me to reach out to them … I call to thank attendees for coming and to see if there is anything they need.”
Among the audience mainly composed of K of C members, Grand Knight of the Marquette Council Steven Malone sat pensively listening to the presentations. He made observations about the economy of investing in insurance products early in life and lamented the inflated cost of long-term care. In 2022, he lost his mother Lorraine Malone after her struggles with a prolonged illness.
Malone believes others should avail themselves of better coverage, as his family had to contend with nursing home care options based on his mother's limited insurance benefits.
“You can’t rely on the government to carry (the costs) and some of these nursing care facilities (leave something to be desired),” said Malone. “My mom was in a situation where she had no plan for that.”
Though he is just in his 30s, Malone was inspired by the night’s presenters, who advocated a never-too-early approach to securing one’s financial legacy and planning for those long-term care issues that many will face among the aging population.
“The fact tonight’s presenters shared an example of an 18-year-old getting a policy took me aback,” said Malone. “They were realistic saying that a lot of people start to do this in their 50s, but it’s never too early – get insurance at a cheaper rate.”
Knights of Columbus financial and insurance products are available to members, and joining the Catholic fraternal organization is free. For more information, visit kofc.org/secure/en/join/join-kofc.html.
Caption: Audience members listen to a talk about estate law on April 10 at the Knights of Columbus Marquette council 3631 hall in Griffith. Gary Bonk, a Schererville-based lawyer, joined K of C product specialist Tim Wozniak delivering presentations hosted by K of C field agent Jim Cassoday as an educational seminar promoting financial security and long-term care funding options. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)