Jan 26, 2021 Newsletter #10

Hi Member, Highlights of this newsletter A Message From the Assistant General Counsel We Are Now Licensed in Texas! Scholarship applicants - Get your documents in Make your 2021 IFS donations Roy's Corner - Zoom Gathering Tomorrow!    A Message From Assistant General Counsel Matthew D'Emilio It is common – indeed, standard procedure – for a member to designate his or her spouse as the beneficiary of his or her Benefit Certificate.  But what happens to the proceeds of the Benefit Certificate if the member and his or her spouse get divorced?    If the member did not update his or her beneficiary designation, the answer is . . . it depends.  While a divorce decree, separation agreement, or court approved property may dictate the payment of the proceeds of a Benefit Certificate, that is not always the case.  Further, many (but not all) states have legislation or case law on this subject.  Believe it or not, the prevailing rule is that a divorce does not operate to invalidate a proper beneficiary designation!  The result is a distribution of the proceeds to a former spouse.  That is often not the intended result.   It is critical to keep your beneficiary current on your Benefit Certificate.  You cannot rely on your divorce paperwork or state default rules to pay the proceeds to the “correct” person.  Be sure to review your beneficiary designation periodically to ensure that the proceeds from your certificate pass to the intended recipient.    It is simple to change your beneficiary – all you have to do is complete and sign a change of beneficiary form.  To get the form, simply call the Home Office or print it from the Royal Arcanum website. If your interested in the Life Insurance Products and Annuities that we offer please review our website for more information with the link below. If you’re looking for a policy change form such as a change of beneficiary click on the link below” https://www.royalarcanum.com/products.html https://www.royalarcanum.com/forms.html    Now Licensed in Texas! The Royal Arcanum is continuing to expand its operations! We are now officially licensed in Texas. This is part of our operational expansion plan to grow our membership and operational results. We're registering agents now and expect to get the benefits of this step in our multi-year plans. Do you have any relatives living in Texas? Why not sign them up as members now!    Scholarship applicants, don't delay! Scholarship applicants, be sure to get in all your documents and a recent picture before the deadline, March 31. You should have gotten a notice of all missing documents needed, just be sure to get them all in on time.    Make your 2021 IFS Donation Now! Don't forget that each Subordinate Council and each Grand Council is each eligible for reimbursement of half their qualifying donations, up to $1,000 each year! Why not help your community and/or your council's favorite charities? We look forward to sending your council a reimbursement check soon! And don't forget that any 2020 donations should have their IFS program request sent into the home office by the end of February. That's just a month away, don't wait!    Roy's Corner Zoom gathering tomorrow! We will be having our second Zoom gathering tomorrow afternoon / evening, on Wednesday, January 27 at 6 PM Eastern / 5 PM Central / 3 PM Pacific. Come join us and catch up with your friends from other Jurisdictions. It's so simple, just use this link on your smart phone or computer. If you have video, you can let your friends see you. If not, you can still see them and talk to them through your phone or computer microphone and speakers. Besides catching up, it's a great opportunity to see how you can use Zoom for your own council meetings. No need to register, just click this link to join the meeting. Hope to see you there!

 

Jan 12, 2021 Newsletter #9

Hi Member, Highlights of this newsletter A Message from our Chief Operations Officer Scholarship Applications - Next Steps IFS Donations - Important Date Reminder Roy's Corner    A Message From Nick Benoit, Chief Operations Officer Happy New Year!   I believe I can say with an abundance of confidence we are all glad to welcome 2021!!!  2020 brought on so many unprecedented situations with COVID-19 that affected us personally and professionally. It made us realize how many things we took for granted before and how much we will enjoy them when we have the opportunity, when things get back to a relatively normal state. It’s the little things like taking your son or granddaughter to the park to see them play or just going to a restaurant.   I’m glad to see vaccinations starting to be rolled out , which hopefully will make a tremendously positive impact with this pandemic.  For those who don’t know I’ve been  married to my beautiful wife for 12 years and 4 children who are currently schooling in a remote capacity, yes it’s a challenge in the Benoit household.  I should add we just adopted a rescue puppy who should reach about 100lb’s.  Ever yearning for a new challenge!   It's hard to believe that I’ve been a member and responsible for leading the Royal Arcanum home office and insurance operation for 8 years now effective this past December.  Coming from a large commercial Life Insurer, I didn’t know what to expect initially, however coming from an Insurance background and being involved in many charitable endeavors and this opportunity 8 years ago brought me the best of both worlds.  The challenges we faced in 2020, challenged the associates within the Home Office, our Executive Committee, Council and those marketing our Insurance products. I have to say we are a resilient bunch and sustained and maintained our mission at Royal Arcanum.  We adjusted many of the initiatives we had in place from an operational standpoint, shifting staff to approximately 70% working in a remote capacity to postponing the Supreme Session to 2021.  I’m confident we will see a better year in 2021 and build off the experiences we faced in 2020 to ever improve our Society from a fraternal and professional standpoint. It’s not going to be easy, however there isn’t anything great to accomplish that has been easy.      Stay Safe and Best Wishes,     Nick Benoit COO     What's Next for Scholarship Applicants? The initial application deadline of December 31st is past, and thanks for all those who have applied. The next deadline to remember is March 31, which is the last date to complete all material needed for your application. If you still have items you need, such as a missing transcript or an essay, you will be notified about what you need. Just don't miss that deadline! And do be sure to include recent picture for us to use for scholarship winners in our Royal Arcanum Bulletin or other materials. Thanks!   Deadline for IFS reimbursements from 2020 Has your council made a donation as part of an International Fraternal Service project in 2020, but haven't yet submitted your paperwork for reimbursement? Don't worry, you still have time: the deadline for submission isn't until the end of February. If you made a late December donation, it's better to wait a bit until you get an acknowledgement letter from your charitable organization and include that with your submission. By the way, do you know why we prefer an acknowledgement letter? It's because our Fraternal department has to provide reports to various places on our fraternal work, including reports that help us keep our non-profit status. We know that not all organizations do provide acknowledgement letters, and that some projects, especially non-cash donations, may not lend themselves to getting an acknowledgement letter. We'll work with you to make sure you can provide acceptable material, such as a purchase receipt or a canceled check. But when possible, an acknowledgement letter is the favored item to include. The IFS Committee is also already open to receiving any 2021 donations your council may make. For councils that have maximized their $1,000 reimbursement for 2020: it's a new year, and any donations made after January 1st qualify for a new yearly limit for donation reimbursements. We look forward to your continued generosity to your community and all your fraternal efforts!    Roy's Corner Roy is happy to announce another Zoom gathering! His last small but enjoyable gathering was during the busy holiday season. Now that we're past that, why not join your Royal Arcanum friends and say hello at a Zoom gathering on Wednesday, January 27 at 6 PM Eastern / 5 PM Central / 3 PM Pacific? Please join us. It's easy to join: just click on the link on your smart phone or tablet or computer and it will walk you through getting into the meeting (or downloading and installing the Zoom app, if needed). You can click the link any time before the meeting to get Zoom installed, if you need to; you just won't be able to join the meeting because it won't have started. Please join us!