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  • STRUCTURED SETTLEMENT BLOG AND SETTLEMENT PLANNING BLOG "STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS 4REAL" IS A POPULAR SOURCE OF STRUCTURED SETTLEMENT AND SETTLEMENT PLANNING INDUSTRY NEWS AND INFORMATION
    This structured settlement blog has a stable and growing readership targeted to settlement professionals, financial professionals, lawyers, injured persons and their family members, guardians, survivors, judges, magistrates, special masters, mediators, administrators, trust companies, financial advisers, insurance regulators, government leaders, the media and other interested parties. Established in 2005, Structured Settlements 4Real provides fresh structured settlement, settlement planning and litigation recovery management content and commentary added virtually daily! (written by John Darer, President of 4structures.com, LLC, an author who IS actually IN the industry). You won't find scraped content or "pay per post" fluff here! WHAT YOU GET is the straight stuff with a touch of irreverence. Comments ARE welcome, but subject to our comment filtering and trackback policy (see below) You can subscribe to this blog through the blog reader associated with your Internet browser, or through the Feedburner or Feedblitz links on this page. John Darer's connections through Plaxo will receive an automatic feed through Plaxo Pulse. You should also consider "book marking" or "favoriting" Structured Settlements 4Real so that you can return later and use it as a reference. Come back soon or subscribe through your blog reader!

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    Click here to watch and/or listen to Legal Broadcast Network and Speaking of Settlements podcasts featuring John Darer.

Comments About This Blog and Content

  • Just checked out your blog and loved it. Keep up the good and balanced work-DL
  • "...we have never met but I thoroughly enjoy your web site and blog - excellent material…-PB
  • "I enjoy your website and its content. Informative and well written"-JC
  • I heard a radio ad for the Peachtree Settlement Fund as I was driving into work this morning. (San Francisco Bay area.) I decided to check it out on the Internet and came upon your blog. Thank you very much. I do not have a “structured” settlement,
  • "All the others that I had emailed & have seen on the net were "cash now types" & have no concern of me & just are looking for my $$$. When I came across your site & blog I realized that u are an upstanding guy & are not like others. That's why I emailed"
  • This was Great. Right On Point-TS
  • "I love the chicken counter! So hilarious and makes a great point"-H
  • Always Thought Provoking John!-HS
  • "Other Than John Darer No One Seems To Be Doing Anything"-J
  • Thanks for your help and also for the good work you do on behalf of our industry-L
  • (Structured Settlement Transparency Initiative) A Worthy Fight! -BF
  • "Thanks for all that you do. This (Structured Settlement Transparency Initiative) is an extremely worthwhile project"-DS
  • "Thank you for being the inspiration that you are and for being a strong advocate for integrity in our business"-KL
  • "I Commend You On Your Effort To Make a Difference!" -R
  • "He is a fabulous writer who has a great passion for the structured settlement industry. I commend him on the passion he invokes when he writes on his blog listed above. That type of commitment and passion is hard to find and is rare in this world" -AC
  • "I love your weblog. Keep me on your e-mail list". JG
  • "Well done, John. That is an outstanding piece of work". (JL)
  • "Go get ‘em John! Good work". H
  • "I just read your blog about Bair vs. Darer great stuff"... "Take care and thanks for the laughs." (Buffalo NY reader)
  • John, I read your blog on a regular basis and keep it up. It is tremendous. Don (McNay)

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Comments and Trackback Policy

  • Structured Settlements 4Real filters comments and trackbacks to its posts BEFORE allowing them to be published
    While spontaneous comments to this blog are welcome and add spice to the interactive nature of blogs, the unscrupulous practice by some to deliver comment spam, to connect all manner of unrelated products to structured settlements, is NOT tolerated by this author and thus necessitates this practice.

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Structured Settlement Best Practices Corner

  • The use of the NSSTA Financial Security Hand Out by Structured Settlement Brokers and Settlement Planners With Plaintiffs or Attorneys in New York May Violate The Law
    The New York State Insurance Department Office of General Counsel opined in January 2009 that the fact that the brochure generally discusses guaranty funds is irrelevant and where aimed at New York residents is unlawful. A number of other states have similar prohibitions.
  • New York Insurance Advertising law requires the full name of the Insurer to be listed along with the city and state of the principal office. Stating that you represent these fine companies using Insurance company logos without the preceding information are also illegal
  • If You Are the Structured Settlement Broker For the Primary Insurer and Your Client Is in A Policy Limit Situation, don't imply to the plaintiff lawyer that you or your Company represents the Excess Carrier Unless (1) you actually do AND are appointed on the file (2) You have authority from THE EXCESS CARRIER To Engage the Plaintiff Attorney. If you do not have such authority and represent or imply that you do, you not only compromise the carrier's position, but you bring your trustworthiness, and that of your company, into question. You also bring shame on the industry which should not be tolerated
  • When it comes to settlement documents it is the ultimate responsibility of the lawyers or claims adjusters who receive input concerning the structured settlement aspects of the documents to actually read the entire document, exercise independent thought and advise their clients properly
  • If you advertise that you are "plaintiff exclusive" then you cannot logically be on the USDOJ list of annuity brokers. If YOU elect to proceed, choose your punishment...perjury or false advertising!
  • Be aware that financial advisors use of testimonials is prohibited or restricted
  • Most states require that Testimonials represent the CURRENT opinion of the person who made the testimonial. Be prepared to back it up.
  • Number of States That Prohibit Payment of QSF expenses by licensed agents and brokers
    5 Survey not yet complete.

Factoring Company Wall of Shame

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Secondary Market Lawyers

"Cash Now"-The New Crack?

  • Weedbaby"Cash Now" pushers are specialty finance or factoring companies, or pay per post bloggers who stimulate gullible young adults, seniors and injured people with structured settlements   

to sell their rights to them for deep discounts in a way that appears to be less than forthright using the term "cash now" or a derivative. Some promise "cash now", "all of your cash now", all of your money now", "money now", "cash today" and/or "cash instantly" for your structured settlements.

"Cash Now" is a blatant false advertising "honey trap" since the transactions these companies are peddling may actually take MONTHS. On January 13, 2009, the Legal Broadcast Network posted this video in which Earl Nesbitt, the Executive Director of the National Association of Settlements Purchasers (NASP) was asked "So It's Not Exactly CASH NOW?", to which Nesbitt chuckled  "It's Certainly Not! You're not Going To Get a Money Gram The Next Day!"

As to the cash now pushers, based on overwhelming evidence, it simply can't be explained away as an honest mistake. A complete audit of these companies' transactions with consumers over many years to determine the length of time from contact to cash would prove the falsity of their "cash now" inducements.

Your children, young adults, seniors and the seriously injured and vulnerable, need consumer protection!

"Cash Now" Pushers (current and past as of February 5, 2009)

  • JG Wentworth
  • North East Settlement Funding
  • Structured Settlement Investments
  • Imperial Structured Settlements
  • Peachtree Settlement Funding (worst offender-has used "All Your Money Now")
  • Structured Asset Funding (a/k/a 123 Lump Sum, 123 Lump Dumb, Structured Ass)
  • Rapid Settlements, Ltd.
  • American Financial Freedom
  • FDR Resources (Money-Now.Net)
  • Diversified Investment Services
  • Patriot Settlements
  • Oasis Legal Finance
  • Nationwide Funding Resources Associates
  • FS Gerard
  • Settlement Money Now
  • American Settlement Funds
  • Stone Street Capital
  • InstantLumpSum.Com (owned by Ad Authority San Diego, CA)
  • Prosperity Partners
  • Fairfund Financial Group, Inc.
  • Cascade Funding
  • Andres Financial Group, LLC/ AFG
  • Andrew Flusche Esq., Fredericksburg, VA
  • Strategic Capital (incredibly endorsed by the National Association of Trial Lawyer Executives after "a very thorough investigation"!)

    List compiled from Internet search results, views of company web sites and television ads

  • Many of these companies offer multiple product lines such as pre-settlement advances to tort victims, loan money to attorneys and make large donations to trial lawyer associations, thus blurring the lines of "what is and should never be" (nod to Led Zeppelin)

    Any individual or company on the cash now pusher list who ceases advertising that they, or those that they are paid to write about can deliver "cash now" "money now" "cash today" for structured settlements will be removed from this list provided written evidence is supplied to this author.

    Since this list has posted only 1 company has been deleted from the list by changing its tune.

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    Comments

    It is agreed that "cash now" is a marketing practice in the FACTORING industry, inspired by JG Wentworth and aped by a number of others listed above. There is a big difference between a person needing "cash now" and the factoring company's ability to deliver it. When Peachtree Settlement Funding advertised it could give you "all of your money" now it was absolute fraud. Just because everyone's doing it, or that nobody is enforcing FTC rules doesn't make it right. The fact that people have to explain that now means something other than what it literally means underscores the scienter.

    Only 25 years ago life insurance agents were calling whole life policies a savings plan, or "insured savings plan" without mentioning that they were selling life insurance. That practice has ceased for the most part.

    Other insurance agents were calling variable annuities mutual funds until that practice got "s^&t-canned by regulators and lawsuits.

    What It is, IS WHAT IT IS Brother! If a company cannot sell its wares without the snake oil then what does that say about the integrity of that company?

    This is common Jargon and marketing practice used in the industry and I dont see anything deceptive in the wording. The terminology "cash now" is simply used to express the prosess of exchanging future payments for a lump sum of cash sooner. Many people may not realize that it is a court approved transaction and there is alot of paperwork that must be completed before the insurance company will transfer the payments. Some company's will offer cash advances once the paperwork is completed so that term is not really inaccurate depending on how you interpret it in my opinion

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