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July 18, 2008

Structured Settlements Make No Apologies For Not Being Exciting!

by John Darer® CLU ChFC MSSC RSP CLTC

Structured settlements are not for thrill seekers. Jonathan P. Groth is an attorney in Wisconsin practicing civil litigation with the law firm of Pitman, Kyle & Sicula, S.C. in Milwaukee and author of the Wisconsin Personal Injury Law Weblog. The title of Groth's July 15, 2008 post Structured Settlements-not exciting but very important is worth highlighting. Structured settlements are definitely not as exciting as stocks, call option, put options or mutual funds or lotto.   Lotto_balls_sm_clr

 

Admittedly, structured settlements totally suck IF you are a thrill seeker with your money.

If however, you are seeking, safety security and guarantees, assurance of income you cannot outlive and a smaller check to write to Uncle Sam, THEN structured settlements are sexy.

Groth and other attorneys are encouraged to continue to write about structured settlements. Yet a couple of points from Groth's post need to be cleaned up:

  1. The terms of the structured settlement must be written into the settlement agreement. There must be an obligation to pay periodic payments created in the settlement agreement.
  2. The Assignor of the obligation to make structured settlement payments may be (1) the Defendant (2) The Defendant's insurer (3) the trustee/administrator of a IRC 468B Qualified Settlement Fund
  3. While most structured settlements involve qualified assignments, where the periodic payment obligation is NOT assigned the structured settlement annuity may be purchased and owned by the Defendant, or its insurer. In that case the Defendant or insurer may be the customer if that is who you are advising.
  4. In the contemporary world of structured settlements there are multiple stakeholders represented by multiple consultants. Arguably if you are counseling a plaintiff on financial strategies concerning an insurance product or other financial product you are responsible to that customer.

Posted at 04:24 PM in Albany New York Structured Settlements, Attorneys on Structured Settlements, Baltimore Structured Settlements, Bethesda Structured Settlements, Boca Raton Florida Structured Settlements, Boston Structured Settlements, Bowling Green Kentucky Structured Settlements, Bridgeport Structured Settlements, Bronx New York Structured Settlements, Brooklyn New York Structured Settlements, Broward County Structured Settlements, Buffalo New York Structured Settlements, Capital Markets and Tort Victims, Connecticut Settlement Planning, CT Structured Settlements, Dallas Fort Worth TX Structured Settlements, Detroit Michigan Structured Settlements, Florida Structured Settlements, Hartford CT Structured Settlements, Jacksonville Florida Structured Settlements, Lawyers on Structured Settlements, Milwaukee Structured Settlements, NC Structured Settlements, New Haven CT Structured Settlements, New Jersey Structured Settlements, New London Structured Settlements, New Orleans Louisiana Structured Settlements, New York City Structured Settlements, New York Personal Injury, New York Settlement Planning, New York Structured Settlements, Newark NJ Structured Settlements, Settlement Planning, Structured Settlement Benefits, Structured Settlement Information, Structured Settlements, Wisconsin Structured Settlements |

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Comments

Jon Groth

John,

Thanks for the comment on my site. You've got an impressive blog! Keep in touch.

Jon Groth

Posted by: Jon Groth | July 21, 2008 at 06:11 PM

The comments to this entry are closed.

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Guide to Structured Settlements 2020

  • What is a Structured Settlement? How do I get a Structured Settlement?
    General explanation of structured settlements, including the stable guaranteed income and favorable tax benefits that give structured settlements their "juice" and a helpful introductory video featuring 2020 A.M. Best recommended structured settlement expert and Registered Settlement Planner John Darer® of 4structures.com® LLC
  • How Do Structured Settlements Work? Structured Settlement Diagram
    How structured settlements work, accompanied by 4structures.com® LLC's helpful structured settlement flow chart/diagram showing how structured settlements fit in with other settlement planning solutions.
  • Rated Ages and Structured Settlement Cost
    Rated Ages for Structured Settlement Annuities present advantages to all parties. Shift the mortality risk to a life insurance company whose business it it is to assess mortality risk to price its life insurance and annuities. Rated ages boost your structured settlement annuity benefit per premium dollar, or your yield on lifetime payments. Rated ages help to reduce the cost of funding a Medicare Set Aside arrangement where a Structured MSA, is being used { WCMSA LMSA or NFMSA].
  • Structured Settlement Annuity Companies 2020
    Which life insurance companies issue structured settlement annuities going into 2020? A list of current structured annuity issuers, the location of their home offices and their financial ratings from A.M. Best, Moodys, Fitch, Standard & Poors, links to their websites and other useful information.
  • Treasury Funded Structured Settlements
    Treasury Funded Structured Settlements are a settlement option for the most conservative using the OTHER permissible qualified funding asset under IRC 130(d), United States Treasury Bonds in addition to, or instead of, structured settlement annuities. Treasury Funded Structured Settlements can also be used to fund installment sales, also known as structured sales and other non qualified structured settlements.
  • Compare Structured Settlement IRR to Other Settlement Alternatives
    Use the Taxable Equivalent Yield chart to help compare the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of a structured settlement to other alternative or complementary investments. Need help with the chart? Call 4structures.com® LLC at 888-325-8640
  • Structured Settlement Payments | Types of Structured Settlements
    Ways You Can Structure Your Settlement Payments. With a structured settlement you can have more than one type of payment in a single contract. Different types of structured settlement payments can be customized and combined to meet your needs on a stand-alone basis, or in conjunction with other financial products. Diversify your structured settlement, if you wish, by funding with more than one annuity issuer, with treasury funded structured settlements or even an index linked structured settlement.
  • Structured Attorney Fees for Tax Deferral for Contingency Fees
    Structured attorney fees is a financial strategy that offers a unique way to defer taxes for lawyers and law firms. Lawyers CAN structure their legal fees even if the plaintiff doesn't structure their settlement. There are multiple ways to structure your attorney fees, such as the an index linked structured settlement where payments are adjusted based on upside changes in the S&P 500 with no downside and a cap of 5%. Trial Lawyers may also use a special deferred pay/deferred compensation arrangement, if market based returns returns are desired with no cap. Plan NOW for year end! Put structured attorney fee expert John Darer® on your settlement planning team.
  • Structured Settlement Annuity Company Customer Service Phone Numbers
    Receiving structured settlement payments from your own structured settlement or inherited a structured settlement? You'll like this huge time saver. Click for a comprehensive list compiled by 4structures.com® LLC, that includes both current AND former structured settlement annuity issuers and reinsurers. If you have simple bank or beneficiary changes, or if the insurance company that issued the structured annuity has merged, sold or spun off its block of structured annuity business (e.g. Aviva, GE Capital, CNA) or changed its name and you're trying to track them down, here you go! The list is regularly updated. Last update April 2020.
  • Structured Settlement Quote Lock-Ins | What You Need To Know
    What does a Structured Settlement Lock-In Mean? How do plaintiffs, defendants and insurers benefit from a structured settlement quote lock in when finalizing a settlement? How does the defendant/insurer/court benefit from using a structured settlement lock-in? Where to be careful when using structured settlement lock ins.
  • What Are Structured Settlement Annuities?
    Structured settlement annuities are annuities that can provide one or more customized annuity payment streams in a single contract. Read about it here.

Contact Structured Settlement Expert John Darer®

About The Structured Settlement Blog

  • STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS 4REAL® Blog Is a Popular Source of Structured Settlement News and Information, Settlement Planning News, Tax Deferral and Deferred Income Planning Solutions,
    with a stable readership that seeks credible structured settlement information and/or opinion about topical issues related to settlement planning, targeted to lawyers, injured persons and their family members, guardians, survivors, judges, magistrates, special masters, mediators, administrators, trust companies, insurance company executives and adjusters, financial advisers settlement professionals, financial professionals, insurance regulators, government leaders, federal and state law enforcement, buyers and sellers of structured settlement payment rights, the news media and other interested parties. 4structures.com LLC established the structured settlement blog in 2005 to fill a need for critical commentary in an under-served.marketplace. The John Darer® authored blog has been among the most prolific, providing fresh structured settlement, settlement planning and litigation recovery management content and commentary regularly. John Darer®, CLU ChFC MSSC CeFT® RSP CLTC, President of Stamford, CT based 4structures.com, LLC, is an experienced New York City area structured settlement expert, structured settlement broker, Certified Financial Transitionist, and Registered Settlement Planner. WHAT YOU GET here is the straight stuff with a touch of irreverence and humor. We hope you enjoy and find the content to be helpful.. Subscribe to the structured settlement blog feed, or a specific category feed through your blog reader, or through the Feedburner icon on this page. Followers of JDDarer™ on Twitter may also receive select content. Thank you for reading!

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  • 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,
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Structured Settlement Best Practices Corner

  • 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
  • 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
  • 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.

Comments and Trackback Policy

  • Comments and Trackback Policy
    Comments to this blog are encouraged, welcome and add spice to the interactive nature of blogs. However, the unscrupulous practice by some to deliver comment spam, to connect all manner of unrelated products to structured settlements, detracts from user experience, is NOT tolerated by this author and thus necessitates the practice of comment screening.

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Why Take a Structured Settlement?

  • A structured settlement offers guaranteed financial security to personal injury victims, wrongful death survivors and their families. A structured settlement involves a customized stream of payments, provides long-term stable tax-free income, for a period of years or a lifetime. Unlike other income annuities. a structured settlement annuity can have multiple payment streams to address multiple needs in a single contract.

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