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August 16, 2017

Structured Settlement Constructive Receipt | Avoid This Fatal MIstake

by John Darer® CLU ChFC MSSC RSP CLTC

What is Destructive Receipt?

If a General Release has been signed and delivered to the defendant's legal representative, the tax benefits of a structured settlement may be lost. The ramifications may be costly for both the plaintiff his or her lawyers. Constructive Receipt is "destructive receipt" from a financial standpoint.

Why Would a General Release Be Fatal to a Structured Settlement?

A standard general release fails to satisfy the requirements to establish a structured settlement because of the fatal words "receipt of which is hereby acknowledged". Even though money has not yet changed hands constructive receipt has occurred.  Where constructive receipt has occurred in a case involving taxable damages such as an employment or commercial damage case, there is potential for tremendous tax exposure that could have been easily avoided and a potential malpractice exposure for the attorney.

A promise to pay future periodic payments to establish a periodic payment obligation is a critical component to establish a structured settlement, regardless of whether the structured settlement is (1) qualified (medical malpractice, wrongful death, workers compensation, auto, product liability involving damages on account of personal physical injury or physical sickness); or (2) non qualified structured settlements (wrongful termination, harassment in the workplace, discrimination in workplace, intellectual property and other commercial claims. Even in mass torts where a qualified settlement fund has been established to aggregate settlement money in a big pot for claimants similarly situated, an obligation to pay on the part of the QSF is a critical component of the establishment of a structured settlement.

Posted at 02:33 PM in Albany New York Structured Settlements, Bowling Green Kentucky Structured Settlements, Bridgeport Structured Settlements, Bronx New York Structured Settlements, Brooklyn New York Structured Settlements, Buffalo New York Structured Settlements, Certified Structured Settlement Consultant (CSSC) NSSTA, Detroit Michigan Structured Settlements, Hartford CT Structured Settlements, IRC 130 Qualified Assignment Tax Exclusion Qualified Assignee, Jacksonville Florida Structured Settlements, Lexington KY Structured Settlements, Long Island NY Structured Settlements, Los Angeles CA Structured Settlements, Louisville Kentucky Structured Settlements, Missouri Structured Settlements, NC Structured Settlements, New Jersey Structured Settlements, New Orleans Louisiana Structured Settlements, New York Personal Injury, New York Settlement Planning, New York Structured Settlements, North Carolina Structured Settlements, NYC Structured Settlements, Orange County Structured Settlements, Palm Beach Structured Settlements, Philadelphia PA Structured Settlements, Plaintiff Attorney Settlement Issues, Rochester Structured Settlements, Sacramento Structured Settlements, San Francisco Structured Settlements, Santa Monica Structured Settlements, Sarasota Structured Settlements, Settlement Tax Issues, Settlements in Queens County New York, Structured Settlements in Illinois, Structured Settlements in Ithaca New York area, Structured Settlements in Kentucky, Structured Settlements in Miami Florida area, Structured Settlements in Michigan, Structured Settlements in Nassau County, NY, Suffolk County Structured Settlements, Syracuse Structured Settlements, Taxes and Structured Settlements, TX structured settlements, VA Structured Settlements, Washington Structured Settlements, West Virginia Structured Settlements, White Plains Structured Settlements, WV Structured Settlements |

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Guide to Structured Settlements 2021

  • What is a Structured Settlement? What You Need to Know
    What you need to know about structured settlements. 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 2021 A.M. Best Recommended structured settlement expert and Registered Settlement Planner John Darer® of 4structures.com® LLC
  • How Do Structured Settlements Work? How Structured Settlements Worktured Settlement Diagram
    How structured settlements work, including 4structures.com® LLC's super 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 2021
    Which life insurance companies issue structured settlement annuities going into 2021? 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, index linked structured settlement payments and market based structured .
  • 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 structured settlement? You'll like this huge time saver. Click for a comprehensive list of customer service telephone numbers 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, Transamerica, AEGON, GE Capital, Liberty, CNA) or changed its name and you're trying to track them down, here you go! The list is regularly updated. Last update August 17, 2021.
  • 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 structured settlement annuities here.
  • History of Structured Settlements
    Tracing the roots of structured settlements history from 1918, when Congress exempted damages for personal injury or sickness from income tax, to the establishment of structured settlements as a core personal injury settlement planning tool to the present day.
  • What Are Market Based Structured Settlements?
    Market based structured settlements are an alternative or supplementary structured settlement solution for the plaintiff, attorney or law firm that: 1. Can afford to take some market risk 2. Have discretionary settlement dollars Claimants and attorneys alike may find that market-based structured settlements provide the opportunity to receive tax-free income, or tax-deferred income, while enjoying growth potential.

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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 and for over 15 years it has been a leading source for critical commentary. The John Darer authored blog has been among the most prolific, regularly providing fresh structured settlement, settlement planning and litigation recovery management content and commentary . 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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  • John—this (video published 11/2010) is a well done piece. I like the way you always stick to the facts-AM
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  • Thank you so very much for discussing my concerns about Symetra, my annuity company. I am amazed that PI attorneys as well as a settlement broker in San Diego, could not answer the simplest questions I had regarding the Safeco/Symetra issue. Your blog/web site is most interesting and informative, and I am grateful you have take on the "watchdog" role! Thank you so much again (3/25/10)
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  • "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"
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  • "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

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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