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August 08, 2018

Settlement Depot | Structured Settlement Social Media Road Kill | Illiterate to Basic Facts

by Structured Settlement Watchdog

Seven Big Reasons that Settlement Depot is unreliable for structured settlement advice

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Settlement Depot LLC was only formed in June 2018 in Delaware, it's website was anonymously registered June 12, 2018.  Red Flag. The company is also registered in California through a registered agent. The company has published a website that has made some bold and unsubstantiated claims.

Settlement Depot Bogus Claim 1 "We can get you the money you’re owed, the money you deserve, quickly and easily".

FACT: No structured settlement buyer can get you "the money you're owed". The most any structured settlement buyer can get you is a money losing pennies on the dollar. Yeah, that's right!  Settlement Depot compounds the misleading advertising by repeating the bogus claim on its Twitter feed just yesterday.

Settlement Depot Bogus Claim 2 " However in 1982, Congress deemed structured settlements tax-free so long as they come from cases involving wrongful death, personal injury and/or workers compensation"

FACT:  The Periodic Payment Settlement Tax Act of 1982 does not mention the term structured settlement even once.

Settlement Depot Bogus Claim 3 " Additionally annuity owners who want to transfer the money from one family member to another do not have to tax that money"

FACT: Annuity owners don't levy taxes. 

Settlement Depot Bogus Claim 4 All structured settlements are tax-free. They’re often broken down into physical and non-physical injury categories. Physical injuries are things like broken bones. Non-physical injuries are everything else. "

FACTS: All structured settlements are not tax-free.  Some are and some aren't.  The tax exclusion under IRC 104(a)(2) includes physical sickness.  Damages for  wrongful imprisonment are income tax free subject to IRC 139F

Settlement Depot Bogus Claim 5 " Having decades of experience, Settlement Depot can help you figure out whether or not you have to pay taxes on your structured settlement"

Comments: See Settlement Depot Bogus Claim 3.  Why should anyone trust Settlement Deposit when the evidence they themselves present shows a woeful lack of understanding of the fundamentals of structured settlements?

Settlement Depot Bogus Claim 6  "Our team of financial advisors are the best in the business".

Comments: The structured settlement secondary market is plagued by individuals and companies who hold themselves out as financial advisors without credentials. Settlement Depot is disingenuous for claiming that they have (a) a team of financial advisors and making the disprovable claim that they are the best in the business, by not identifying the individuals on their website so that they can be verified by or for consumers on the websites of relevant licensing or credentialing authorities.

A financial adviser is a professional who suggests and renders financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries Financial Advisors have to complete specific training and hold a license to provide advices. In the United States for example a financial advisor carries a Series 65 or 66 license and according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authorty (FINRA), license designations and compliance issues must be reported for public view 

FINRA describes the main groups of investment professionals who may use the term financial adviser to be brokers, investment advisers, accountants, lawyers, insurance agents and financial planners.

Settlement Depot financial advisors claim
Settlement Depot claim to be financial advisors without identifying individuals so that their licenses and credentials can be verified by licensing or regulatory authorities.

Settlement Depot Bogus Claim 6 ."Another significant benefit of selling your structured settlement is that it gives you freedom. You can do whatever you want to do without having to worry about future payments or doing complicated budgets. You have full use of your money to use in whatever way you see fit".

Comments: Classic snake oil salesman talk by Settlement Depot. One of the reasons people get into financial trouble is because they don't budget and then have no way to measure and be accountable to themselves on spending.They don't plan to fail but they fail to plan. The Settlement Depot snake oil salesmen are predators who offer you a guaranteed to lose money value proposition.

Budgets do not have to be complicated. Intuitive software, like Quicken, has been available for more than 30 years.  One of the biggest concerns is running out of money or outliving assets. Selling your structured settlement for the reasons propounded by Settlement Depot is a sure way to financial ruin.

Settlement Depot Bogus Claim 7:The defendant in a structured settlement case funds these payments, usually through a life-insurance-owned annuity

FACT:  Life insurance a form of insurance to cover the contingent financial loss resulting from the death of an insured to the insured's family or business. Life insurance policy is a written contract on several sheets of paper. A life insurance is established after an application is made and the proposed insured undergoes an underwriting process. Premium is paid to cover the contingency of the insured's death. A written contract cannot own an annuity.  Structured settlements are typically funded with a structured settlement annuity issued by a life insurance company. The owner of the annuity is the qualified assignment company in most cases.

 

Subsequent to this posting it was discovered that Settlement Depot is connected to a member of the National Association of Settlement Purchasers

Posted at 11:52 AM in Cleaning Up "The Structured Settlement Neighborhood", Delaware Structured Settlements, Detroit Michigan Structured Settlements, Los Angeles CA Structured Settlements, Misinformation About Structured Settlements, Secondary Market For Structured Settlement Payment Rights, Sherman Oaks Structured Settlements, Structured Settlement Factoring News, Structured Settlement Industry News, Structured Settlement Watchdog® |

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Guide to Structured Settlements 2023

  • What is a Structured Settlement? What You Need to Know
    Structured settlements and what you need to know about them including a helpful introductory video featuring 2023 A.M. Best Client Recommended Structured Settlement Expert and Registered Settlement Planner John Darer® of 4structures.com® LLC
  • How Do Structured Settlements Work? How Structured Settlements Work
    How structured settlements work, including 4structures.com LLC's super helpful structured settlement flow chart/diagram showing how structured settlements fit in on the spectrum of 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 2023
    Which life insurance companies issue structured settlement annuities going into 2023? 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 and/or other Tier1 NAIC ratings, with 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 the title for a link to 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, Allstate, Transamerica, AEGON, GE Capital, Liberty, CNA, Confederation Life) or changed its name and you're trying to track them down, here you go! The list is regularly updated. Last updated September 14, 2023
  • 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.
  • iStructure |Uncapped Fixed Index Structured Settlement Annuity
    iStructure is an innovative game changing fixed index structured settlement annuity for plaintiffs or attorneys. with an intermediate to long term horizon

Qualified Settlement Funds

  • What is a Qualified Settlement Fund?
    Qualified Settlement Funds | What You Need to Know
  • Firmwide Qualified Settlement Funds Debunked
    Firmwide qualified settlement funds have been heavily promoted to trial lawyers, but have been debunked in a detailed analysis in a July 2022 legal opinion a tax partner at the law firm of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP. Trial lawyers and firms who have established Firmwide QSFs or coinsidering establishing a Firmwide QSF should read the analysis as part of their evaluation.

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    with a stable readership that seeks credible structured settlement information, John Darer Reviews, commentary 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 this structured settlement blog in 2005. John Darer ®, CLU ChFC MSSC CeFT® RSP CLTC, President of 4structures.com, located in Stamford, CT 06902. John Darer is an experienced New York City area structured settlement expert, structured settlement broker, Certified Financial Transitionist, and Registered Settlement Planner. He holds insurance licenses in 45 states, has 40 years financial services experience and more than 29 years in the structured settlements and settlement planning space. In his capacity as a investigative journalist and commentator, and professionally, John Darer passionately believes that shining the light on a business practice is both healthy and newsworthy. It is in the best interest of injury victims, their families and their legal advisers, that the settlement planning discussion involve those that are properly trained in the topic, properly informed on the topic and, with respect to structured settlements, properly licensed and/or appointed. It has significant instructional and deterrent value to other practitioners and firms as well as those who may be caught in the cross hairs. 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 Subscribe button at the top left of this page. Followers of JDDarer™ on Twitter may also receive select content. If you would like to speak with John he can be reached at (888)325-8640 Thank you for reading! Last updated October 8, 2023

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  • 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
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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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