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September 26, 2020

Structure your Lunch Money? A Nibble About "Brown Bag" Settlement Planning

by Structured Settlement Watchdog

Some structured settlement firms proudly advertise a willingness to take the smallest of cases. But Chronovo's attempt to break new ground, wiggling and Structuring your lunch money jiggling in an effort to win the micro structured settlement broker "limbo contest" has left me giggling.

A "Brown Bag* Settlement Planning" Dilemma

Granted that school lunches enable kids to understand certain basic economic concepts such as barter.   You have a bag of Fritos and your classmate has Ding Dongs. You want sweet and it so happens your classmate prefers savory today. There is a "meeting of the minds" and  you agree to an exchange.

But THIS is something completely different.

"Here's your lunch money for the second grade. You can decide whether to take it all at once or structure it" reads the caption as Daddy holds a stack of bills in front of his 7 year old offspring portrayed in one of Pat Byrnes' so-called "Smartoons".

Doing the Limbo Rock of Second Grade Finance

  • According to a 2011 report by the Education Commission of the States the minimum number of days of instruction in a majority of states is 180 days. 
  • School lunch costs for students vary by state and district, but on average, a single meal costs students $2.48 at the elementary-school level and $2.74 at the high-school level. What does school lunch cost in your state?
  • Since the Chronovo ad makes the point of portraying a second grader in its Smartoon, we shall use the cost of $2.48 for lunch times 180 days which equals $446.40
  • There isn't a structured settlement settlement annuity issuer that will issue a policy with such a micro premium, so what's the point?
  • Structuring payments today to pay out daily or weekly over 6 months makes no economic sense. The premium would exceed the payout. That certainly doesn't make sense for Daddy does it?
  • Even if there was such a company, there would the levy of a small case policy fee
  • Isn't the point of a Smartoon to educate people about making smart financial decisions?
  • Finally, in the overused "time of Covid-19", there may not be any need for lunch money if the second grader is engaged in remote learning. So c'mon everybody, let's all just do the Limbo Rock, with Mickey!

 *a reference to the brown paper bag for school lunches sported by those without a lunch box

Posted at 03:02 PM in Boston Structured Settlements, Buffalo New York Structured Settlements, Dallas Fort Worth TX Structured Settlements, Detroit Michigan Structured Settlements, Micro Structured Settlements, New Jersey Structured Settlements, Newark NJ Structured Settlements, NJ Structured Settlements, Social Media "Road Kill", Structured Settlement Humor, Structured Settlement Limbo, Structured Settlement Watchdog® |

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Guide to Structured Settlements 2024

  • 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 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].
  • Top Structured Settlement Annuity Companies 2024
    Which life insurance companies issue structured settlement annuities in 2024? 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. Last updated June 14, 2024
  • 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 2024
    Ways You Can Structure Your Settlement Payments in 2024. 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 Attorney 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 capped or uncapped index linked structured settlement annuities where payments are adjusted based on upside changes in the S&P 500 or another index, 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 in 2024.
  • 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), oran annuity issuer has changed its name and you're trying to track them down. Here you go! The list is regularly updated. Last updated May 20, 2024.
  • 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
  • Structured Settlements and Longevity Risk| What Are the Odds?
    Do your financial resources give you enough road, or will the road run out before you do? A structured settlement annuity helps mitigate the risk of outliving your savings, no matter how long you live. A structured settlement can include one or more customized payment streams and types.

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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