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March 19, 2023

Structured Settlement Factoring Companies' Victim Impact Statements Featured in New McClatchy Video

by Structured Settlement Watchdog

McClatchy has followed up last Fall's award winning muti-part expose of the business of structured settlement factoring in South South carolina structured settlement factoring seller impact statementsCarolina (that stimulated efforts to reform structured settlement factoring) with a new video released March 12, 2023, which asserts "commercials convince accident victims to give up their financial futures". Sellers explain why they regret those decisions years later.  One South Carolina seller said selling his stuctured settlement was "the biggest regret of his life".

Journalists David Weissman, Gina Smith and Kata Stevens' new special report features commercials from Chesterbrook Pennsylvania's JG Wentworth and Peachtree (which is a brand of JG Wentworth), the largest and most well known structured settlement factoring company with most pervasive commercials, as well as Fort Lauderdale's 123 Lump Sum and a related brand **Cash (Star Star Cash), followed by impact statements from three South Carolina residents impacted by structured settlement factoring.

It is not clear whether the individuals who made the victim impact statements in the McClatchy video, did business with any of the companies whose commercials were displayed in the video, or why the specific videos were chosen. Nevertheless it's another piece of wood on the fire burning unavoidable awareness under the already toasty rumps of members of the South Carolina state legislature who were spurred into considering massive changes to better protect citizens of South Carolina with structured settlements after the first installment of the McClatchy expose appeared in September 2022.

The video is also a clarion call to potential sellers to get independent professional advice. One of the victims in the video said she couldn't afford to pay an advisor. Some state laws say that independent professional advice fees cannot be paid by the structured settlement factoring company while other states, like California, say that up to $1,500 of fees for independent professional advice may be paid by the structured settlement factoring company.

It's unwise to proceed without independent professional advice, even if its not mandatory in your state. Have a conversation with someone knowledegable, other than the structured settlement factoring company representative. And sellers, the lawyer that is hired by the structured settlement factoring company offering to buy your payments, IS NOT your lawyer.

Selling A Structured Settlement in 2023? Get The 411 on Cash Now. Don't Be a Victim (4structures.com)

Related Reading 

SC Supreme Court cracks down on sales of lawsuit settlement income | News | postandcourier.com

SC Legislators Pressured to Up South Carolina Structured Settlement Protections After Troubling Findings - Structured Settlements 4Real® Blog: Structured Settlements | Settlement Planning News and Commentary (typepad.com)

Investigation Into SC Structured Settlement Factoring Predation Rolls Out in 4 Part BOMBSHELL Report - Structured Settlements 4Real® Blog: Structured Settlements | Settlement Planning News and Commentary (typepad.com)

 

Posted at 02:50 AM in Charleston Structured Settlements, Clemson Structured Settlements, Columbia SC Structured Settlements, Myrtle Beach Structured Settlements, South Carolina Structured Settlements, Spartanburg Structured Settlements, Structured Settlement Factoring News, Structured Settlement Watchdog® |

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  • Rated Ages and Structured Settlement Cost
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  • Structured Settlement Annuity Companies 2023
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • What Are Structured Settlement Annuities?
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  • History of Structured Settlements
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  • What Are Market Based Structured Settlements?
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  • 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

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  • Firmwide Qualified Settlement Funds Debunked
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