Structured Settlements 4Real: What's Real in the Structured Settlements, Settlement Planning, Settlement Consulting and Litigation Recovery Management Space?

The Structured Settlement Services Estate Tax Time Warp

• How often should one check one's website to check to see if what is being said is still current?
• What if the facts presented on one's website were not correct in the first place?

Someone better tell Robert Risk at Structured Settlement Services that it's no longer 2001 or 2002.

The following text currently appears in the basics section of Structured Settlement Services website, ostensibly to educate the public on the essentials of estate tax consequences of structured settlements.

  "Planning for Estate Taxes

The receipt of settlement proceeds, either by a lump sum or through periodic payments, when combined with the claimant's other assets, can create an estate in excess of $1,000,000 which would be subject to estate taxes at the death of the claimant. Estate tax rates range from 37 to 55 percent of amounts above $1,000,000, and payment generally is due in cash in nine months after the death. With proper planning, the impact of potential estate taxes can be minimized".

Some yo yo factoring blogger has also plagiarized the above cited text which we will prove to be incorrect and it shows up in Google search results

Download Planning for Estate Taxes T..

It is worth noting that the copyright notice for the Structured Settlement Services website says 2007-2009.

The following table sets for the exemptions and the top estate tax rates for the last 12 years.

Year	Estate Tax Exemption	Top Estate Tax Rate
1997	$600,000	55%
1998	$625,000	55%
1999	$650,000	55%
2000	$675,000	55%
2001	$675,000	55%
2002	$1,000,000	50%
2003	$1,000,000	49%
2004	$1,500,000	48%
2005	$1,500,000	47%
2006	$2,000,000	46%
2007	$2,000,000	45%
2008	$2,000,000	45%
2009	$3,500,000	45%

The above demonstrates the importance of financial literacy among settlement planners and those that call themselves settlement planners but are annuity brokers. It's not just for your own readers!  The profligate plagiarism among bloggers who simply grab the RSS feed without further comment spreads the misinformation.

Further comments

Estate taxes are due to go to $0 in 2010 and then revert to the 2001 level in 2011 absent an act of Congress.

Among the solutions for those with potential estate tax liquidity issues that elect structured settlements as part of their recovery are:

• Include a death commutation rider as part of the structured settlement. A portion of remaining certain payments at death can be commuted to a lump sum at a contractual cost that is generally more favorable than what is available from cash now pushers.
• Purchase life insurance through an irrevocable life insurance trust to provide liquidity to pay estate taxes. This strategy is dependent on the insurability of the primary structured settlement annuitant.
• As a last resort, if all is lost from an advanced planning standpoint you can always seek out a cash now pusher.

Mid NOT at The Oasis

Oasis Legal Finance claims that its founders and staff of professionals, from top legal firms and Wall Street financial institutions, have deep experience in law, finance, credit and business. The team understands complex cases, which speeds the qualification process for your lawsuit funding.

With all that legal talent why is Oasis legal Finance engage in false advertising?

On its web page that is entitled Structured Settlement Cash Funding Oasis Legal Finance makes the following claims:

• "We’ll offer you the opportunity to sell your annuity payments and structured settlement payments for cash you can use right now.
• "By completing and submitting the no cost-no risk application on this page, you’ll be steps closer to receiving the cash YOU ALREADY OWN".
• "We welcome your questions regarding cash today for your structured settlement payment"

Comments:

1. Does Oasis Legal Finance have documentation to support that it gives people cash you can use right now?
2. Does Oasis Legal Finance have documentation to support that it gives people cash today (the same day hey see the ad)?
3. FACT: Structured settlement annuitants or payees only possess the right to receive future periodic payments. Structured settlement annuitants or payees DO NOT own the annuity or the cash that was used to purchase the annuity or other "qualified funding asset".
4. If you are "steps closer" to receiving the cash then logically you are not receiving cash now from Oasis Legal Finance their cases are pending. This IS NOT the same as transferring your structured settlement payments rights for cash.
5. Factoring your structured settlement shortly after it has been created is a RIP OFF. We've already proven that in a prior post. Be wary of any company that suggests that you do that.
6. The video testimony of the General Counsel of the National Association of Settlement Purchasers (available on request) supports that promises of "cash now" (in relation to structured settlements) is fraud.

Califiornia Fiscal Crisis Has Potential to Affect Tort Victims

The BBC points out today that California is the world's eighth largest economy and generates nearly 13% of US gross domestic product - which means what happens there matters for the rest of the country.  The State is in a $24.3 billion hole, purportedly has the worst credit rating of any state  and  many commentators now "fear for the health, welfare and safety of society" as the California government begins to cut services. State Controller John Chiang told the BBC many vulnerable people had been put in harm's way by the state's failure to agree the budget and to provide "essential dollars to help these people pay their rent, to put food on the table or to pay their utility bill".

Potential cuts include delaying payments to companies working for the state and to those relying on state benefits and grants.

The news raises serious settlement planning and litigation recovery management concerns for tort victims and their attorneys as investing in state municipal bonds may be too risky. Structured settlements, whether funded with annuities or United States Treasury obligations offer tax free income. As I reported last week the majority of issuers of such structured settlement "qualified funding assets" have credit ratings that exceed that of the State of California.

For the complete BBC story on the California fiscal crisis please click here

Tom Nomako No Sense on American Airlines 1256 LaGuardia Bird Strike

Sorry to go off point here but I just can't shut up about Tom Nomako's shoddy reporting in Wednesday's New York Post about the above captioned incident that Nomako calls "similar to the one that force a US Airways plane to splash down in the Hudson in January".

I've compiled a comparison of the two incidents to show just how "similar"

                     US 1549                                                   AA1256

Wikipedia Page Yes                                                       No
Pilot               International Hero "Sully"                         No details available
Aboard           155                                                        138
Aircraft           Airbus 320                                              Boeing 737
Birdstrike        On Climb Out                                         About to Land
Elevation         3,200 feet                                              900 feet
Fuel Tank        Full                                                       Pretty empty after 3 hours of flying
Fate               Controlled ditching                                 Landed safely
Damage           Both engines taken out                           Damaged landing gear
Injuries           5 serious,  73 minor                                None
Passenger
Awareness      100% aware, saying prayers                      Nobody aware
Smell              Barbecue                                             Salty peanuts
Culprit           Multiple Canada Geese                            A Seagull
Max weight     7-14lbs male 5.5-12 (female) each              4.2ox -3.8lbs

             

Notable quotes:

US 1549

"Got any ideas?"

" We're gonna be in the Hudson"        

AA1256            

"The passengers came off the plane and after coming inside the terminal...only then did they    learn about the bird strike"                                     

It's kind of frightening. When we landed I was kind of sleeping and jolted me" 16 year old passenger                                                            

"No one panicked," said Ariana Serpico, 26, who was aboard with her 2-year-old daughter. "We didn't  even  know what was going on."                                                             

Sources: New York Post, Daily News, Wikipedia

In conclusion

• Thankfully nobody died in either incident.
• As someone who has 30 or more years of experience with the often jolting "kerplunk" nature of landings at La Guardia I find myself a bit skeptical of the 16 year old's "story", as reported.
• After The Post recently went into the sordid details of the Avian Gestapo "death squads" rounding up Canada Geese into cattle cars bound for the gas chambers at Goosewitz, Nomako notes that Canada Geese aren't flying around as much because they are molting (didn't he mean "molten"?)
• The point is that "Nomako no sense" would "mako" much more sense if he simply reported the facts instead of trying to sensationalize a frickin' 3.8 lb bird to sell a newspaper.

                                                                   

Should You Be Able To Use Taxpayer Money on Lottery Tickets?

The PPI Cash Blog reports that the Tennessee legislature "has looked to make living difficult for those reeling under poverty". A committee hearing on Wednesday is likely to discuss a bill which would prevent anyone receiving federal or state assistance (i.e. welfare) from winning $ 600 or excess in Tennessee state lottery payments.

The gist of the proposed bill is that those who cannot afford basic necessities and rely on public assistance should not be spending money on lotteries.  PPI says that "people say that the government need not tell them how to spend their money".  PPI suggests the Bill is inequitable because it treats those who are unemployed and those on welfare differently.

PPI goes on to say that "recent studies have concluded that the poor spend most percent of their income on lottery tickets than wealthier people. It's the old "dollar and a dream" concept, an effort to get out of poverty, even if winning odds are extremely slim.

According to PPI, the State of Tennessee review has found that nearly 50% of those individuals who received food stamps from state purchase lottery tickets. Nearly half of them are expected to stop playing if the bill is passed. PPI hopes the Tennessee legislature will not try to expand bill that prohibits large lottery winnings to those people who get state unemployment checks. The operative quote is "though remaining unemployed is difficult enough, remaining poor and unemployed is still worse".

Comment

So let me get this straight. It's not OK (and gives rise to Congressional hearings) for public corporations who take "welfare" (a/k/a TARP) from the United States Treasury to spend money on business development that could potentially create jobs, but it's OK for some poor bastard to spend the government's money on a one in $%^&ing million chance at a fortune. And if he or she doesn't win the taxpayer will have to pay anyway.

Boy, the way Glenn Miller played. Songs that made the Hit Parade.

Guys like us, we had it made. Those were the days.

Didn't need no welfare state. Everybody pulled his weight.

Gee, our old LaSalle ran great. Those were the days.

And you know who you were then. Girls were girls and men were men.

Mister, we could use a man like Herbert Hoover again.

People seemed to be content. Fifty dollars paid the rent.

Freaks were in a circus tent. Those were the days.

Take a little Sunday spin, go to watch the Dodgers win.

Have yourself a dandy day that cost you under a fin.

Hair was short and skirts were long. Kate Smith really sold a song.

I don't know just what went wrong. Those Were The Days.

Lyrics: Lee Adams and Charles Strouse

"Heady Junk Bond Returns Attract Funds" Deja Vu All Over Again?

The New York Post reports that junk bond bets have soared to their best comeback since the 1980s Year over year returns for May were purportedly 25.4%, citing at Bank of America Merrill Lynch report. The Post alleges that analysts say "risks of distressed debt may not be as scary as expected because some of the investments will be packaged into assets that are guaranteed by the government's Term Asset-Backed Securities Lending Facility (TALF)"

Apparently CALPERS, the California Pension funds is considering putting about $5B or 3% of its portfolio into distressed assets.

John King an analyst with CreditSights soberly states that this is the first big rally we've seen since the tech crash (9 years ago)

Tort victims may encounter financial planners or financial advisers who suggest putting part of their recovery into these types of funds. Be careful.

Liberty Life Offers Program to Ease Structured Settlement Rated Age Underwiting Back Log

In April 2009  Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston introduced its Concierge Underwriting Program. This new program allows for underwriting on any case that you submit for a rated age, regardless of carrier.

To qualify for Concierge Underwriting, a broker must place $500,000 in non-Liberty Mutual Group premium with Liberty Life per quarter, and Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston will underwrite any case that you submit for rated age throughout the following quarter. 

Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston is a members of Liberty Mutual Group. Structured settlement annuities placed with Liberty Life Assurance Company of Boston are guaranteed by Liberty Mutual Insurance Company.

Patrick Hindert Melts Snow... Promoted "Squandering Plaintiff" Theory!

Continuing to expose Patrick Hindert's hypocrisy for his attack on the "squandering plaintiff" theory comes from a recent and unlikely source- a series of posts about Randy Snow, the parylimpian, the second of which Hindert posted in August 9, 2008. A portion is excerpted below.

Hindert asked: "Your injury occurred in 1975 - just prior to the beginning of the structured settlement industry industry in the United States in the late 1970s. Have you had any experience with structured settlements or injury award recipients?

Randy Snow: After becoming involved in wheelchair sports, I traveled and met many persons involved in accidents. Some of those persons received large sums of money. There are many inspirational stories. Personal injury victims who have successfully managed their recoveries and successfully redefined their post-settlement lives. Many of these stories involve structured settlements. There are also MANY horror stories. Accident victims who have SQUANDERED  their recoveries and their lives. I have a friend who received a $300,000 settlement in 1980. That was a pretty nice sum in those days. In two years, his money was gone. In my experience, accident victims who are matched with professional financial advisors and settlement planners are much better". 

Frankly when Hindert posted the Randy Snow interviews it really was a "WTF" moment. In hindsight at least one of them has proved to be useful in hoisting "Hedwig" by his own petard.

How can Hindert credibly spew hot air on the "pernicious" "90% squander in 5 years" theory when he' s been out there hanging on to every word and (in particular) promoting the "squandering" words of justification from the frickin' Bruce Jenner of wheelchair athletes? 

Read June 24, 2009 "The Squandering Plaintiff Redux"

Is Colonial Settlement Partners, LP Faking It?

The Sell Structured Settlements Blog posts a story dated June 25, 2009 entlitled " Hunkering Down With The Choice To Sell Annuity Payments Part I" which purports to be a true story written by an individual. Pardon my skepticism but one has to wonder how many souls in desperate need of cash would write a two part shaggy dog story instead of first searching in the Internet (or calling sultry siren Deborah Benaim at Imperial who issued a press release in anticipation of bacchanalia in South Beach during the height of the recent financial crisis). 

The dead giveaway is the "in text link" to cash now pusher Colonial Settlement Partners.

A topic of one of last week's posts was FTC Is Set To Tighten Rules On Paid Testimonials on The Internet. Enough said.

Cash Now Pusher Woodbridge Investments Using NSSTA To Solicit Investors

As someone who holds a FINRA Series 7 and 66 I wonder how Woodbridge Investments, LLC and Scott Schwartz are able to get away with a solicitation to investors that states you can earn 8% to 10% AND appears to guarantee zero defaults?

Should members of the National Structured Settlement Trade Association and its leadership be appalled that Woodbridge Investments includes in its latest INVESTOR due diligence packet*, an Adobe Acrobat mash up of a June 4, 2009 NSSTA web page that includes the NSSTA logo and mast head to solicit money from investors? The NSSTA web page in question, reports of a Wall Street Journal article about Moodys Investors Services report on the life insurance industry.

Some points for discussion:

• Woodbridge had the opportunity to but did not elect to chase down the actual Wall Street Journal article Woodbridge did not use the actual NSSTA web page Download NSSTA web site June 4, 2009_ Moody’s Repor.. , which as you can see includes a copyright notice.

• Here is the Woodbridge mash up of the NSSTA web page included in cash now pusher  Woodbridge Investments due diligence packet  Download Woodbridge Mash Up of NSSTA web page for due diligence packet 6-18-2009 of. 

• The NSSTA web page mash up appears in a Woodbridge created document which our investigation has concluded was created on June 18, 2009 at 2:03pm entitled woodbridge.pdf

Does Woodbridge Investments have the imprimatur of the NSSTA as its inclusion in the due diligence packet suggests? I certainly hope not.

Although the possibility is not as far fetched as it may seem. Former NSSTA President and current NSSTA Legal and Public Benefits Committee member Patrick Hindert has long posited, without justification, that factoring is the key to structured settlement industry growth. Reporting to the Society of Settlement Planners annual meeting attendees in Washington (in April 2009), Hindert purportedly characterized that "the NSSTA position on factoring has softened ". NSSTA has not come out publicly in any major way on factoring other than to disclaim "the structured settlement transparency initiative".

Nevertheless this author believes that Woodbridge's actions draw the logical conclusion that Woodbridge did not chase down the Wall Street Journal article because it wanted to create the illusion that NSSTA gives its imprimatur to Woodbridge Investments' business practices and to take advantage of NSSTA goodwill. Those Woodbridge business practices have included promoting the "cash now" fraud and offering deluxe party favors to prospective annuitants at what can only be described as "an inducement to sell" their structured settlement payment rights.

Download Woodbridge Investments 21st Century Toaster Incentives to Factor Structured Settlements

Will NSSTA be issuing a public statement denying association with Woodbridge Investments or will it allow its foes to to draw the negative inference as the result of indifference?