Calling Early vs. Calling Late in the Case -It can Doom Your Best Intentions
I received a panic phone call the other day from a P.I. attorney that we have worked with for over 20 years. He was at mediation with his client and, as so often happens, the other side made an offer of settlement that included future (structured) payments.
This set off a mad rush [...]
Qualified Settlement Funds -A MECHANISM WHOSE TIME HAS COME.
View this informative article by Robert W. Wood, published in the Los Angeles Daily Journal, July 23, 2009. “Whatever you choose to call it, a Qualified Settlement Fund, called a QSF or a Section 468B trust, is a flexible distribution mechanism…[that] can make the settlement process smoother, more efficient and much more closely tailored [...]
Structuring Attorney Fees – To Fee Or Not To Fee…
Over the past 10 years, more and more attorneys are turning to Attorney Fee Structures to help them reach their financial planning goals. In this short video, Jack Meligan discusses different strategies attorneys may consider for structuring their attorney fees.
Settlement Planning… When Can There Be Too Much Of A Good Thing?
Can there be too much of a good thing when it comes to planning the financial aspects of your clients settlement?
There sure can be.
In this short video Jack explains how placing too much of a claimants proceeds into Structured Settlement Annuities can be a bad thing and how too much placed into managed [...]
Stipulation of Settlement Language – Protecting The Claimant at Mediation
At mediation defendants like to try and force your clients to make decisions about Structured Settlements that will affect the rest of their lives, before your clients have had the chance to meet with their own expert and understand the pro’s and con’s.
Here is a simple strategy that enables you to take control and preserve [...]
The “Pacheco Case” – Quick Case Study
This case in New Mexico brought to light one of the tactics used by the defense to try and control the direction and flow of the injury victim’s settlement dollars. In this case, a casualty company tried to force the personal injury claimant to take a Structured Settlement annuity from THEIR wholly owned life [...]
Tax Issues for Sex-Abuse Settlements – What Attorneys Need to Know
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IRS Recognizes that the Observable Bodily Harm Requirement may be unfair as applied to Sex Abuse Cases
In 1996, the word “physical” was inserted into IRC 104(a)(2), which essentially mandated that for a settlement to be considered tax-exempt, and eligible for a tax-exempt structured settlement, it must have its origin in physical personal [...]
What is medical underwriting, and why is it helpful to obtain a “rated age”?
ANSWERS TO 4 COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is medical underwriting, and why is it helpful to obtain a “rated age”?
Medical underwriting is the process annuity companies use to evaluate the remaining life expectancy of an injured or medically impaired prospective annuitant. Life insurance companies offering lifetime annuities will evaluate an injured party’s medical records in an [...]
Medicare Set-Aside Arrangements for Third Party Settlements
While we have all heard about MSA’s for worker’s compensation cases, 3rd Party Liability Settlements are becoming an increasing area of interest for CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services).
You may not yet be aware, but on December 29, 2007, President Bush signed the Medicare Medicaid and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (“2007 Extension Act”), which [...]
