October 28, 2011 – Just a brief postscript to yesterday’s blog about college tuition increases.

To accent the tuition increases we discussed yesterday, CNNMoney today features the article “More colleges charging $50,000 or more a year.”

When settling a personal injury claim, it’s important to consider all future needs.  For those contemplating helping out with college for their children or grandchildren when negotiating their claim, these needs should be factored into the settlement dialog.

Structuring Settlements for Future Success 

October 27, 2011 – The cost of earning a college degree just got pricier.  In some states, a whole lot pricier.

In its article “5 biggest state tuition hikes,” CNNMoney reports an “alarming” increase in college tuition increases.

The hikes they discuss are not of the walking variety by the way.

California, Arizona, Georgia, Washington and Nevada top the list of states where tuition increases rose up to 21%.

What’s a parent to do?

Those settling personal, physical injury claims can employ the same “lemonade out of lemons” strategy parents have been taking advantage of for the 20+ years I’ve been helping clients with their structured settlement choices.

I’m proud to have played a role in helping shape so many futures.

How it works:  No one wants their child to suffer an injury.  But parents with legitimate claims routinely arrange for settlement proceeds to be paid via a structured settlement to coincide with future tuition payments.  The vast majority of judges responsible for approving the settlements tend to prefer this settlement option.

It’s easy on the parents, easy on the plaintiff attorney, easy on the claims representative handling the file and good for the injured party.

In addition to minors structuring their settlements or parents structuring their own settlements to help their kids with college, another terrific but underutilized opportunity arises for plaintiff attorneys who structure their fees.

While most everyone agrees in the value of sending their offspring to college, the sad reality is that most parents are unable to save sufficiently to fulfill this wish.  I have assisted a number of plaintiff attorneys over the years who were savvy enough to structure their fees sufficient to coincide with the anticipated college for their children.

Whether you’re a claims professional offering a settlement, a plaintiff attorney representing a client or a parent in the midst of settling a claim, make sure you ask about structuring your settlement.

A structured settlement is not always the right option for one’s settlement proceeds.  But everyone involved in the process owes it to themselves to have their needs properly evaluated prior to settlement.

Call us.  We can help.

A very brief blog to call your attention to our firm’s most recent e-newsletter featuring a re-cap of the American Bar Association President’s views on two topics vital to the success of our civil justice system:  Structured settlements and the funding challenges facing our state courts.

Required reading for anyone concerned about civil justice.

[Click Here] to read the newsletter and for links to the accompanying video and Defense Research Institute article.

Life Industry Shores Up Balance Sheets 

October 18, 2011 – The life insurance industry’s admitted assets stood at $5.4 trillion as of June 30, 2011 according to A. M. Best.  This represents a 3% increase over the first six months of 2010.

Why should this matter to our clients?

In an economy where ALL industries are challenged, it means that the life insurance companies offering structured settlements continue to rise to the occasion. 

The Insurance Information Institute defines admitted assets as:

Assets recognized and accepted by state insurance laws in determining the solvency of insurers and reinsurers. To make it easier to assess an insurance company’s financial position, state statutory accounting rules do not permit certain assets to be included on the balance sheet. Only assets that can be easily sold in the event of liquidation or borrowed against, and receivables for which payment can be reasonably anticipated, are included in admitted assets.

The life insurance companies offering structured settlement products and services average about 125 years in business. 

We think that’s a pretty good track record for honoring one’s promises.

No question the entire industry will continue to be challenged but as “sure things” go, you’d be hard pressed to find anything surer for your future financial security.

Thank you for the opportunity to be of service!

“Anyone can get old.  All you have to do is live long enough.”

— Groucho Marx —

For most, the realization starts to take root when you hit the age 30 milestone.

For others, it’s age 40.

But without a doubt, by the time that AARP application hits your mailbox at age 50, you begrudgingly begin to accept that some facets of your life just “ain’t what they used to be.”

• Maybe your eyesight begins to fade.
• Or any hair you have left takes on a founding fathers hue.
• You wonder when they started letting nine year olds drive cars.
• Scales begin lying to you on a regular basis.
• Sports skills wane:
• You can no longer catch up with a 90 MPH fast ball.
• Or dunk anything other than a donut

But just when you thought that aging was a passport to marginality and obscurity, some good news surfaces.

In his article Why geezers give the best investment advice, MarketWatch money and investing editor Jonathan Burton points out that “middle aged people make fewer mistakes with finances than those who are older or younger.”

Quoting one of the authors of the study, he goes on to suggest that you consider working with a financial professional between the ages of 43 and 63, because this represents the “cognitive sweet spot” for optimum financial decision making.

At this point in our blog, it’s worth a mention that the Finn Financial Group just so happens to be owned by a feller who falls smack dab into the middle of that sweet spot.  Maybe this is why so many clients continue to seek us out.

Or maybe it’s just because we know where to find the best early bird specials!

Either way, we’re happy to be validated and proud to be of service to all. 

Even you young whippersnappers are always welcome!

The only thing unusual about the way September 11, 2001 unfolded for me in Orange County, California was the fact that my alarm went off at 4:00 o’clock. 

In the morning.

Not normally an early riser, I was scheduled to participate in a settlement conference in the Bay Area that day and logistics required such an early wake-up call.   

Had I not been so expense conscious, I would have flown up the night before, stayed in a hotel, dined at one of the infinite number of excellent restaurants in San Francisco and returned after the conference. 

But my thrift convinced me the better option was driving to Riverside County where I could catch the first flight out of Ontario (John Wayne Airport has a curfew preventing planes from departing before seven o’clock in the morning) and return the same day.

The forty-five minute drive to the airport was typical.  It was early enough that traffic was not a problem and I listened to my local sports talk radio station to see what scores or trades I might have missed from the night before.

But I was running a bit late.

It was going to be tight but I pulled into a reasonably close parking space, quickly grabbed my computer, walk-ran to the terminal, dashed up the stairs to my gate, presented my driver’s license, and answered the silly obligatory security questions (“Are you carrying any firearms?”) before finally catching my breath.

“Whew!  Just made it,” I smile-commented to the gate agent as most of the other passengers were finishing boarding.

While waiting for my boarding pass, I glanced up at at the television monitor tuned to CNN and caught a glimpse of World Trade Center showing smoke flowing out of some of the windows. 

“Wow!  Looks like a pretty bad fire,” I thought to myself as I headed down the jetway, the last passenger to board. 

The clock read 5:48 a.m.

The Southwest flight to Oakland always takes a pretty reliable eighty minutes, the carrier priding itself on its on-time arrivals and departures.  As soon as the plane lifted off, I eased into my customary power nap.

About an hour into the flight, my bio-clock knew it was time to wake up as we’d be landing soon.  But as a stirred, I quickly sensed we were in a holding pattern.  I felt like Del Griffith in Planes, Trains & Automobiles as I mentally paraphrased one of his lines from the movie.  

“Six bucks says we’re not landing in Oakland.”

About twenty minutes after our scheduled landing, still high above land, the captain finally gave us an update.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re being re-routed to San Jose this morning.  Apparently some terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center and there are still some planes that may contain hijackers . . . “

I have no idea what he said after that.  Talk about a message that gets people’s attention. 

Centre Court matches at Wimbledon could never generate as much head twisting as everyone scanned the plane, eyeing fellow passengers half-suspiciously for reassurance and a possible explanation.   

Were we, too, going to crash?  Was our time up?

A few minutes after that first announcement we learned we were going to be landing in Oakland after all.  Soon, we landed to what looked more like a Used Jet Lot than an airport.  No flights were departing and the gates were jampacked.

After a few oddly quiet moments with everyone getting caught up on the news once we deplaned, I realized this was going to be no ordinary day.  I also realized my return flight was going to be cancelled so I’d better work on some contingency plans.

I rushed to the Avis counter to get my car.  Standing behind a passenger and his wife who needed to get back to Texas being told there were no cars available, I awaited my turn.

“One full size vehicle returning this afternoon, sir?”

The wheels in my head turned. 

Were terrorists going to bomb the bridges?  Surely those would be optimum targets. 

Were planes going to be grounded for days? 

Will gas stations run out of gas? 

Will hotels be full if I’m forced to stay here?  I don’t want to end up at the Y.

“Sir?”

“Yes,” I lied, “yes, returning this afternoon.”

I knew full well I was not going to that settlement conference and I knew I was not returning my car to Oakland Airport.  I was going to immediately begin the six-and-a-half hour trek straight back to Orange County while it was still possible.

Once safely en route, I finally checked my voicemails to hear a frantic message from my distraught wife.  The news stations were announcing that some planes were still unaccounted for and it was very easy that day to expect the worst.

Her relief when I called to tell her I was okay was palpable.

I called to let the claims representative know I would not be joining her at the settlement conference in Santa Rosa.  To this day, one of less than a handful of cancelled business appointments in my career. 

Back at Ontario, the airport was on lock-down and I discovered my car had been towed.  It was unclear when I’d be able to pick it up.  Looked like the Avis-mobile was going to be mine for awhile longer.

I arrived safely back home to a world I knew would never be the same.

I was conscious of the fact that I now had a third “Do You Remember Where Were You When . . .” moment to add to the other two watershed events of my lifetime:  The Kennedy Assassination and The Beatles First Ed Sullivan Show Appearance.

But this was different.  I was older and this was different. 

Very, very different.

.

Tax Savings Strategy Helps Save You Money, Secure Your Future

Background

In yet another example of the adverse consequences stemming from some implanted DePuy metal-on-metal artificial hip devices, a number of San Diegans claim their hip surgeries poisoned them.

ABC affiliate Channel 10 in San Diego recently featured a report which focused on 62 year-old hip replacement patient Tony Stauffer who describes his painful ordeal.  The link includes an embedded video segment of the news story.

Stauffer’s attorney, John Gomez, laments the FDA’s fast-tracking of the recalled DePuy devices which may have exacerbated the problem.  Mr. Gomez represents several dozen San Diego area plaintiffs pursuing damages against DePuy.

For a personal testimony on why our firm is so interested in this particular litigation, patients and attorneys are invited to watch a short video we produced for patients pursuing remedy.

Go to ASRHipSettlement.com to view the video on our firm’s YouTube channel.

For those lucky enough to have avoided joint replacement surgery thus far in their lives, a helpful article appeared recently in The Huffington Post.

Entitled 13 Must-Know Facts About Joint Replacements, the article shares some timely tips for those who are contemplating surgery.

While our firm continues to follow the DePuy Hip Recall with great interest and understands this article comes too late for many, we’re pleased to share this constructive news for those are understandably anxious about joint replacement surgery.

NC House:  $500,000 caps on MedMal Noneconomic Damages

Continuing a trend across the country, the North Carolina House voted to override Gov. Beverly Perdue’s veto of legislation that caps medical malpractice noneconomic damages at $500,000 for medical malpractice cases.

This North Carolina change tracks with similar tort reform efforts and court decisions recently occurring in Texas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and other states from coast to coast.

Expect this trend to continue.

Not surprisingly, different interests line up on different sides of this debate:

Insurance Industry:  Argues tort reform and caps are necessary to help keep premiums affordable.

Legislatures:  Argue tort reform is necessary to attract businesses who would otherwise flee states with “unfriendly” business climates.

Plaintiff Attorneys:  Argue caps artificially limit an aggrieved plaintiff’s ability to receive fair compensation and give some defendants a “free pass” since they can make business decisions favorable to their bottom line without regard to the public’s well being.

Although the DePuy Hip Recall is primarily a products liability exposure for parent company Johnson & Johnson, it’s reasonable to assume that any successful tort reform efforts will ultimately inure to the benefit of the defendant in this litigation and similar mass torts.

The hit HBO documentary Hot Coffee takes the subject of tort reform head-on.

In addition to showing how tort reformers manipulated the “jackpot justice” theme that emerged from the infamous McDonald’s coffee lawsuit, one of the segments in the film provides evidence that confutes the insurance industry argument that tort reform lowers premiums.

Whichever side of the debate you come down on, it’s a safe bet that we’ll see this capping trend continue until/unless enough money gets on the other side of the argument.