June 6, 2013 – Just this afternoon, a terrific guest column was published in the Missoulian by the area’s 2013 personal injury “Lawyer of the Year” Doug Buxbaum.

The op-ed testimonial, “Sen, Baucus’ greatest achievement,” personalizes one of the greatest, if most unheralded, accomplishments in the storied political career of the senior senator from Montana, Max Baucus.

As we commented on a few weeks ago when Sen. Baucus announced his decision to retire from Congress after his current term expires, he leaves behind a legacy of advocating for those whose lives were turned upside down by circumstances beyond their control.

Thanks to Sen. Baucus’ strong leadership over the years, laws exist today which enable accident victims to benefit from one of the best settlement alternatives ever conceived:  Structured Settlements.

None of this could have ever been possible without Sen. Max Baucus’ commitment to doing what’s right for those who need it most.

As a Past President and former Board Member of the National Structured Settlements Trade Association (NSSTA), I’m proud to have had the opportunity to interact with this phenomenal public servant who has done so much good for so many people.

Sen. Baucus never called press conferences to pat himself on the back for all the good he did for those suffering from personal, physical injuries who benefited from his efforts.

But as Mr. Buxbaum’s column points out, his footprint is going to be one that’s hard to replicate.

So once again, we say “Thank you, Sen. Max Baucus” for all you’ve done to help so many by your support of structured settlements and “Thank you, Doug Buxbaum” for personifying your senator’s work so eloquently.

June 5, 2013 – In a tremendous display of support for structured settlements, Prudential Insurance Company of America recently produced a powerful video featuring two senior executives from the company describing the many benefits of structured settlements.

The video captures Prudential Retirement’s Christine Marcks, President and Phil Waldeck, Head of Pensions and Structured Solutions, sharing their views on the benefits of structured settlements, Prudential’s financial strength and the company’s commitment to the industry.

We proudly feature this video “Meeting the Challenges of the Structured Settlements Market” on our firm’s video page [HERE].

This video was crafted following the creation of Prudential’s Structured Solutions Leadership Council – an assemblage of structured settlement professionals throughout the nation – formed last year for the purpose of discussing the challenges and opportunities the structured settlements industry faces and to find ways to address them for the benefit of all.

I’m proud to have participated as a charter member of the Leadership Council and am honored to have been asked to return for a second year.

Although Prudential produced this video and sponsors the Leadership Council, the company clearly is focused on the broader goal of increasing public awareness of structured settlements as a means of resolving claims and securing the financial futures of those anticipating settlements stemming from personal, physical injury claims.

By discussing structured settlements in the same conversation with pension income and retirement security, this company has taken an important step into the future of this industry.

Congratulations to Prudential Insurance Company of America and THANK YOU for your commitment to the structured settlements industry!

May 24, 2013 – Shortly after I posted my blog on Structured Attorney Fees earlier today, the following MarketWatch article popped up on my in-box:

“3 money moves to beat back higher taxes –

How to navigate new rules and put more cash in your pocket”

Money Move No. 1 from this Dow Jones affiliate especially caught my eye since it was squarely on point with the blog on Structured Attorney Fees I had just posted.

Since the holiday weekend is upon us I won’t elaborate beyond the link.

But I thought it was important enough to pass along as a postscript given the fact it reinforces the benefit of delaying recognition of income for tax efficiency.

Happy Memorial Day to all.  Please be safe.

May 24, 2013 – Message I received earlier this week from a long-time plaintiff attorney client after I assisted him and several of his co-counsel with placing some structured attorney fees:

“Thank you, Dan, for being so great to work with the last 20 years.”

Talk about a nice way to end your day!

Receiving validating messages like this from appreciative clients sure adds to the pleasure I get from helping  people make smart decisions about their finances.

And if recent history is any indication, attorneys structuring their fees is a trend on the verge of exploding in popularity.

What makes me believe such a thing?

In the past two weeks alone, I have assisted with the structuring of EIGHT (Yes,  8 ) individual attorney fees.

That’s eight smart attorneys who decided it makes more sense to pay fewer taxes in future years than higher taxes in the current year on fees they earn.

Several more structured attorney fees are pending resolution of the claim.

While I’d like to believe this recent success is attributable solely to the publication of my article on Taxable Damage Structured Settlements in this month’s issue of Advocate, published by the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, the more plausible explanation is that the legal community at large more widely recognizes structured attorney fees as a sensible tax and retirement planning opportunity unique to contingency fee-based attorneys.

Especially in California where the passage of Proposition 30, in addition to the federal American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA), really elevates the importance of structuring taxable dollars to unprecedented levels.

We Invite You to Join the Party

We’re proud of the strong, long-term partnerships we have with numerous plaintiff attorneys who have trusted us to help them structure their fees for years and who continue to view structured attorney fees as a routine part of their practice.

But for those clients and potential clients who have kicked the tires but have yet to take the structured attorney fee plunge, we invite you to call for a confidential review and evaluation.

The economics are in your favor like never before.

And we promise we won’t tell you that you need to structure your fees.

We’ll simply lay out the numbers you give us, present you with some options, project the money you can save and let you decide for yourself if structuring your attorney fees makes sense.

Or better yet, call your CPA first and ask if it makes sense to defer some of your anticipated fee into a future year.

Then call us after your tax professional says, “Absolutely!”

For additional reading, we invite you to visit:

MyStructuredFee.com

Structuring Your Attorney Fees for Future Security and Tax Deferral

May 15, 2013 – A note of appreciation to one of my colleagues in the structured settlements industry and best selling author, Don McNay, for calling my attention to an interesting article appearing in The Lane Report, a periodical focusing on business and economic issues in and around Don’s home state of Kentucky.

The article, “Pike County economy gets $54 million boost each year from pensions,” sheds light on a little talked-about economic reality:

People receiving regular, ongoing cash flows stimulate economies!

Much is written about the benefits of steady income, whether from pension, structured settlement or Social Security payments.  So much so that most of us can extol their benefits in our sleep:

Makes it easier to pay your bills;
Safe, secure cash flows help lower stress;
Steady income creates peace of mind;
“Protects the needy from the greedy” (to quote attorney Joe Jamail);
And so on

But the focus of all the dialog is almost always on the benefits to the recipient of the cash flows.

This article goes a step beyond, quantifying the benefit of guaranteed cash flows to the broader economy.

Big lump sums might be nice.  For a short while.

But when windfalls are spent, what then?

Who benefits when individuals no longer have the means to take care of themselves because they have no cash flow?

Not them.  Not their families,  And not their economy.

Even though people spend about one-third of their lives sleeping, you’d never consider going to sleep in 2013 expecting to wake up twenty-five years later, would you?  (Although this option would have appealed to a number of my college friends)

And for the same reason it’s healthier to eat several small meals during the course of a day than it is to consume all your calories in one sitting, it’s better to have your financial means spread out over time.

All of this speaks to the wisdom of the “slow and steady wins the race” philosophy.

Pensions, structured settlements and retirement annuities.  The Big Three of safety and security.

By the way, this article just emphasizes the benefits of pensions payments to one county in one state.

Imagine what happens if we extrapolate these statistics across the entire country and include structured settlement and annuity payments?

That’s a lot of economic stimulus that doesn’t cost the taxpayer a dime.

So, in a way, it’s not just a pretty good idea to choose a structured settlement instead of a lump sum when anticipating a personal injury settlement.

It’s practically your patriotic duty to do so!

May 15, 2013 – Expect the unexpected.

Sage advice generally but a recent Ameriprise Financial Retirement Derailers Survey finds these words of wisdom to be especially true for those with retirement goals in mind.

This comes on the heels of another study we referenced in yesterday’s blog, “Peace and the New Retirement Realities,” so we’re not surprised to see so much attention to this demographic given the 79 million baby boomers in America just beginning to retire.

The Ameriprise study, though, confirms what most people understand intuitively and what Robert Burns observed in his poem “To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough” way back in 1785:

“The best-laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men/ Gang aft agley”

At least that’s how 18th century Scottish poets cautioned people to expect the unexpected.

Yes, chances are good it will rain on your retirement parade at some point.  But with the right umbrella, you might be able to protect yourself from some of those those unpleasant surprises.

For instance:  Most of the retirement annuities we offer have penalty-free withdrawal provisions which allow those working toward retirement to access some of their funds when unforeseen circumstances arise.

Also, one of the best “planning for the unexpected” opportunities that exists today is for plaintiff attorneys who structure their contingency fees.  By electing to spread their fee (plus pre-tax interest they can earn) over a number of years into the future, they can effectively build a series of “rainy day funds” that will pay lump sums throughout their retirement.

And, of course, everybody should have some form of emergency fund that doesn’t have a magnetic stripe on the back.

So whatever your situation, let us help you get ready for your retirement.  With an emphasis of safety and risk mitigation, we’re committed to helping you achieve your financial freedom.

May 14, 2013 – Art Buchwald once said, “The best things in life aren’t things.”

Baby boomers heading into retirement have taken the late Pulitzer Prize winning columnist’s philosophy to heart according to a new retirement study entitled “Americans’ Perspectives on New Retirement Realities and the Longevity Bonus.”

A recognition that the rules of the retirement game have changed is shaping the behavior of those heading into their Golden Years.

The 2013 Merrill Lynch Retirement Study, conducted in partnership with Age Wave, uncovers some interesting views on baby boomers’ retirement aspirations and expectations.  Among them:

“Peace of mind” is seven times more important than accumulating wealth;
They are expecting to live AND work longer;
They worry about coming up short and being a burden to their families;
Maintaining close ties with family and friends is of paramount importance

None of the findings are earth-shattering or even particularly surprising.  But it does give some insights into what 20% of America thinks about in terms of retirement planning.

Many are taking action.

In fact, baby boomer clients we have know for many, many years through our structured settlement and structured attorney fee practice are making life changes of their own.  And because they value our expertise in the area of long-term financial security, they are seeking our guidance.

And we want to make sure you know we’re here to help.

Maybe you have accumulated assets over a working life and have a 401(k) balance you don’t know what to do with.

Maybe you still have more than a few years of work life left in your tank but want to do a better job planning for your transition to retirement.

Maybe you have a bad case of a rather recent malaise, Great Recession-phobia, and are seeking that peace of mind the Merrill Lynch study uncovered.

Whatever the case, let us help you evaluate your retirement options.  If you have funds ear-marked for retirement, chances are good you will be happier and feel more secure if you convert some of your funds into a tax-advantaged life annuity.

Choosy mothers may choose Jif.  But if safety, security and peace of mind are what you’re packing these days, choose to give us a call to see how we might be able to help.

May 13, 2013 – No sooner does FINRA and the SEC come out with warnings to, for and on behalf of people who might be considering buying and/or selling structured settlements and pensions (see our May 9 blog post) than we read about one state, Massachusetts, looking into practices of nine firms that buy these future cash flows.

InvestmentNews reports today that, among other things, the Commonwealth is looking into whether or not such offerings amount to unregulated securities.

This “Mass(achusetts) probe” comes on the heels of a similar effort in the State of New York where even stronger phrases like “fraud, misrepresentation and violation of usury laws” are being bandied about.

We expect to hear more about efforts like these and will be following this story very closely.

Stay tuned.

May 9, 2013 – You’ve seen the silly commercials.

Your intuition told you there was something wrong, possibly immoral, about a company advertising on TV to buy future income payments from someone in a wheelchair at a very steep discount only to turn around and sell those benefits to others at a hefty profit.

You put these companies in the same category as the guy who steals from his baby’s college fund to buy booze.

You understand and believe in the benefits of structured settlements and for years the practice known as factoring has been a bone of contention with you.

Well, as evidenced by today’s joint News Release issued by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), you are not alone.

The Investor Alert entitled “Pension or Settlement Income Streams – What You Need to Know Before Buying or Selling Them” tells us that you weren’t the only one concerned.

In 2009, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) addressed the National Structured Settlements Trade Association (NSSTA) about concerns he and his Senate colleagues had about some of the practices they were hearing about involving factoring.

Here’s a video excerpt of Sen. Durbin’s comments.

We won’t editorialize too much here because we want you to get right to the text of the alert.  You can form your own opinions on the issue.

But understand that factoring, under current law, is legal.

And even we’d be hard pressed to disagree with those who insist that there are hardship instances when trading one’s guaranteed future security for cash today is beneficial.

Nonetheless, we champion this alert and are glad this is on the radar of these two regulatory organizations.

FINRA and the SEC exist to protect investors and to ensure the fairness of capital markets and they don’t issue these warnings lightly.

So we sincerely hope you’ll take the time to read this Investor Alert before buying or selling any structured settlement or pension benefits.

From our May 6, 2013 Newsletter:

Be sure to read my latest article

“Taxable Damage Structured Settlements:
Solving the unintentional verdict and settlement unfairness problem caused by Prop 30 and ATRA”

appearing in the May, 2013 issue of Advocate:

Click [HERE] to read the article online

For those outside the area who may be unfamiliar with this particular periodical, Advocate is a monthly publication of the Consumer Attorneys Association of Los Angeles, the nation’s largest local association of plaintiffs’ attorneys.

While the topic of structuring taxable settlements, verdicts and attorney fees is nothing new, recent changes to top end tax brackets, particularly in California and other high income tax states, have elevated the importance of this subject to unprecedented levels.

In short: Many taxable cash settlements come with a high cost attached which, for most, can be ameliorated by structuring.

For this reason, we have developed some proprietary analytical tools designed to specifically address the impact of Proposition 30 and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.

We invite you to contact us anytime for a complimentary and confidential demonstration so we can help you make more informed decisions about these taxable matters in advance of settling any of your pending cases.

BONUS: Schedule Your MCLE Session TODAY

As a service to the California legal community, we even created a seminar based on this timely topic which has been submitted for Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) credit. If your law firm, bar association or other attorney group wants to learn more more, please let us know how we can help.

I hope you enjoy the article and find it helpful in your practice.

Thank you for the opportunity to be of service and best wishes for continued success!