June 25, 2011 – In the Health section of today’s edition of the New York Times, columnist Barry Meier points out that Americans’ “impulse to covet the new and improved” may be at the root of the DePuy Hip Recall.  (“In Medicine, New Isn’t Always Improved”)

While stopping far short of blaming the patients themselves for problems caused by DePuy metal-on-metal artificial hips, the article examines how medical improvements can be marketed as a panacea when data suggest their application should be limited to a certain class of patients.

Further, in this rush to have the “latest and greatest” technology, earlier studies questioning the effectiveness, and pointing out risks, are often ignored.

Readers will likely be shocked to learn that the Food and Drug Administration did NOT require clinical trials for most metal-on-metal hip implant devices.  The DePuy hip recall, however, has prompted changes within the FDA on this and other issues.

The surgeon I chose to perform my bilateral hip replacement surgery in 2010, Dr. Lawrence Dorr, is credited in the article for first calling public attention to the problem when some of his patients began to complain and required replacement operations.

Since the DePuy Hip Recall was initiated about nine months before my surgery in 2010, I feel fortunate at this point to have dodged a major catastrophic bullet in my own life.

The DePuy ASR Hip Recall continues to be a very serious matter in which our firm has a very personal interest.  We will persist in monitoring developments in this matter closely.

Just a brief alert to make sure everyone sets their DVRs to HBO this coming Monday, June 27 for the premiere of:

Hot Coffee is the award winning, critically acclaimed documentary that tells the inside story of Stella Liebeck, the woman who unfairly became a national symbol of legal system frivolity when she was awarded $2.9 million stemming from a lawsuit against McDonald’s for injuries she sustained when scalding coffee spilled in her lap.

Few realize that all but $130,000 of Ms. Liebeck’s award was for punitive damages and can’t comprehend the rationale behind such a verdict.  This film helps put this topic, plus so much more, in perspective for the viewer.

A selection of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and other prestigious venues, Hot Coffee tells the stories, from the perspective many have never considered, of four ordinary Americans “fighting for justice in a system stacked against them.”

Please drop me a line after watching this film to let me know what you think.  I’ll be curious to know if it changes anyone’s opinion about our justice system and the need for tort reform.

A Career of Endorsing Structured Settlements

“For the almost 40 years I’ve been practicing,
structured settlements have played an integral role
in the positive outcome of many cases I have settled.”
– William T. “Bill” Robinson III, Esq. –

Last month, members of the National Structured Settlements Trade Association were treated to a keynote address from the incoming president of the American Bar Association, William T. “Bill” Robinson III at its annual meeting in La Jolla, California.

Mr. Robinson has been included among the “Best Lawyers in America” every year since 1997 and is a founding board member of the Appellate Judges Education Institute.

During his lunchtime speech, Mr. Robinson expressed his strong support for structured settlements as a negotiation tool and as a benefit that adds “real and lasting value” for plaintiffs.

He went on to share the story of a client he represented that settled a medical negligence case via a structured settlement. His client, a young woman who was dying of cancer as a result of the misreading of a tissue slide, settled with a structure designed to provide for her two young sons after her passing. “She settled with peace of mind. She died satisfied she had done the best for her boys.”

Mr. Robinson also praised the professionalism of the structured settlement industry and extolled the value of interjecting the topic early in the settlement process.

In addition to his strong support for structured settlements, he also explained the problems confronting our justice system as a result of, among other things, the delays in the judicial appointment process.

The legal community is privileged to have a leader of Bill Robinson’s experience and passion serving as the ABA’s next president. The structured settlement industry is proud to know this esteemed body has chosen such a strong advocate of structured settlements to lead it.

Best wishes for continued Struccess!

Seems people have a penchant for going “Back to the Future.”

“Old” ideas get a fresh coat of paint and are recycled for the next generation who embrace them as their own.

Just think of all the successful TV shows that focus on a particular historical period in time but are produced a decade or more after the actual era:

• The Roy Rogers Show
• The Untouchables
• Happy Days
• That 70’s Show
• Mad Men

Whether drawn by nostalgia or simply a re-evaluation of something that once was taken for granted, our gravitation toward these and similar shows teaches us much about our values.

Not unlike the the young worker in post-Great Recession America when it comes to retirement security as it turns out.

According to Charles Wallace, writing for Daily Finance in his article “Why Young Workers Want a Good Old-Fashioned Pension,” a recent Towers Watson survey revealed that young workers value certainty more than was previously believed.

” . . . the percentage of young workers who cited their pension
plan as a reason for staying with their current employer
jumped from 28% two years ago to 43% now.”

Charles Wallace,
Daily Finance

Pensions, once a staple in corporate America that lured so many young people to a particular employer were shunned in recent years as employees sought self-directed riches in the pension-replacement retirement vehicle, the 401(k), which came to dominate the employer retirement landscape.

But the statistics on defined contribution plans like 401(k)s reveal that they have been an overall poor substitute for pensions. The average 401(k) balance is only about $60,000 according to the Center for Economic Policy and Research.

In addition, according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), the share of employees in a traditional defined benefit pension plan has fallen from 62% in 1979 to just 7% in 2009.

The Towers Watson survey suggests this trend may have bottomed out and may soon be on the rise again.

The world seems to have become far less certain these past few years. It’s little wonder then that people are again longing for some good old-fashioned security.

Speaking of which, we can help!

In addition to our core business of providing structured settlement products and services to a broad spectrum of clients across the country, our firm regularly assists clients looking for other types of highly secure, guaranteed cash flows. We can help you with:

• 401(k) and IRA conversions to annuities:
• “Pensionizing” your nest egg;
• Structuring Attorney Fees;
• Structuring Sales of Appreciated Assets;
• Structuring Realtor and Business Broker Commissions;
• Annuitizing Savings;
• Structuring Celebrity Endorsements

For additional information on all we offer relative to retirement security beyond structured settlements, please check out some of our archived blogs and newsletters on these topics.

Wishing you continued success, thank you for the opportunity to be of service. Please call anytime we can help.

The same tax deferral benefit enjoyed by contingency fee lawyers for years is now available for another group of professionals often looking for a sensible tax break:  Business Brokers and Real Estate Agents.

This is terrific news for any realtor or business broker who has always sought a way to safely and conveniently defer taxes on commissions they earn for implementing deals for their clients.  The benefits to this method of planning are many:

• Deferring income taxes allows this group of professionals to balance out the highs and lows of a very cyclical business;
• Sums deferred earn pre-tax interest offering the same advantage as 401(k) and similar plans;
• Participants can arrange their income needs around marginal tax brackets to keep more of what they earn;
• Brokers can potentially avoid or reduce their Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) bite;
• Those with long-range financial goals can secure their futures by arranging supplemental, tax-advantaged cash flows in their retirement years guaranteed by a highly rated life insurance company.

Typically, when a realtor or business broker facilitates a sale, they are paid a commission based on a percentage of the sales price of the business or property.  Commission is paid in the year of the sale at closing and the agent or broker promptly (and presumably begrudgingly) estimates the amount of this sum they need to set aside for Uncle Sam.

But now, thanks to a major life insurance company, successful agents and brokers can now arrange to more effectively manage their commissions.

Allstate Life, rated A+ by A. M. Best, announced today that they are rolling out this attractive option as an enhancement to the Structured Sale offering made available through a limited distribution channel several years back.  Through an arrangement with Allstate International Assignments, Ltd. which currently handles their Structured Sales offering, those who qualify can take advantage of this unique opportunity.

When compared to earning commissions, paying taxes and investing the remainder, some professionals estimate they would need to earn a rate of return well in excess of the historical stock market average just to equal what the Structured Commission pays (depending on assumptions made about future tax brackets).  The difference here, of course, is the lack of stock market risk since guaranteed payouts are considered “risk-free” in financial planning parlance.

CAVEAT:  Key to implementation is the phrase “those who qualify.”  The Business Broker or Realtor must be considered a “Service Provider” pursuant to Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code.

But there’s more. 

Certain paperwork must be prepared by someone representing the life company (as of now, just Allstate) who has been authorized to implement these special-purpose transactions.  Because of the unique nature of this particular offering, the distribution channel has historically been limited to those familiar with the special paperwork and sequence of events which must be strictly adhered to in order for the matter to be properly consummated.  Do NOT assume your neighborhood insurance agent will be familiar with this.

So for now, since this particular missive has run longer than intended, suffice it to say “We Can Help!”  The Finn Financial Group is proud to be among a select group of firms in the United States chosen to help effectuate Structured Sales and the accompanying broker and agent commission deferral.  Call for an analysis or for additional information BEFORE the transaction is complete.  Because timing is everything, it’s critical the terms of the deferred commission be chosen before the sales agreement is finalize and the deal concluded.

The once trusted and highly respected Johnson & Johnson name has taken some major image hits in the last 15 months according to a recent article.  During this time, the $60 Billion company has voluntarily recalled over 50 products.

In its cover story, Johnson & Johnson’s Quality Catastrophe, Bloomberg/ Businessweek highlights a number of the products involved and suggests a systematic and widespread quality control problem of late.

Among the products recalled, the DePuy ASR metal-on-metal prosthetic hips are arguably the most troubling for the company and potentially the hardest to defend.  Michael Kelly, a partner at San Francisco’s Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger which represents a number of plaintiffs currently pursuing litigation over the defective hips, says that’s because marketing took priority over science.  Among other things, it is alleged that the manufacturer was aware of the defective nature of these particular products yet failed to address the problem.

Even Academia is re-thinking its curricula when it comes to J&J.  Our company’s Finn Financial Group Facebook Page  recently highlighted a video featuring University of Michigan professor Erik Gordon discussing the brand damage J&J is suffering in large part due to its handling of the DePuy situation specifically.  He suggests the ramifications will likely be felt (and studied) for years to come.

If you or anyone you know is experiencing problems with a DePuy ASR hip replacement, call us to let us know how we may be of service.

As March Madness heads into its final rounds, it seems an appropriate time to share with clients the good news that NCAA cagers aren’t the only ones rebounding.

According to A. M. Best, the life/health industry continues to recover from the financial crisis as evidenced by the improvement of key economic indicators.  Among the highlights:

• Total admitted assets improved 7.1% to $5.3 trillion;
• After tax net operating gain was $42.2 billion;
• Capital and surplus increased 8.7% to $338.4 billion;
• Net Premium Written (NPW) increased 14.5% to $543.5 billion;
  • This reflects the first time annual NPW has increased since 2008

The life insurance companies currently offering structured settlement and fixed annuity products continue to represent the creme de la creme of the life/health industry.  Highly capitalized with sound investment philosophies and long  histories of making payments on time, there’s no safer choice for your settlement proceeds or 401(k) rollovers.

Among the many positive reasons parents, courts and plaintiff attorneys choose structured settlements when settling a minor’s injury claim, one of the most overlooked is the fact that it can shield the minor’s recovery from the dreaded Kiddie Tax.

Faster than a child can grow from cradle to car keys, the Kiddie Tax can sneak up on those unprepared for it.  An article by “TaxMama” Eva Rosenberg appeared in today’s MarketWatch which highlights how problematic this tax can be.  (“Kiddie tax laws could cost you at tax time”)

Originally designed to target a small number of taxpayers who were circumventing tax laws by shifting assets into their children’s names, Kiddie Tax can be the bane of an otherwise meaningful personal injury settlement if not considered prior to finalizing the recovery.

When settling personal injury claims, this tax can easily be minimized or eliminated altogether if a properly designed structured settlement is crafted prior to securing court approval for the settlement.  Structured settlement proceeds, which flow to the recipient 100% income tax-free if the result of a personal, physical injury, can be tailored to meet specific, anticipated future needs.  And to avoid saddling the minor with an unnecessary tax burden.

A structured settlement is not always the best option for a minor settling an injury settlement.  But anyone who goes to court without first considering the impact of ALL taxes, in addition to rate of return and security, could unintentionally cost the minor money.

Best advice?  Have a minor’s settlement properly evaluated by an expert specializing in structured settlements prior to concluding the file.  I welcome the opportunity to assist.  Call anytime I can help.

As reported today on Bloomberg.com, the British Orthopaedic Association and the British Hip Society issued a statement that the failure rate of the DePuy ASR XL Acetabular System is more than twice what was originally represented when the device was recalled in 2010.

According to the article, nearly half of all patients who received the recalled device require a second surgery within six years.  The article goes on to reference the 350+ lawsuits recently consolidated in federal court in Ohio and the 220+ currently pending in California state court.

My personal interest in the matter stems from my own hip surgery in 2010.  Our firm stands ready to help those who have been adversely affected by the DePuy ASR Hip Recall in any way we can.  If you are anticipating a settlement, we can help you make wise choices about your settlement.  If you are unrepresented and seeking legal counsel, we can guide you.  Whatever your needs on this matter, we’re here to help.

And Why This Matters to Me

Then, just a few months out of the operating room, I learned of a worldwide recall of certain hip implant devices that were defective.  The DePuy ASR Hip Recall dispute now extends to all corners of the globe.

I’ve helped falsely convicted former prisoners establish their own path to financial independence following their exoneration into a world they were not fully prepared for.

I’ve helped paraplegics, quadriplegics, burn and brain injury patients, sex abuse victims and many other classes of plaintiffs and their conservators make sound financial choices when it came time for them to make decisions regarding their injury settlement recovery. 

But until recently, despite my best efforts to empathize with them, I could never fully appreciate everything my clients had gone through.  Could never fully appreciate the price they paid for their injury settlement because I had never gone through the same thing they had.

That is, until now.

I hope you’ll take a few moments to visit my new site and watch the short video I’ve created for current and prospective clients.  If you know anyone who has been impacted by this unfortunate set of circumstances, please let me know how I can help them.  I’m committed to helping.