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.

You’ve spent a career laser focused on advocating for your clients.  You’ve tried cases.  You’ve negotiated settlements.  But now you’re thinking it may be time to “hang up the laces,” hand the reigns over to someone else and head for the barn.

Mixed metaphors aside, are you ready for this transition?

Risk is inherent in the life of any successful plaintiff attorney.  It’s what you’ve lived for.  And let’s face it.  If it was easy, anyone could do it.  Many don’t have the stomach for the uncertainty.   The competition.  You do.

Ironically, it is precisely this comfort with risk taking that leaves many plaintiff attorneys in a precarious position when they decide to retire.

Personal retirement savings accounts invested in funds promising growth potential may have been wise right out of law school.  But when retirement beckons, future happiness requires a philosophical shift in risk tolerance.  Your willingness to take risk, so attractive during your years as a practicing attorney, can obliterate your life savings if a shift away from risk is not considered.

The solution, according to an abundance of recent research, may be just an annuity away.

What is an Annuity?

Perhaps you’ve structured your attorney fees throughout your career.  If so, congratulations!  You understand the value of fixed annuities and have a jump start on the concept.  You’re a few steps ahead of the game.

But if you’re among the 70% of Americans who have no idea what an annuity is, you owe it to your future to watch the short video, What is an Annuity? from the Insurance Information Institute.

Fixed annuities can offer plaintiff attorneys the security they could never count on when complete strangers were deciding their client’s fate.

So, go ahead.  Direct your own verdict!  Look into getting yourself a fixed annuity.

Although it’s impossible to know who first ventured into culinary lore by slicing a loaf of bread instead of pulling it apart, historians pretty much agree that it wasn’t until July 7, 1928 when commercially produced, pre-sliced bread was first sold to the public from a bakery in Chillicothe, Missouri.

So when former justice Jerry Carr Whitehead, a native of the Show-Me State, recently compared structured settlements to sliced bread, it’s fair to assume he just might be in a better position than most to speak with some authority on the subject.

Justice Whitehead, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Nevada Trial Lawyers Association, recently addressed the National Structured Settlements Trade Association in Las Vegas where he made the comparison.

In addition to recounting his first exposure to structured settlements, he also explained that his belief in structures was so complete that he eventually began structuring his attorney fees which allowed him to transition his law practice into a second career that included a judicial appointment and a successful mediation practice he operates from his office in Reno.

Listen to what he has to say by clicking the video entitled The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread on our website. He gives a very good primer on structured settlements and explains why he began to structure “every case that [he] could.”

I hope you enjoy this video and any of the others we regularly post on our site. And while I’m probably not much help in coaching you on the finer points of slicing bread, I’m positive I can help you with your structured settlement needs.  Please call anytime I can help.

Much is being written about the worldwide recall of ASR hip implants manufactured by DePuy Companies, a division of Johnson & Johnson.

According to attorneys at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger, who filed the first DePuy ASR products liability lawsuit in the country, the manufacturers knew of the defect long before it recalled the device in August of 2010.

It’s little surprise that the attorneys at Walkup, Melodia, a firm widely respected for its many successful verdicts and well known for attracting top flight legal talent, were the first ones to bring the extent of this defect to the public’s attention.

In addition to the fact that many plaintiffs involved in the DePuy ASR hip recall lawsuits around the country will benefit from structured settlements, I have a very personal reason for following these cases so closely.

In May of 2010 I underwent bilateral total hip replacement surgery myself.

While I’m relieved to know my surgeon did NOT use the DePuy ASR hip implant device (recalled just three months later) for my surgery, I cannot help thinking how close I may have come to being a plaintiff myself.  Or may be some day.

Over the coming months I will be sharing more with you more about my personal experience with hip surgery.  Until then, know that we will be monitoring developments of this litigation closely.

Ernst & Young Analysis:  “Longevity Risk” Increasing

Finn Financial Group’s October, 2009 newsletter, Live Longer – Buy Annuities, featured research from a smattering of sources emphasizing the value and importance of annuities to one’s overall financial health.

As part of our commitment to helping clients achieve lifetime financial stability, we wanted to pass along some additional information to help you plan for your future and the futures of those whose lives you touch.

Americans for Secure Retirement asked Ernst & Young LLP to analyze the retirement vulnerability – the chance of outliving one’s financial assets – of Middle-Income Americans. First published in July of 2008, Retirement vulnerability of new retirees: The likelihood of outliving their assets, was last updated in 2009.

The study’s findings are consistent with others that emphasize the meaningful role annuities can play in addressing one of the greatest financial risks Americans face: Living too long!

Without additional guaranteed lifetime income streams,
such as income provided by an annuity,
middle-income Americans are at high risk of outliving
their financial assets and living their final years in poverty.

Ernst & Young LLP
for Americans for Secure Retirement

As you read, understand the “Middle-Income” net is a wide one that catches most of our readers – even those with substantial net worth – who can all benefit from having more “longevity insurance.”

To determine the Retirement Readiness for your state and to learn more about the retirement crisis, visit Americans for Secure Retirement. Also, the Finn Financial Group Facebook Page regularly features other helpful articles and links on this subject and MORE so be sure to check back there often.

While this edition of our newsletter focuses on retirement planning, we would be remiss if we failed to point out that those anticipating personal injury settlements have perhaps even greater cause for concern and would do well to educate themselves on the longevity risk all of us face as we age.

So call on us! We’re here to help. Whether you’re looking for structured settlements, structured attorney fees, Structured Sales, 401(k) and Pension Rollovers or simply want to purchase an annuity with savings, we can help you make the decision that’s right for YOU!

With the birth of every new lottery “Mega-Millionaire,” stories warning about the perils of sudden money begin to re-circulate.  Last week’s headline that two more people joined the Mega-Millions fraternity saw a resurgence of such stories.

The moral of the stories all have a familiar ring:  Money doesn’t always buy happiness.  Or, it turns out, stability either!

Last Friday, CNNHealth featured Winning the lottery: Does it guarantee happiness?, an article which highlights the fact that not all sudden money brings the happiness and good fortune people expect.

For 20 years, I have witnessed people facing the prospects of sudden money from a personal injury settlement go through emotions, and challenges, similar to those described in the article.  Although not exactly the same, parallels can definitely be drawn.

Despite their distinct differences, those anticipating injury settlement proceeds may wish to heed some scholarly research about lotto winners that suggests people who choose to have money paid out over time are HAPPIER than those who take it all at once.  An excerpt from the CNN article reads:

” . . . Harvard economist Guido Imbens found that lottery winners who received annual payouts . . . were happier on average . . .”

An infinite number of reasons exist as to why those anticipating personal injury settlements, or lottery winnings for that matter, might opt to take their settlement in cash.  But many times, a properly crafted structured settlement is the best choice for those seeking to put their lives back together following the settlement.  As a needs-based solution to a difficult situation, structured settlements are an ideal choice.  Adding happiness to the mix is a pretty nice bonus.

So be happier!  Take the annuity.  Choose the structured settlement if your situation permits it.

“With a friend at hand you will see the light
If your friends are there then everything’s all right”

                                            – Elton John, Bernie Taupin –

Way back in the dark ages of communication, prior to 2004, people kept in touch in all sorts of ways that seem almost quaint by today’s standards.

They wrote letters, made phone calls, even sent emails.

But as you might have noticed, much of what we grew up thinking we knew about keeping in touch has changed. In case you have been in a cave these past few years, much of the change has been driven by this little guy:

In 2004, Facebook was launched. To say it has changed the way people keep in touch is more than a slight understatement. As the automobile did to the horse and buggy before it, iPhones, texting and social media seem poised to replace many of the more traditional ways of keeping in touch.

And for a traditional guy like me who once said of the Internet, “This thing’s a joke! It’ll never work,” I’ve decided to not take the same chance with this particular technological advance.

Thus, I’m writing to make sure I let you know about our newest method of keeping our clients informed. Not surprisingly, it’s called:

The Finn Financial Group Facebook Page

While we will still maintain our current e-newsletter to keep you abreast of topics of interest in your personal and professional lives, you will find our Facebook posts to be more succinct, yet more wide ranging, enabling you to focus easily on those topics of particular interest to you.

So please take a moment to visit our Facebook page and, to ensure you receive the regular updates, let us know you “Like” us by clicking the “Like” button on our firm’s home page. And please let us know if you have a page also that we may reciprocate!

I hope you like our Facebook page as much as we like providing you with valuable content you’ll find interesting and helpful. I look forward to your feedback since we exist only to serve our customers.

“Make Your Money Last a Lifetime.”

That’s the title of a December 1, 2010 article by personal finance expert Jane Bryant Quinn in her most recent AARP Bulletin column “Financially Speaking.”

On a personal and professional level, I’m always drawn to articles about retirement planning in hopes of gleaning some new nugget of wisdom I can use for myself and our clients. But, frankly, I’m usually disappointed.

After all, how many times do we need to read about the basics of saving more, spending less, diversifying investments and cutting up credit cards? If it was only that easy, right?

But the last few paragraphs of this particular article caught my eye because the author describes the Income Floor Strategy as one of three popular methods of creating a lifelong stream of income.

According to Ms. Quinn, the Income Floor Strategy allows you to:

” . . . provide for your basic income needs by buying an annuity with lifetime payments that start at the date you expect to retire.”

She goes on to identify a 2010 study by Gallant Distribution Consulting Research which:

” . . . found that more than half of financial planners now prefer the bucket (another method she describes in the article) or income approach.”

Since I was unable to turn up a copy of the study she referenced after a cursory search of the Internet I cannot speak to any methodology used or even its authenticity; however, this conclusion tracks with a number of other studies we’ve written about in the past.

NOTE: For further reading, you may also like some of our archived newsletter posts:

• Live Longer . . . Buy Annuities
• Too Old for Financial Security?
• Annuities Are The New Black

One thing that cannot be denied: People crave financial security!

Our firm was founded with a commitment to helping people achieve long-term financial stability in their lives. We’re proud that the structured settlements and related specialty annuity products and services we offer have played a vital role in helping translate that goal into a reality for many.

Please call anytime we can help YOU secure YOUR future! Wishing you the happiest of holidays and best wishes for a prosperous year ahead.

IRS Confirms: Wrongfully Imprisoned Exonerees Can Receive Tax-Free Structured Settlements

Affirming what’s generally been accepted as true for many wrongfully convicted individuals upon earning their freedom, the Internal Revenue Service published a Written Determination this past Friday (Number: 201045023) that removes any ambiguity surrounding the tax-treatment of compensation exonerees receive on account of personal, physical injuries suffered while incarcerated.

Click HERE to view IRS Memorandum 201045023

In its analysis, the Service noted:

“Compensatory damages for physical injuries and physical sickness (including damages received for economic losses flowing from the physical injury or physical sickness) that an individual receives from a state for wrongful conviction and incarceration are excluded from gross income under § 104(a)(2).”

Punitive damages and interest, however, are NOT excluded from gross income and are thus taxable. This position is consistent with the most recent history of this particular section of the tax code.

According to the Innocence Project, there have been 261 post-conviction DNA exonerations in the United States. And that number is expected to grow.

I have personally had the honor of helping secure, via structured settlements, the financial futures of several men who spent more than a decade in prison for crimes they did not commit. This welcome memorandum from the IRS helps advance the cause of justice by ensuring the system will not mistreat these victims a second time.

For additional information on the topic of wrongful convictions, please visit the websites of these innocence-based organizations we proudly support:

The Innocence Institute of Point Park University
Pittsburgh, PA
Bill Moushey, Director

Innocence Matters
Torrance, CA
Deirdre O’Connor, Executive Director

The Finn Financial Group remains committed to helping those who have been wrongfully imprisoned. We welcome the opportunity to partner with attorneys who are working to achieve justice for those affected. Please call anytime we can help you help them.

For more than 20 years, Kathryn Arnold has been involved in the entertainment industry. Her professional experience has run the gamut from production and development to financing and fund-raising on everything from major motion pictures and television to the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee. Several productions she’s been involved with have gone on to win awards at respected Film Festivals around the globe.

“EBA,” she jokes referring to her wide-ranging experience. “Everything but acting!”

With such an in-depth understanding of the interworkings of Hollywood, it was only a matter of time of time before she became sought out as an expert witness and consultant for entertainment-related litigation and similar matters.

Kathryn provides litigation support and expert witness testimony on a host of relevant subjects in the entertainment world. She counts a number of high profile entertainment law firms as her clients.

But until recently, she had never heard about structured settlements. As one who now routinely helps clients quantify economic damages, she immediately saw the advantages. Kathryn and I recently chatted about structured settlements and she couldn’t agree more that the entertainment community has not yet embraced the concept nearly as much as it could. Or should.

“The entertainment field is a highly volatile industry filled with boom and bust stories. And the stakes can be quite high. One year, you’re hot and make a decent living. The next year, and possibly for the rest of your life, you’re just trying to get by,” she explains about the grim realities of Hollywood for many. “Structured settlements can help even things out for a settling plaintiff.”

Here’s a link to her recent article she wrote on her website that introduces the concept of structured settlement to her followers:

Click HERE to read theentertainmentexpert.com’s blog.

At the Finn Financial Group, we welcome any inquiries you have on cases involving entertainment-related disputes. Whether it’s a copyright infringement case, wrongful termination or similar tort, structured settlements can likely help!

Little Known Trivia: While Kathryn Arnold may never be able to lay claim to any acting experience, such cannot be said of yours truly. In a former life, I worked as an amateur and professional actor for stage, screen, print and film. With over 25 stage productions to my credit and very brief stints on popular soap operas including “The Young and The Restless,” (don’t blink or you’d have missed me!), the acting bug has long passed. The experience does, however, give me some insight into “the bizz” which I can apply when helping entertainment professionals make sound choices about their settlement options.