Details are important when it comes to structured settlements. So is timing. Counting down, here is the top 10 list of things to remember when creating a structure – for your client or for your legal fees.
It's time to welcome incoming 2016 CAALA officers and congratulate the annual CAALA award recipients. All will be honored during CAALA’s 67th Annual Installation and Awards Dinner Dance on January 16.
Some injured parties may be hesitant to agree to a long-term structured settlement because of the current relatively low yields of the structure’s underlying investments. They may worry that by locking in yields of around 2.63 percent for 10, 20, 30 years or longer, they will not be able to take advantage of higher interest rates in the future.
Bloomberg.com recently told of the plight of Alicia Munnell, a Harvard Ph.D., former member of the president’s Council of Economic Advisors and two-decade veteran of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Munnell, now age 72, made a series of poor financial decisions that has her wondering if she’ll have enough money to live on when she eventually retires. A recent article on Bloomberg.com recently told of the plight of Alicia Munnell, a Harvard Ph.D., former member of the president’s Council of Economic Advisors and two-decade veteran of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Munnell, now age 72, made a series of poor financial decisions that has her wondering if she’ll have enough money to live on when she eventually retires. Her biggest mistake was to pull from her retirement savings to pay for things she wanted now.
A recent article in the Washington Post discussed the plight of children poisoned by lead paint found in abundance in the poorer neighborhoods of Baltimore. One of those children was Freddie Gray, the young man who died while in police custody. Children would absorb lead by eating paint chips or breathing paint dust in their
A recent Time magazine article (“Inside the Next Social Security Crisis,” August 3, 2015) noted that many older women are finding that their Social Security benefits are not enough to make ends meet.
A litigation practice, where most income is derived from contingency fees, is not for the faint of heart, particularly for solo and small law firms. While the eventual payout can be substantial, a firm can experience long periods where little or no income is generated. This can doom a small firm or solo practice without adequate reserves.
Counting down, here is the top 10 list of things to remember when creating a structure.
Structured settlements as we know them today came about in 1982 when the U.S. Congress passed The Periodic Payment Settlement Act of 1982 (Public Law 97-473). The act enables injury victims to obtain customized structured cash payments plans through insurance annuities that assure them guaranteed, tax-free income over time.
Special Needs Trusts (SNTs) are an excellent way to hold the assets of injured parties while preserving their needs-based public benefits such as MediCal (Medicaid) and SSI. Certain rules apply when using any type of SNT, whether individual or pooled.
