by John Darer® CLU ChFC MSSC CeFT RSP CLTC
Structured settlements are not for thrill seekers
Jonathan P. Groth is a personal injury lawyer in Milwaukee Wisconsin, practicing civil litigation and author of the Wisconsin Personal Injury Law Blog. The title of Groth’s July 15, 2008 post Structured Settlements-not exciting but very important is worth highlighting. Structured settlements are definitely not as exciting as stocks, call option, put options or mutual funds or lotto, although innovations over the last 17 years offer more options to suit more tastes and with tax advantages.
Admittedly, for thrill seekers, structured settlements pale in comparison to luging down a financial volcano, desperately trying to keep your money from erupting into chaos.
If you’re seeking safety, security and guarantees, assurance of income that you can’t outlive and income tax free, THEN structured settlements are sexy
Jonathan P. Groth and other personal injury lawyers are encouraged to continue to write about structured settlements. Yet a couple of points from Groth’s post need to be cleaned up:
- The terms of the structured settlement must be written into the settlement agreement. There must be an obligation to pay periodic payments created in the settlement agreement.
- The Assignor of the obligation to make structured settlement payments may be (1) the Defendant (2) The Defendant’s insurer (3) the trustee/administrator of a IRC 468B Qualified Settlement Fund
- While most structured settlements involve qualified assignments, where the periodic payment obligation is NOT assigned the structured settlement annuity may be purchased and owned by the Defendant, or its insurer. In that case the Defendant or insurer may be the customer if that is who you are advising.
- In the contemporary world of structured settlements there are multiple stakeholders represented by multiple consultants. Arguably if you are counseling a plaintiff on financial strategies concerning an insurance product or other financial product you are responsible to that customer.
Fast Forward
- Types of Structured Settlement Payments | Structured Settlement Payment Options
- Market Based Structured Settlements | How They Work
Last updated December 4, 2025
Leave a Reply