Structured Settlements 4Real®Blog 2026

Structured settlements expert John Darer reviews the latest structured settlements and settlement planning information and news, and provides expert opinion and highly regarded commentary. that is spicy, Informative, irreverent and effective for over 20 years.

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The STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS 4REAL® Blog is a highly regarded source for structured settlement news, information, and commentary, led by structured settlement and settlement planning subect mater expert John Darer CLU ChFC MSSC CeFT RSP CLTC. With two decades of operation, the blog and 4structures.com are recognized as comprehensive resources, offering detailed guides and specialized insights. Established in 2005, the blog caters to a broad audience, including legal professionals, injured individuals, families, and various stakeholders, providing reviews and opinions on settlement planning. John Darer, President of 4structures.com LLC, is a seasoned structured settlement expert with over 40 years of financial services experience and 31 years specializing in structured settlements. Based in Stamford, CT, he is a Certified Financial Transitionist and Registered Settlement Planner, holding insurance licenses in 45 states and the District of Columbia. John Darer is dedicated to transparency and advocacy, he emphasizes the importance of engaging trained and licensed professionals for settlement planning, offering valuable insights through his investigative journalism and professional commentary.

Chicago Writer Out of “The Loop” In Business.Com “Guide To Structured Settlements”

61343by Structured Settlement Watchdog

Chicago SEO hack Matt Alderton states one reason that structured settlements can benefit plaintiffs and defendants in injury cases:

"If you're injured, having a claim paid to you in periodic payments via a structured settlement, rather than in one large lump sum, saves you from paying taxes on your settlement and can help it last a lifetime".

The True Facts:

A lump sum payment of damages for workers compensation, physical injury or physical sickness that meets the requirements of IRC 104(a) is income tax free. Interest and/or capital gains on that lump sum investment may be taxable. A structured settlement provides income tax free payments of damages that qualify under IRC 104(a). If an annuitant dies and the present value of the annuitant's estate (including, among other things, any unreceived certain structured settlement payments or guaranteed lump sums) exceeds the estate tax exemptions estate taxes are due.

Matt Alderton belly flops Pooldive_555 in his recommendation to hire a structured settlement specialist "who will advise your attorney on making the settlement". His top recommendation is to work with the Structured Settlement Alliance, alter ego of "cash now pusher" JG Wentworth. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

The coup de grace is that this appears in a Business.com segment on workers compensation, an area of structured settlements that is difficult if not impossible to factor.

What part of "do the research BEFORE you write" do these SEO types not understand?

SEO= search engine optimization

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2 responses to “Chicago Writer Out of “The Loop” In Business.Com “Guide To Structured Settlements””

  1. Matt Alderton Avatar
    Matt Alderton

    I appreciate your feedback on my piece, John, although I think your tone is unnecessary. As my Business.com bio makes clear, I’m a writer, not a lawyer. And certainly not a structured settlement broker like yourself. For that reason, I very much welcome industry experts like yourself into the conversation.
    I can’t claim that the resources I compiled several years ago, when I wrote the article, are the best or most current resources, or that my secondary research on this piece can compare with your firsthand industry experience. I can only hope that the article gives some very basic information to folks who need it, and that people like yourself will pick up where I left off to guide folks in the right direction.
    Because it’s clear you have valuable insights to share, I therefore hope that you’ll focus less on negatively critiquing reporters and more on positively sharing alternative resources and best practices.

    Reply
  2. structuredsettlements Avatar
    structuredsettlements

    Matt, thank you for your comments. I make no apologies for the tone of the post. The high key word value of structured settlements and related key words has meant a deluge of misinformation for oonsumers that your post fell into. Misinformation leads to bad financial decisions by people who cannot afford to make bad financial decisions. I encourage you and others who choose to write about structured settlements, settlement planning or any other topics in our space to do a thorough amount of research before posting or prepare to get bit by the structured settlement watch dog.

    Reply

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