Structured Settlements 4Real®Blog 2026

by John Darer CLU ChFC MSSC CeFT RSP CLTC   Updated November 15, 2025

Structured settlements are a crucial settlement planning option for parties under going life and financial transitions.

New York Surrogate’s Court Delays May Hurt the People it is Designed to Protect

What can New York Surrogate’s Courts in Bronx, Kings, Queens, New York, Richmond (Staten Island) Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester New York counties to mitigate the possibity of hurting the very people that the Surrogate’s Court is supposed to protect when the plaintiffs need or want structured settlements and encounter frequent and/or extended time delays, despite best efforts.

What is Role of The Surrogate’s Court in New York?

The honorable judges that serve on the Surrogate’s Court handle all probate and estate proceedings in the State of New York. All wills are probated in this court and all estates of people who die intestate (i.e. without a will) are handled in this court. Unclaimed property of the deceased without wills is handled by the Surrogate.

In the current system each New York county (62 of them!) has one surrogate judge. New York and Kings County have 2 each. Surrogate judges are elected by county vote for 10-year terms, except for the five boroughs of New York City where Surrogate judges are elected for 14-year terms. In some rural counties, surrogate judge duties are handled by the county court judge. Source: Wikipedia

Drilling Down on New York Surrogate’s Court Struggles

• Intolerable delays of six months to one year are not uncommon.
• Delays were exacerbated by the backlog created by the Covid-19 Pandemic
• Long delays wreak havoc for plaintiffs who want or need structured settlements and a Defendant or Insurer will not pre-fund a structure before Court approval is obtained
• A system already prone to delays is exacerbated if the Surrogate judge appoints a guardian ad litem, and/or there is a Public Administrator without critical knowledge or experience in dealing with critical structured settlements and other settlement planning issues. Particularly concerning are matters in which there are minor claimants involved, with or without special needs. or adult survivors, with or without special needs who could benefit from future periodc paymenst.
• Sometimes a guardian ad litem doesn’t realize how crucial timing is for their ward. In one case, we learned about a guardian assigned in November 2010 who didn’t meet with the ward until four months later and didn’t file a report until seven months later. The case was still pending at the time of the original posting! Luckily, the structure was pre-funded. Without that, the minors would have ended up with much less, as interest rates had dropped in the meantime since the pre-funding date.
• We had other pre-pandemic settlement matters still pending after five years. Fortunately, the structured settlements were pre-funded; otherwise, the survivors would not have been able to lock in rates for such a prolonged and uncertain period.
• Then you have variables such as a combination that includes the Surrogate and a paying party whose insurer is in rehabilitation and subject to the New York Liquidation Bureau. The New York Liquidation Bureau procedure could add another 6-9 months from the “all documents in” date.

Discussion Points

• By the time a petition makes it to the Surrogate’s office, considerable discussions have been had among representatives of parties in litigation and likely between plaintiffs and their financial advisors concerning actual needs and overall financial matters. If a structured settlement is part of the mix then details and rationale for the structure and its design should be included or attached to the moving papers. If a Surrogate judge, or the judge’s clerk is reviewing the method of distribution he or she will need actual numbers NOT speculation. That’s why structured settlement lock-ins are important.
• A structured settlement lock-in preserves the benefits (and the rate associated with the cash flow) that the Surrogate judge is reviewing. A competent structured settlement broker will choose a reasonable lock-in anticipated funding date. Most structured annuity issuers have a period of time where no lock-in fees are charged. After the free period, lock-in fees are usually assessed, typically at a rate of about .002 times the premium per month. The free lock-in period varies by company.
• Some defendants and insurers will pre-fund structured settlements to eliminate negative interest rate risk and lock in fees. As a form of reassurance most structured annuity issuers will issue a letter to a Defendant or Insurer that states something to the effect that the annuity issuer will refund the premium if the Court does not approve the settlement. But the operative word is “some” and the Surrogate Judges must be mindful of the how work flow bottlenecks may be hurting their wards,.
• Guardians ad litem who are not familiar with structured settlements waste alot of time on the learning curve and cost their wards money. Ironically they earn a fee for that that is usually deducted from their ward’s recovery. Once a case is settled, the parties should be able to conclude matters as soon as possible. The plaintiff has been waiting for years for the recovery for a loved one’s death and to achieve closure on this aspect of their loss.

Potential Solutions

1. Establish Fast Track Procedures for Structured Settlements
   1. Each Surrogate should flag petitions that include a structured settlement and assign to a dedicated individual or team. Ideally this is a well-trained person who is knowledgable about structured settlements and who is willing to learn more. There are alot of resources in our industry who can provide this knowledge. I have in mind someone with the characteristics of a Joe Antonelli, the Chief Clerk for New York County, who patiently handles many 50-A and 50-B judgment submissions.

1. Guardians ad litem in the fast track program should be pre-screened for knowledge about structured settlements. Assignments to those who are not familiar with structures should be avoided for the sake of the Surrogate’s wards. This will cut out “the learning curve ball”.
   1. Guardians ad litem should be held to strict time guidelines that assure that the entire settlement approval process for cases passing through the Surrogate fast track can be accomplished in 90 days or less.

Last updated November 17, 2025