by Structured Settlement Watchdog
Most structured settlement factoring companies have shown they are not the first place to go for accurate information about structrued settlements.
I’ve compiled some of the latest social media road kill from structured settlement factoring companies and intermediaries for critical commentary.
Fund First Capital
But before you accept any settlement agreement, always discuss all available options either with a personal injury attorney, a tax attorney, or certified public accountant (CPA) to fully explore consequences of a verdict”.
Commentary: A bit of a mishmash! If you’re settling, why would you need to explore the consequences of a verdict—something completely unrelated, like involving an accountant? There’s definitely an answer hiding in there somewhere, though it’s clear Fund First Capital hasn’t discovered it yet.
Einstein Structured Settlements/ JRR Funding related
Very little published on Einstein Structured Settlements should be taken seriously as it is often inaccurate.
Examples
1. Marty the Kid who Got Hit By a Car (story on Einstein website)
“Martin was a responsible kid who lived in Thousand Oaks, California. He was only 15 years old when a car hit him thus causing him to be confined to a wheelchair for a few years until the physical therapy allowed him to walk again. His structured settlement after a 3 year long court battle ended up being a dual fund deal. The first is called an educational fund. This was $15,000 a year (annual payout) for 3 years (until he turns 18 years old) and than (sic) a monthly income funding settlement which gave Marty $4,000 a month for the next 20 years once he turns 25 years old”.
Commentary:Einstein’s math is looking pretty tangled here. Marty was 15 when the accident put him in a wheelchair, and the “3-year court battle” would bring him to 18. But then the example claims he gets annual payments for 3 years, ending at 18. Holy time warp paradox, Batman!
2. “Going all the way back to 1983 the United States Congress has structured these payments in exchange of previous lump sum payments”
Commentary: Naturally, any self-proclaimed genius knows that Congress makes laws—hence the name “lawmaker.” They’re not in the business of structuring payments, whether it’s a lump sum, past or present!
3. “If you need to leave the workforce due to your injury or illness and your receive money from your settlement to replace your lost income, these payments are taxable. Since you would have owed this income tax had you kept working, you also owe it as part of your structured settlement”
Commentary: Lost earnings are NOT taxable on physical injury cases if the lost income arises out of the personal physical injury or physical sickness. See Rev. Rul . 85-97, 1985-29 I .R .B . 5, 1985-2 C .B . 50, 1985 WL 287177.
123 Lump Sum
“Did you know the IRS treats Structured Settlement annuities as tax-free?”
Commentary: No, the IRS does not. It is not the annuities that are tax free, it is the damages funded by the annuity that carry the tax consequences
Settlements.org
1. “Periodic Payment Settlement Act, which was passed into law back in 1982 under the authority of President Ronald Reagan”.
Commentary: Delegates at the Constitutional Convention wanted to divide power within the federal government. They did not want these powers to be controlled by just one man or one group. The delegates were afraid that if a small group received too much power, the United States would wind up under the rule of another dictator or tyrant. To avoid the risk of dictatorship or tyranny, the group divided the new government into three parts, or branches: the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial branch.
2. “In 1997, Congress decided to extend the structured settlement mandate to workers’ compensation cases. This was part of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, and it required the use of structured settlements for any workers’ compensation cases involving physical injuries in the workplace.
Commentary: Congress did not mandate the use of structured settlements in workers compensation cases, it amended IRC 130(c) extending the ability to use qualified assignments for workers compensation
Annuity.org
Ronnie Zelek’s cornucopia of misinformation about structured settlements exclusively generating leads for CBC Settlement Funding
“Enacted shortly after victims of the 9/11 disaster started receiving financial awards as compensation, it mandated a court appearance when selling structured settlement payments”
Commentary: If only it did Catherine Byerly, then Terrence Taylor might have not been permitted to sell 11 times in 2 years in a Portsmouth VA court house that is at the center of of a Civil RICO class action lawsuit where even judges have been alleged complicit along with several factoring companies and a single lawyer who handled thousands of deals and virtually no sellers appeared in court, according to the Class Action complaint.
“Most states have has (sic) laws regulating the sale of structured settlement payments. Many ensure sellers receive counseling and instruction before selling their payment”
Commentary: The laws do not ensure that sellers receive proper counseling and instruction before selling, as the lawsuit against Charles E Smith and CES Law Group suggest. You could say that the laws are a bit “have has-erd”