by Structured Settlement Watchdog
Anyone can call themselves an expert. However, the facts eventually catch up. That’s why it’s important to examine claims about structured settlements carefully and correct the record when necessary.
Unfortunately for structured settlement consumers, Plummer’s website continues to be laden with errors and misstatements about structured settlements. Consumers cannot rely on it in the state it was in at the time of publication
Today’s compilation of Plummer’s Crack shows that there’s considerable room for improvement.
Structured Settlement Inaccuracy #1: Misstatement of Tax Treatment
Plummer’s Crack
“After the settlement money is negotiated and comes to final terms, the court order will request the funds to be placed into a type of income annuity contract called structured annuities”.
- Fact is that structured settlements are negotiated.
- Courts require orders only in certain cases… (minors, death cases) to approve the settlement that the parties to the claim or lawsuit have negotiated
- When one is referring to the singular, such as “a type of annuity contract” with a “plumber”, one generally does not mix and match a single “universal flapper” with a plurality of “elbow joints“.
Structured Settlement Inaccuracy #2: Inaccurate Definition of Qualified Assignment
Plummer’s Plunge
“The annuity is an irrevocable stream of regular payments from an insurance company, which is dictated by the court system”.
- An annuity, such as a structured settlement annuity, is an insurance product which is regulated by the state insurance department, which in certain states (such as New York) may be regulated under the more encompassing “Department of Financnial Services”
- The court system does not dictate an irrevocable stream of payments. This may be helpful The U.S. Court System Explained – Democracy Docket.
- For settlements of certain types of cases, a judge, not the court system may need to approve a settlement (e.g. minors, incompetents, or death cases) and the form of distribution.
Structured Settlement Inacccuracy #3: Misrepresentation of Payment Rights
Plumming Problems
“Structured settlement annuities are similar to either an immediate annuity or a deferred annuity. The structured settlement payments are guaranteed and irrevocable; however, the annuity settlement options can differ from typical income contracts. For example, in a structured settlement payout, the payments may increase or decrease down the road multiple times”.
- Structured settlement annuities are qualified funding assets used to fund periodic payment obligations that are part of the consideration for the settlement of a claim or lawsuit. See How Structured Settlements Work | Structured Settlements Explained (4structures.com)
- Structured settlement annuities are unique in that structured settlement annuities can accomodate multiple payment streams in a single contract. See What Are Structured Settlement Annuities? Structured Settlements FAQ (4structures.com)
Finally,
Plummer’s Crack 4
Not all settlement annuities are structured in a payment schedule. For example, settlement money is sometimes paid out in a lump sum within a settlement agreement.
- If there is no payment schedule there is no structured settlement. Consumers cannot just buy a structured settlement annuity. A payment schedule could be a single payment or it could be multiple types of structured settlement payments in multiple payment streams. See Types of Structured Settlement Payments | Your Structured Settlement Payment Options (4structures.com).
Prior Commentary about Plummer’s Crack
Part of my mission as Structured Settlement Watchdog is to see that consumers have clearest path to accurate information about structrued settlements.