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.
recent posts
- Daily Rates Are Often an Important Cost Driver of Structured Settlements
- 🔥Founder and Former CEO of 777 Partners, Joshua Wander, Pleads Guilty⚖️ to $500 Million Fraud Scheme — DOJ Confirms Double‑Pledging, Misappropriation of Structured‑Settlement Funds, and Falsified Bank Statements
- The Steering Problem Needs a Wake‑Up Call
- Companies Still Using the Incorrect Term “Secondary Market Annuity”
- Canonical: Non‑Qualified Assignment (NQA)
about
Category: Houston Structured Settlements
Houston Structured Settlements is a collection of blogs, articles, and commentary on structured settlements by structured settlement expert and settlement planner John Darer CLU ChFC MSSC CeFT RSP CLTC that may be of interests to lawyers in Houston, Harris County TX, the cities of Pasadena, Baytown, La Porte, Deer Park, residents in Harris County involved in lawsuits for personal injury, wrongful death, or medical malpractice, oil industry or construction accidents, who are seeking stuctured settlement or settlement planning advice and information.
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Court scraping is the scourge of the structured settlement secondary market. Once you file a petition to sell structured settlement payments for a lump sum of cash, expect tons of calls from cash now pushers. Some believe it’s good for consumers because it drives prices down.
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A Houston TX federal judge ruled against Peachtrree , that a competitor is free to solicit so-called “Wentworth customers” at least right up until the court order is signed. The filing of a transfer agreement or a contract does not stop the customer from continuing to seek higher bids
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The term “servicing of structured settlement payments” is misleading. It doesn’t provide any long-term benefit to the structured settlement annuitant, and here’s why.
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Be cautious about using a Qualified Settlement Fund when your settlement planner is promoting it on the basis of “full market access” to structured settlement companies. It’s the opposite when your case involves a single claimant. The limitations to your client on large cases might mean that the client is not able to meet an…
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Use of a structured settlement created outside a Special Needs Trust feeding payments into the SNT, is helpful as a tax-free volatility buffer. Compare the potential outcome of a comparable amount invested to the cost of the structured settlement (by the trustee of the SNT) in a permissible taxable investment.
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Trust companies are regulated by a number of entities and are permitted to pay referral fees for business in accordance with those banking regulations.
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A settlement does not have to be all or nothing. A structured settlement annuity can be one part of the settlement allocation and is often a core vehicle for those who need stable, secure, guaranteed income.
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Important win for structured settlement annuitants in need of liquidity down the road, who cannot tap other sources. TX appellate court upheld annuitant’s right to continue seeking competitive offers, apparently allowing competitors to figuratively, “cut in during the middle of a dance”
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American General Life Insurance Company, a structured settlement annuity issuer, amended its General Agent’s contract in 2012 to state, in no uncertain terms, its position against Factoring and Secondary Market activities of its appointed general agents and their employees and affiliates