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
- 🔥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)
- ⭐ THE 18–25 GUIDE TO STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS
about
Category: Qualified Settlement Fund
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A West Hollywood law firm that helped secure hundreds of millions for UCLA sexual‑abuse survivors now accuses Robert W. Wood and Wood LLP of providing fatally flawed QSF tax malpractice advice — allegedly costing clients $2 million in settlement interest. QSF Tax Malpractice — Why This Case Matters This case presents a rare, public look…
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A structured settlement lock-in (or lock in) means that the structured settlement annuity issuer will guarantee the cost of a structured settlement, including the specific payment stream in exchange for the “quid pro quo” of a commitment to accept or purchase.
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Qualified Settlement Funds (QSFs) offer temporary flexibility for plaintiffs but are not meant for prolonged use or speculative investments. Their purpose is to allow time for resolving liens and making informed decisions. However, misuse can arise through extended duration and inappropriate investment practices. QSFs should close once their objectives are met.
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Firmwide QSF laced marketing videos and testimonals from trial lawyers, “were all the rage” in a segment of the settlement planning industry. Trial lawyers are now learning that a diverse group of product providers don’t want anything to do with structuring settlements out of firmwide QSFs?
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Qualified settlement funds are on the Priority Guidance Plan for the first time since 2009. This author understands that the focus is on potential accounting abuses of qualified settlement funds and not structured settlements.
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It’s NOT necessary to establish a QSF in order to structure or defer attorney fees. Some settlement planners aggressively push QSFs and misrepresent QSFs as “the only way” for you to benefit from structured attorney fees, or other attorney fee deferral programs. Rubbish.
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Qualified Settlement Fund Planner, and for the life of me, with all of my renowned research skills, I can’t seem to find any accredited institution that awards such purported certification, designation, title, or an e-book or leaflet about it. Not a morsel. Not even a smidgen!. Maybe figment of imagination.
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As more settlement planners have ventured into qualified settlement fund administration in the hope of stirring up the money funnel for big structured settlement annuity, life insurance and investment commissions, perhaps it’s time for ethical questions to be raised. Can one wear too many hats?
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Milestone CEO John T. Bair appears to have misrepresented a 1993 Revenue Procedure in an attempt to justify why Milestone Consulting uses investments besides annuities with its attorney fee deferral programs from Qualified Settlement Funds.
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The IRS refined definition of fixed and determinable in a series of PLRs. PLR 199943002 (variable annuities) and 201435006 (fixed annuity with index-linked adjustment rider). Fixed obligations must be set forth in the settlement agreement. Determinable payments can be based on an objective formula.