A structured settlement annuity is a financial instrument that provides periodic payments over several years. Clients...
Other Settlement Planning Topics
How to Help a Past Client Get the Best Deal if They Want to Sell Their Annuity
Plaintiff attorneys may be approached by past clients with questions about whether it's a good idea to sell their...
How the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Created the Plaintiff Double Tax Trap
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 had a significant impact on plaintiffs receiving taxable settlements. Prior...
When a Legal Recovery is Considered Taxable to the Client
Introduction: As a plaintiff attorney, it is important to ensure that a client will get a fair amount out of their...
Who Qualifies for a Special Needs Trust?
Personal injury attorneys frequently call our office and ask who qualifies for a special needs trust. There are 3 requirements for an individual to be eligible for a special needs trust: The client must be 64 years old or younger. The client must be deemed disabled by the Social Security Administration. The client should be receiving either...
What Are a Plaintiff Attorney’s Obligations to Medicare When Settling a Case?
As a plaintiff attorney, it is important to understand your obligations to Medicare when settling a personal injury case. There are two parts to consider in Medicare's interests: the Medicare conditional lien and Medicare's future interest. First is the Medicare conditional lien, which is Medicare's right of recovery from the date of...
Other Annuity Options Aside from Structured Settlement Annuities
In a settlement situation, typically when annuities are discussed, the focus is on structured settlement annuities. A structured settlement annuity is a very basic product: Money is placed into the annuity, clients and attorneys decide at the time of settlement the timing and amounts of when the future payments will be made. Once a structured...
Setting Up a Settlement Trust for a Competent Adult
In most competent adult settlement situations, it is common for attorneys to feel that competent adults can make decisions for themselves, so they settle a case, give the client the money, and hope for the best. In some cases, clients are savvy enough to find a financial advisor or do their own investing and make wise financial...
Considerations Before Terminating a Special Needs Trust
If you set up a special needs trust for a disabled minor who is receiving Medicaid and SSI, what happens to the money inside the special needs trust if that minor gets to the point where he/she is well enough to work and generate income, and therefore lose his/her eligibility for SSI? Can you terminate the special needs trust and send...
Why the Affordable Care Act is Great for Personal Injury Plaintiffs
In determining how to help injured plaintiffs, the ongoing medical coverage and care they need is one of the primary concerns we handle as comprehensive settlement planners. In figuring out what approach makes sense, attorneys often ask up questions like: Does my client need a special needs trust?Do I need to get my client eligible for...
How to Allocate a Plaintiff’s Settlement
Many people often ask us, "What do you mean when you say settlement planning?" Basically, settlement planning is the process of deciding how to allocate a plaintiff's settlement. The 4-bucket approach to settlement proceeds planning involves allocating the funds between four different financial “buckets” — and figuring out how much of the...
How to Reduce Your Non-Personal Injury Client’s Tax Bill
As most plaintiff attorneys are aware, using a traditional structured settlement annuity in a personal injury case can significantly reduce your personal injury client’s tax bill because the principal and interest in the annuity are tax-free. However, in instances that are not governed by Section 104(a)(2) — meaning, in cases that are not...
Estate Planning Considerations for Settling Plaintiffs
It’s common for plaintiff attorneys to consider settlement planning needs for their clients. There may be a need to set up a special needs trust to protect their government benefits or establish a structured settlement annuity to stretch out the client’s recovery or reduce taxes. But more often than not, estate planning implications are...
Plaintiff Attorneys and Settling Clients Need Specialized Advice
Amicus Settlement Planners works almost exclusively with personal injury attorneys and their settling clients. For Plaintiff Attorneys. We work with personal injury attorneys for their own tax planning and investment planning to make sure they are not paying any more in income tax than they need to pay. We have products and services that are...
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Our goal at Amicus Settlement Planners is to be the premier, comprehensive resource for personal injury attorney for all of the financial and legal issues that arise at the time of settlement.
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