Securing the best future for the client is always a priority for an attorney in a personal injury case. Depending on the amount, it may be in the client’s best interest to have a structured settlement annuity instead of a lump sum payment. A structured annuity often works in your client’s favor because it is…

When your client is awarded a settlement, an annuity can be utilized to parse out payments and ensure that funds are being distributed sensibly. After working tirelessly to build your client’s case so that they receive a fair settlement, you want to guarantee that their settlement retains its value for years to come. An annuity,…

In this two-part article, we are discussing the benefits of hiring a settlement planner. When a personal injury plaintiff is awarded a large settlement, they likely are not qualified to manage the funds they received in the settlement. There are many complex nuances in managing a settlement trust and its best to leave the financial…

Many people have heard the phrase “structured settlement” and may even understand the basic concept of what this entails. However, they probably do not understand how this process actually works. More importantly, they may not understand why settlement planning can benefit them. In this two-part article, we will educate you on the reasons why you…

Synergy has a group of experts, Synergy Settlement Consulting, dedicated to providing comprehensive and creative settlement planning solutions for clients.  The Settlement Consulting group creates holistic plans that take into account the specific needs of the client by matching them up with available financial products to meet those needs.  Structured settlements are an important financial…

Synergy has a group of experts, Synergy Settlement Consulting, dedicated to providing comprehensive and creative settlement planning solutions for clients.  The Settlement Consulting group creates holistic plans that take into account the specific needs of the client by matching them up with available financial products to meet those needs.  Structured settlements are an important financial…

In working with law firms across the country, we meet all types of trial lawyers with different types of practices. One of the most common things we hear is, “I wish I had cases that we could use you on” or “I don’t do high dollar cases” or “I think I have a large case…

By: Jason D. Lazarus, J.D., LL.M., MSCC, CSSC In a February 11, 2015 article from the Business Insider, Michael Kelly and Pamela Engel detail twenty one lottery winners who blew it all (see http://www.businessinsider.com/lottery-winners-who-lost-everything-2015-2?op=1). In the article, there are details regarding the myriad of ways fortunes were lost. For example, “Lara and Roger Griffiths bought…

At Synergy, we spend a lot of time in mediations helping attorneys and their seriously injured clients to plan for their post settlement future.  We try to create holistic settlement plans that meet our client’s needs while taking the least possible amount of risk.  The majority of financial products in the settlement industry are fixed income or fixed interest products.

In an interview with Brendan Lynch of Life Health Pro, Warren Buffett talks about the value of Berkshire Hathaway’s aggressive push into the structured settlement annuity market. 

On May 13, 2013 the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, issued an Investor Bulletin entitled, “Pension or Settlement Income Streams: What you need to know before buying or selling them.” It is the opinion of the authors that this bulletin is misleading and in some cases inaccurate concerning the sale of structured settlement payment streams and factored structured settlements as an investment vehicle.

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Reprinted with Permission from Roger Baron

The 5th Circuit handed down ACS Recovery Services, Inc. v. Griffin today, April 2, 2012.  Mr. Griffin was seriously injured in an auto accident. The ERISA plan paid medical bills of $50,076.19.  The plaintiff’s attorney secured a settlement of $294,439.82 and arranged for a structured settlement annuity “in an effort to avoid any equitable lien assertion” by the ERISA Plan.  Mrs. Griffin received $40,000 for loss of consortium.  The ERISA plan sued Mr. Griffin and his wife, as well as the trustee and the trust designated to receive the annuity payments.  The trial court “dismissed the claims against all of the defendants.”  This decision by the 5th Circuit affirms that dismissal.

Learn more about “pre-owned annuities” and Enhanced Structured Income™

MSPRC has provided instructions on how to elect the fixed percentage option for conditional payment resolution. 

For settlements of $5,000 or less there is now an option to pay 25% of the settlement proceeds to Medicare to resolve the conditional payments regardless of the amount of the payments made by Medicare.