Thats a harrowiing story, Ms. Seebacher. Thank you for sharing.
Re: Value of a structured settlement consultant
mInvestor
4/26/2012 5:49:18 PM
A third of the settlement? That's quite some profit. Well, I guess it's worth to do it by yourself, and your daughter is really lucky to have a mom like you.
Re: Value of a structured settlement consultant
Noreen Seebacher
4/26/2012 3:06:45 PM
Structured settlements would probably be treated like any other abandoned property that's turned over according to state escheats laws. How many years depends on the specifics of the state. And yes--those unclaimed property "finders" are likely to swoop in, offer to help recover the money and then take a third of it.
Re: Value of a structured settlement consultant
Street Smart
4/26/2012 1:49:04 PM
@Noreen--
Holy, moly what a story. Scary to think that if YOU had this much trouble, most people would have just given up.
Curious...is there an "unclaimed" structured settlement market? I wonder if companies go after dormant ones and take most of the profit...
Re: Value of a structured settlement consultant
mInvestor
4/26/2012 12:50:54 AM
@Noreen,
What a story. Thank God you are able to recover it back. Your advices are invaluable. But in your case, you are the most important reason that your daught could get all money back.
Re: Value of a structured settlement consultant
tokyogai
4/25/2012 12:28:59 PM
Noreen- this is all really good advice and it seems it worked out for you. I hope I will never need the advice, but I feel more informed.
Re: Value of a structured settlement consultant
Noreen Seebacher
4/25/2012 9:38:23 AM
The thing with a lawsuit, an accident settlement or anything of the sort is that most people have little experience with them until they find themselves involved in a case. So it is easy to make mistakes -- from relying on the wrong attorney to selecting the wrong investment. If there is one thing I would stress it is to be extra cautious.
Re: Value of a structured settlement consultant
AskAsa
4/25/2012 9:16:55 AM
That sounds like an excellent way to protect yourself. I may even put a portion of a large settlement in Treasuries to play it extra safe if I was depending on lifetime income from a structure.
Re: Value of a structured settlement consultant
Tenacious
4/25/2012 9:11:22 AM
The lesson seems to be that when you set up a structured settlement, that you have to be careful to select a solid insurance company, or, even more cautiously, split the settlement among several carriers if it is very large.
Re: Value of a structured settlement consultant
Noreen Seebacher
4/25/2012 8:45:31 AM
Thanks @TelecomFreq.
In fairness I should reiterate that structured settlements are considered very safe investments. In fact, just recently, a NYS judge approved the restructuring of the long insolvent Executive Life of New York (ELNY) -- leading to what the structured settlement trade group defines as some of the first shortfalls in benefits for policyholders.
The details are spelled out in an article titled "Loss for Policyholders", written by James Campbell and published April 17, 2012 in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). But essentially, 1459 structured settlement payees will experience shortfalls ("uncovered amounts") as a result of ELNY's liquidation and restructuring even after state guaranty association contributions and voluntary enhancements by life insurance companies.
It's an unfortunate but unusual case.
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