How to Improve Your Mediation Strategy in 2020
The fastest route to resolving your client’s case at mediation is coming to the table armed with an expert and a strong game plan. By bringing a settlement consultant on board as soon as you open a case, not only can you be sure your client is appropriately compensated and their recovery is protected, but in the process, you can also save your firm valuable time and money.
Pre-Mediation: Develop a Comprehensive Overview
Before mediation, the settlement consultant can meet with your client to review life care plans, assess needs-based government benefits, and assess your client’s financial needs and goals. By developing this kind of comprehensive overview, the settlement consultant can provide you with a detailed accounting of your client’s financial needs while you focus your efforts on preparing a strong case. In the meantime, the settlement consultant will also educate your client on the pros and cons of all available settlement options.
During Mediation: Have a Game Plan Ready
At this point, the claimant should already have a realistic idea of what to expect in terms of an offer from the defense. The claimant will also have a better understanding of relevant settlement options and any potential implications the proceeds may have on needs-based government benefits. At no cost to you or your client, an experienced settlement consultant can attend mediation and help create a solution that works for all parties involved, helping you reach resolution faster and avoid a potential impasse.
Post-Mediation: Create a Continuum of Care
Another benefit to involving your settlement consultant is the post-mediation continuum of care it creates. Reputable settlement consultants typically provide support for the life of the settlement plan. With a solid plan in place and a trusted resource to turn to for future questions, you can rest assured that your client will be in the hands of an expert for years to come. What better way to wrap up a case than with a satisfied client (and potential referral source!) for you and your firm?
Contact Sage Settlement Consulting for Mediation Assistance
Whether you are just opening a case or preparing for mediation, make sure you contact Kimberly Overby today.
Earn Tax-Advantaged Supplemental Income Without Lifting a Finger
It’s no secret that a successful legal career doesn’t necessarily equal a predictable paycheck. Case volume ebbs and flows, offering little certainty. Plaintiff attorneys with an eye on the future are wise to explore investment options that deliver regular income with minimal effort. Fortunately, solutions exist that fit the bill without taking time away from your practice.
Attorney Fee Deferrals: Your Financial Weapon of Choice
Plaintiff attorneys have a leg up on their defense counterparts when it comes to investment options. Fee deferrals allow placement of an attorney’s contingency fees in a financial vehicle that spreads payments out over time. Payment streams can begin immediately or in the future (depending on the product), allowing you to create a predictable source of income to supplement your current cash flow or to support future expenses, such as college tuition or retirement. If you have an existing deferred comp plan, attorney fee deferrals are an excellent funding tool.
You may find additional benefits when it comes time to file your taxes:
- Since payments will be spread out over time, you may be able to remain in your current tax bracket, rather than moving up to the next bracket. Less taxes = more fees in your pocket.
- By deferring your payments as a part of your retirement nest egg, you may be able to take advantage of a lower effective tax rate in retirement.
- Your CPA can help you to determine if deferred fees will help reduce your AMT liability.
Fixed Annuities
For several years, structured attorney fees using fixed annuities have been the deferral investment of choice. The plan design is flexible and there is no income cap, nor any annual or lifetime contribution limits. With no overhead or management fees, the guaranteed1 rate of return is comparable with many traditional investments. Payments are fixed and guaranteed, allowing you to set this stream of income on autopilot and pay taxes only on the income received within each tax year.
Fee Structure Plus®
Attorneys seeking additional growth potential may want to explore Fee Structure Plus® (FSP) as an alternative. FSP uses a low-cost platform to invest your fees in market-based portfolios. In addition to providing many of the same benefits as fixed annuities, FSP accounts can be managed by your financial advisor as a part of your comprehensive financial portfolio. You can defer unlimited amounts of contingency fee income, with taxes payable only in the years in which you receive your FSP payments.
Alternative Options for Attorney Fee Deferrals
In addition to fixed annuities and Fee Structure Plus®, there are other attractive options that employ a variety of underlying investments including Vanguard Funds, U.S. Treasury Bonds, and fixed indexed annuities. The varied investments offer a broad range of solutions to diversify your portfolio and maximize your wealth management and tax planning efforts.
Contact Sage Settlement Consulting Today
Deferred fees provide you with a stress-free source of long-term, tax-advantaged income. To learn more, contact Kimberly Overby today.
Securing a Child’s Financial Future
When a child is traumatically injured in an accident or is the recipient of a financial windfall resulting from a settlement involving a parent, the unknowns of the child’s financial future can compound an already emotional transition. Fortunately, there are settlement solutions available to help ensure that the child’s financial future is protected.
Implications of Settling with Cash
There are many reasons why accepting a lump sum cash settlement is not in the best interest of a minor child (and in fact, some states will not allow cash settlements for minors):
Fast Depletion of Funds: An injury settlement is often the largest sum of cash a family has ever handled at one time. Compounding medical bills, education expenses, lending money to friends and family, and emotional spending are all common pitfalls that can quickly eat up settlement proceeds, especially if the family is inexperienced at managing large amounts of cash.
Ineligibility for College Financial Aid: A lump sum cash settlement could render the child ineligible for financial aid. Even if the family intends to use the money to cover the costs of caring for the injured child, college financial aid offices typically consider those funds when offering financial assistance.
Loss of Government Benefits Eligibility: Most states use income and asset tests in determining one’s eligibility for needs-based government benefits (e.g., SSI, Medicaid, CHIP, etc.). If the child or the child’s parents accept a lump-sum cash settlement, the family will almost certainly lose access to important needs-based benefits.
A Better Approach: Proactive Planning
There are a few different options for handling a minor’s settlement that will help avoid many of the negative consequences associated with a lump sum cash payment:
Option 1: Defer Payment Until After College
With private college tuition averaging over $30,000 a year before room and board, a four-year degree can easily top out at over $100,000. By placing settlement proceeds in a structured settlement and arranging to have the first payment deferred until after college, the child may be able to obtain eligibility for financial aid assistance. The deferred payments will be valuable to a young adult regardless of his/her chosen personal or professional path.
Option 2: Utilize a Minor’s Trust
Minors with more extensive medical needs may benefit from a minor’s trust. There are state-specific (and in many jurisdictions, county-specific) guidelines that must be followed to gain court approval. A minor’s trust is managed by a trustee, who is often a close loved one (i.e., a parent, grandparent, or guardian), but in some cases, could be a court-mandated professional or bonded trustee.
If funds for the minor child are not needed immediately, the trust does not necessarily need to distribute payments during the minor’s youth; instead, the trust can be set up to begin distributing funds when the minor reaches the age of majority in his/her state. To determine the most appropriate approach, families will want to consider medical needs, anticipated financial needs (whether there will be a loss of earnings or a large future purchase), and the minor’s ability to handle funds at the age of majority. Structured settlement annuities can be used to fund a minor’s trust, providing an added layer of protection while also maximizing the proceeds. When selecting this option, consideration must be made for the amount of funds going into the trust vs. the bonding and court fees for the time the trust is in existence.
Additional Options for Minors
Depending on the jurisdiction and the discretion of the judge, options for settlement may also include a guardianship account or a court registry account. In an effort to maximize and preserve the settlement proceeds, families are encouraged to explore the possibility of a structured settlement annuity or a combination of a structured settlement and a minor’s trust.
For more information regarding your next case involving a minor, contact Kimberly Overby at Sage Settlement Consulting today. Our experienced settlement consultants will help create a stable financial future for your minor clients.
Volatile Markets are No Match for this Financial Option- Kimberly Overby
Volatile Markets are No Match for this Financial Option
Trade wars? Historic tariffs? With uncertainty as to which direction the markets are heading, investors are considering the best strategies to protect their portfolios. Injured claimants are particularly vulnerable, especially those whose quality of life depends on a steady income. Fortunately, there is a solution that offers protection from market volatility while providing a source of stable, long-term income: structured settlements.
Steady Gains, Lasting Peace of Mind
Both the term and the rate of return for a structured settlement annuity are locked in, and payments are guaranteed1, so when the market drops—even in a recession—the structured settlement payments remain unaffected. Structured settlement annuities are issued by highly-rated life insurance companies, making them one of the safest, most attractive financial vehicles available.
With no overhead fees, structured settlement annuities often yield returns competitive with traditional investments. Certain life companies also offer a rider that provides additional growth potential based on the S&P 500—without any market loss.
Claimants who can incur a degree of market-related risk may want to consider combining a structured settlement annuity with a market-based structured settlement program. Such an approach creates a truly balanced settlement solution.
Your Client Needs a Solid Plan
Claimants have a one-time opportunity to structure their settlements. The decision must be made before settlement, and the settlement agreement must include the proper language. Your settlement consultant can walk your client through the various settlement options, helping to establish realistic expectations and to ensure that a proper plan is in place to preserve the settlement proceeds.
You Need a Plan, Too
Many of the nation’s leading attorneys leverage the benefits of structured attorney fees to defer taxes on their contingency fees. As with structured settlements for claimants, attorney fee structures provide guaranteed, fixed income to create a predictable source of income immune to market volatility.
Take Control of Your Financial Future: Contact Us Today
None of us can control the economy, but we can mitigate some of its negative implications. Contact Kimberly Overby today to protect your clients and your practice.
A Qualified Professional is of Paramount Importance
When making important financial decisions, such as those arising from a lawsuit or settlement, it’s often assumed that a financial advisor can provide the best guidance. While that may be true in certain circumstances, effectively safeguarding a settlement requires the specialized expertise of a Settlement Consultant.
Here are 3 reasons why your client NEEDS a settlement consultant.
Reason #1: Specialized Knowledge
A settlement consultant’s training goes beyond traditional wealth management strategies. It also encompasses experience with providing solutions specific to the financial intricacies of injured claimants and plaintiff attorneys, to include structured settlements and attorney fee deferral products.
In particular, settlement consultants are familiar with roadblocks that can prevent a smooth settlement resolution. From helping prevent the loss of government benefits to knowing whom to consult when a lien report is inaccurate, a settlement consultant has specialized experience needed to provide the most comprehensive level of service during and after settlement negotiations.
Reason #2: Holistic Approach
Not only are an injured claimant’s financial needs unique and different than those of a non-injury victim, but there is also an emotional aspect to settlement planning that a settlement consultant is better equipped to navigate. When someone has experienced a traumatic injury or the death of a loved one, their wrong can never be made right regardless of the amount of money they receive through a settlement. Newfound wealth can often feel like more of a burden than a blessing — especially if the windfall came as a result of a loved one’s death. A settlement consultant is an advocate for the injury victim and can help navigate emotional storms while keeping claimants focused on goals and a well-thought-out plan that provides for financial stability.
Whereas the typical financial client may be focused on investments that can provide for retirement savings or funding extensive vacations, injured claimants must deal with economic complications as a result of an accident, and planning for the costs of their future medical treatment. The cost of prescription drugs, prosthetics and home modifications; eligibility for needs-based government benefits; replacing lost income; and trying to adjust to a new reality are all elements that must be considered in an effective settlement plan.
Settlement consultants work daily with injured claimants and their family members, and they understand how to provide detailed, expert guidance while offering empathy and emotional support.
Reason #3: Team-Based Solutions
Different than the typical solo approach often associated with advice provided by a financial advisor, the best settlement consultants recognize the strengths that other experts offer in the settlement process and will choose the right professional partner to quarterback every component of settlement resolution for the claimant. Reputable settlement consulting firms have access to a broad range of tax, government benefit, lien resolution, estate planning, trust services, and wealth management experts that can help the claimant create a seamless plan for his/her financial future. Moreover, settlement consultants are not captive agents, guaranteeing that they will only consider the best interests of the claimant when recommending products and services.
Contact Kimberly Overby Today
Sage is proud to be the largest plaintiff-oriented settlement planning firm in the nation. With offices from coast to coast and a national network of experts, we have the resources you need to ensure that your clients are receiving the best advice. Contact Kimberly Overby today to learn more.