Structured settlements are a unique and innovative method of compensating personal injury victims using streams of payments, exempt from gross income taxes pursuant to existing Internal Revenue Regulations, which are tailored to meet the plaintiff’s future needs. Encouraged by the U.S. Congress since 1982, structured settlements are mutually agreed upon between the plaintiff and the defendant and/or the defendant’s insurer at the time of a tort settlement. Structured settlements provide guaranteed streams of income to the plaintiff that are completely tax-free. The plaintiff avoids the risk of mismanagement of their funds which can result in financial loss and hardship. This security and stability enables the plaintiff to have peace of mind, knowing that their payments will be received on the scheduled dates, and further allows them to tailor the annuity to meet their specific life needs in the future. In the Periodic Payment Settlement Act of 1982, the U.S. Congress adopted specific tax rules to encourage the use of structured settlements to resolve physical injury tort cases. Internal Revenue Code Section 104(a)(2) was amended to clarify that periodic payments constitute damages which are tax-free to the injured party. Furthermore, Internal Revenue Code Section 130 was adopted to provide a process where injured parties could receive a stream of income into the future from financially secure and experienced institutions (Allstate, John Hancock, MetLife, New York Life, Pacific Life. Prudential, etc.) through a “Qualified Assignment”.Specialties: Plaintiff Structured Settlement Specialist