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Understanding structured settlements

Updated: Jun 6, 2020














Senior Advisor Peter Arnold


Encouraged by the federal tax code for more than 30 years, structured settlements are a voluntary option for accident survivors to protect their long-term financial security.  This week, syndicated columnist Dennis Beaver, who writes a column titled “You & the Law,” explained structured settlements and quoted at length our senior advisor Peter Arnold:


“Start giving in, and Ben moves from target to financial victim,” according to Peter Arnold, a longtime structured settlement consultant and former Deputy Executive Director of the structured settlement industry’s trade association. “It’s like throwing a raw steak into the ocean when you know that sharks are there.”


“Often, the temptation to share this sudden wealth overrides better judgment about saving it for the future. A structured settlement is like putting a German Shepard in front of your money to make sure efforts to grab and spend it easily fail, and allows you to honestly state, ‘I would love to loan you money, but it is beyond my reach,’ he points out.


A former White House speechwriter during the Reagan Administration, Peter has been a member of the Dawson team since 2008, expanding our media and communications services.  He is also a structured settlement consultant, having recently concluded nearly 20 years with the National Structured Settlements Trade Association (NSSTA). This included three years as its Deputy Executive Director.


Maj. Gen. (Ret) Don Riley Senior Advisor

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