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Validation

Do you ever pause to reflect upon the value of your work? By this I mean not only your ability to generate income to meet your family’s needs, but also the value of your work to the wider world. It’s been an interesting few weeks for me as I have worked closely with three individuals in broadly different circumstances.

The events which led to our paths crossing began with utterly random quirks of fate –terrible injury due to the negligence of another - but they concluded with diligence and forethought. And in my dealings with each of these people, I found personal validation of what I have been writing about all these years: through my professional training and time spent thoughtfully considering each person’s circumstance, I have made their lives better.

“Howard Barley” , is a middle aged man with limited education who had been coping with long-term substance abuse and caring for himself as best he could. That is, until he received a head injury resulting in paraplegia and chronic pain. I first met Mr. Barley with his attorney in an assisted living facility in the Bronx. Mr. Barley said to me that he “could not wait” to get out of that place and I could not blame him. Up until then, Mr. Barley’s care had been funded entirely by Medicaid; that being the case, describing his circumstances as “no frills” would be an understatement. But his attorney and I were there to discuss how best to design his substantial settlement (a sum large enough to forego the restrictions of a special needs trust) to see if we couldn’t make a few of his wishes come true.

The first thing his attorney had to make clear was that if he elected to give up Medicaid, that also meant that he alone would be responsible for the cost of his medical care going forward. Mr. Barley listened dutifully but seemed far more interested in telling us excitedly how he was going to buy a “house for his daughter” and open a “string of Dollar Stores” for himself and his friends to operate. Hearing this, we feared the needs of his family and “friends” might clean him out in short order.

We circled back and explained to him how much of the gross settlement would actually be available to him after paying attorney fees and expenses and liens. I then broke down the costs of his future care, showing him what the monthly and annual costs would be. Next, I showed him a periodic payment plan which would guarantee that he would always have enough money to live someplace other than a facility like the one we were sitting in. Even after this expense he would still have a sizable sum to spend on discretionary items like gifts to his friends and family, just not the outsized things he had in mind.

In the end, sobered perhaps by our clear-eyed look at his financial situation, Mr. Barley felt satisfied knowing that he could live in a better place, with a secure financial future, and still help his daughter and friends from time to time. I left thinking that his structured settlement might be the first thing in his life Mr. Barley could actually depend on.

Next I met with the surviving husband of a highly educated and successful 42-year-old mother of three young children who tragically died as a result of her injuries. At the time of her death, “Mrs. Ashley” was an account executive earning in excess of $225,000 per year. Her family lived in an upper-middle-class area and Mr. Ashley worked full-time as well, on top of now caring for his three kids.

Besides the terrible emotional loss the family had just suffered, they also faced a gigantic economic hit, losing the mother’s income. Since both parents had earned advanced degrees, I suggested we use a portion of the settlement proceeds to fully fund the children’s individual educations through graduate school. This not only covered a huge future expense but also served as a memorial to Mrs. Ashley. Luckily, we still had enough funding to create a monthly income to substantially replace the mother’s earnings. I left this meeting again satisfied that I had solidified this young family’s financial future, knowing I had provided sufficient funds for the kids to pursue the finest education money could buy, guaranteed.

Finally, I met with the mother of nine-year-old “Jodi” who entered life with grave health problems resulting in her being dependent on skilled nursing care for her very survival. Her “Day in the Life” video was one of the saddest I have ever seen. Reviewing her life care plan, I noted that Medicaid and the local school district had been paying for the majority of her care.

My first job was to educate Jodi’s mother on the options available. I described how a Supplemental Needs Trust paired with annuity funding could provide income for the remainder of Jodi’s life without jeopardizing Medicaid benefits. I increased future income by securing annuity pricing discounts through the use of “medical underwriting”.

The final settlement delivered lifetime income, a trust, and Medicaid benefits making it possible for the family to actually care for Jodi themselves at home, something they had wanted desperately to do. Even though Jodi herself would never know me, I went home that day knowing I had done everything I could to create a decent future for that poor little girl and her family.

Why do structured settlements? As corny as it sounds, this work gives me a sense of doing the right thing. Outcomes like the ones I’ve just described validate all the time and energy I have put into espousing the virtues of this approach.

Want to see how a structured settlement can assist you in resolving your next case? Call Frank C. Kilcoyne, CSSC at 800 544 5533. I am here to help.

 

(1) Name changed for privacy
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