Key Highlights:
For decades, structured settlements have been recognized as a reliable solution in personal injury and workers’ compensation cases. Their tax-advantaged status, guaranteed payment schedules, and financial security have made them a powerful planning tool. But structured settlements are not just for physical injury claims anymore.
Today, more legal and financial professionals are utilizing non-qualified structured settlements in a range of non-injury cases, offering clients and attorneys new opportunities for tax deferral, income planning, and long-term security.
Structured Settlements for Contingent Fees
Attorneys working on contingency fee cases, particularly in commercial litigation or fraud recovery, are discovering how structuring their fees can offer major advantages. Rather than receiving one lump-sum payment, lawyers can defer income, spread their earnings over time, and potentially reduce their tax liability in high-income years.
As attorney Alex Loftus shared, this strategy provides flexibility and security:
“Structuring a contingent fee provides incredible long-term security. Knowing that income is waiting for you in the future, year after year, changes how you plan your business and your life.”
— Alex Loftus, Attorney Loftus and Eisenberg
Moreover, modern structured settlement products allow for individualized payment streams, enabling different partners in a firm to design customized payout schedules based on their personal financial goals.
Benefits for Plaintiffs in Non-Injury Claims
In cases involving fraud, trade secret disputes, or commercial claims, plaintiffs who receive settlements often face taxable income. Non-qualified structured settlements offer these individuals the ability to defer that income and receive payments over time, often in a more tax-efficient manner.
Clients who were previously defrauded may not need immediate access to all their funds and often prefer long-term solutions that align with their original investment intent. As Loftus noted, his clients tend to have the financial capacity to view their recovery as reinvestment capital, not urgent liquidity.
Why Advisors and Attorneys Are Taking Notice
Ringler consultant Don Engels emphasized the growing relevance of these solutions:
“When you’re recovering funds in cases like fraud or commercial disputes, structured settlements can provide a major tax advantage. It’s a powerful solution most attorneys and clients don’t realize is even possible.” — Don Engels, Ringler
While structured settlements in non-injury claims are still relatively underutilized, the rise of innovative products in the past 5–6 years has created new pathways for both attorneys and claimants to benefit from this strategy. Unfortunately, many professionals are still unaware of these options.
A Strategic Tool for Long-Term Planning
The flexibility of non-qualified structured settlements makes them valuable not only for high-net-worth individuals and complex litigation scenarios, but also for everyday cases where timing and tax planning matter.
Whether structuring attorney fees, resolving fraud-related claims, or navigating commercial disputes, these tools offer financial control and stability over time, two things that are increasingly important in today’s volatile economic climate.
To hear the full discussion with attorney Alex Loftus and Ringler consultant Don Engels, listen to the latest episode of Ringler Radio hosted by Matt Ross: Full Video Podcast Here
A customized settlement plan from Ringler considers all the options and can provide hope and a secure future for injured people.
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