Many settlement plans offer injured plaintiffs the option of receiving their settlement funds in a structured payment plan. This can help them achieve their post-settlement financial goals while maintaining income-based government benefits such as SSI and Medi-Cal eligibility.
A structured settlement can protect their assets from future losses, such as investment or inflation. Milestone offers a variety of structured settlement options to help protect the interests of catastrophically injured plaintiffs.
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What is a Settlement Plan?
Settlement planning is a holistic approach to assisting clients through financial transition and preparing for an upcoming settlement. Settlement planning includes financial strategies such as periodic payment plans and trusts, methods for complying with the income thresholds of means-tested government benefits programs, and much more.
All private sponsors (Sponsorship Agreement Holders, Groups of Five, or Community Sponsors) must submit a settlement plan to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada as part of their sponsorship application. It is important to include a settlement plan as it will be used to assess whether the sponsors can fulfill their financial and non-financial obligations in support of the newcomer(s) during their arrival, adjustment, and integration into Canadian society.
Structured settlements are an innovative solution providing a long-term, steady stream of tax-free income. By deferring a portion or all of your settlement, you can reduce risk and ensure that future payments will be available to meet your long-term medical, living, and family-related expenses.
How Does a Settlement Plan Work?
All private sponsor groups – whether sponsorship agreement holders, groups of five sponsors, or community sponsors – must submit a settlement plan to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada as part of their sponsorship application. The settlement plan helps IRCC assess whether the sponsor is prepared to meet their financial and non-financial obligations to support refugee newcomers settling in Canada.
Structured settlements allow injured parties to defer some or all of their settlement proceeds, receiving a series of tax-free payments over time instead of one lump sum. Milestone’s settlement planning experts review a plaintiff’s long-term medical and living expenses and their goals to develop a structured settlement plan to meet their needs.
A structured settlement can also help injured parties receiving means-tested government benefits (such as SSI or Medi-Cal) maintain their eligibility by transferring some settlement funds to a Medicare set-aside or pooled trust. Milestone’s settlement planning consultants will discuss these options and other methods to comply with income thresholds and preserve needs-based public benefits.
How Does a Settlement Plan Work for Me?
A structured settlement offers a series of tax-free payments established over a period. Milestone’s settlement planning consultants will take the time to develop a plan uniquely tailored to a plaintiff’s specific needs and goals. This includes ways to ensure the longevity of funds, complying with income thresholds for government benefits programs, and more.
Debt settlement is when a company negotiates with creditors to settle the debt for less than you owe. During the negotiations, you’ll stop paying your creditors and will instead make payments to the settlement company until your debt is settled.
A Medicare set-aside strategy allows you to receive a lump sum settlement while retaining eligibility for means-tested government benefits like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This will enable you to meet your post-settlement financial goals, even when receiving a large sum.
How Can a Settlement Plan Help Me?
Whether you settle your debt or work with a company, you’ll have more flexibility toward other goals. But remember that you may have to pay taxes on any forgiven debt balances because Uncle Sam gets a cut.
A settlement plan helps you determine the most efficient way to use your funds so they last as long as possible. For example, catastrophically injured plaintiffs can place some or all of their settlement money into a structured settlement to preserve their eligibility for income-based public benefits (SSI, Medi-Cal, etc). Milestone’s consultants can advise on the variety of trust options available.
Private sponsor groups (Sponsorship Agreement Holders, Group of Five, and Community Sponsors) must submit a settlement plan with their sponsorship application to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Their settlement plans are part of the IRCC’s assessment of their capacity to provide settlement assistance to refugee newcomers. Generally, groups are required to have a settlement plan for every sponsored person in their group.
