prime gods

I was watching the news last night and encountered the phrase “structured settlement”. With the word “settlement”, I immediately associated it with “divorce”. However, I wasn’t satisfied with this mere assumption, so I decided to do research about it. Here’s what I found out:

• Structured Settlement is defined in Wikipedia as “a financial or insurance arrangement, including periodic payments, that a claimant accepts to resolve a personal injury tort claim or to compromise a statutory periodic payment obligation.”
• This is the usual structured settlement procedure: First, an injured party (the claimant) settles a tort suit with the defendant (or its insurance carrier) pursuant to a settlement agreement. This agreement provides that, in exchange for the claimant’s securing the dismissal of the lawsuit, the defendant (or generally its insurer) agrees to make a series of periodic payments over time.
• A structured settlement, according to ExpertLaw, “can provide for payment in pretty much any schedule the parties choose.” That is, settlement may be paid in annual installments over a number of years, or it may be paid in periodic lump sums every few years.
• One of the reasons why a lot of people opt for structured settlement is because of tax avoidance. A structured settlement, with the correct set-up, may significantly reduce the plaintiff’s tax obligations as a result of the settlement. In some cases, it may even be tax-free!

“Want a capresso?”

“Huh?” I asked over the phone.

“I’ll be having a capresso. Want to join me?” Nap, my college friend whom I used to have a really huge crush on, patiently replied.

Then it hit me, he’s inviting me for coffee! After five years of waiting, he finally mustered enough guts to ask me out. Well, what do you know? Some things are just meant to be. ^_^

Twyla, my close friend, has been planning to become more independent by moving out of her father’s house with her daughter. With her salary increase last month, she now have enough money to do that, which is why she’s currently in a hunt for condos for sale - preferably somewhere nearby her current work place.

Being a thoughtful friend *ehem*, I helped her by doing some initial research in the internet first before visiting actual places. I was quite surprised when I found out that there are actually cheap condos within her work place – cheap, fully furnished, and quite spacious at that. This got me into thinking… I’d like to have one of those condos as well! Hmmm… I’ll have to rearrange my budget and lifestyle first to be able to accommodate this.

We were expecting Uncle Robert early morning to join us in a family outing, but it was already late in the morning when he arrived. As he alighted from his car, he pointed to the windshield and asked, “Where is the nearest windshield repair shop?” Then questions were thrown at him regarding the windshield.

This was what happened according to Uncle Robert. On his way to our place, he passed by the road near a golf course. Suddenly, a golf ball hit his windshield. He was so thankful that his windshield is of good quality and was installed by a professional. As such, a number of people including my uncle were spared from the accident. I just couldn’t imagine what might have happened if my uncle was distracted by the impact of the golf ball hitting his car’s windshield. The worst scenario is if the golf ball got through the windshield and hit my uncle with its broken glasses.

Before proceeding to the family outing, everybody decided to go to church first for a thanksgiving mass for my uncle was spared from accident.