Our Team
James Mitchell, CFP®
Lead Financial Analyst & Certified Financial Planner
James Mitchell is a Certified Financial Planner® with over 15 years of experience in structured settlement analysis, annuity valuation, and secondary market transactions. He has personally reviewed and analyzed over 3,000 structured settlement transfers, providing independent guidance to settlement holders navigating the selling process.
James holds his CFP® certification from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards and specializes in helping structured settlement recipients understand their options — whether that means selling for a lump sum, executing a partial sale, or keeping their payments intact. His analysis has been cited in financial publications and referenced by consumer advocacy organizations.
At Settlement Decisions, James leads all content review, calculator methodology, discount rate research, and buyer comparison analysis. Every tool, guide, and recommendation on this site is reviewed and approved by James to ensure accuracy, fairness, and alignment with current 2026 market conditions.
Editorial Standards
Every piece of content on Settlement Decisions is fact-checked against current federal and state regulations, verified using live market data from 26+ licensed buyers, and reviewed by James Mitchell before publication. Our calculator methodologies use the standard Present Value of Annuity formula (PV = PMT × [(1 - (1 + r)^-n) / r]) with discount rates validated against real transaction data.
We maintain strict editorial independence. No structured settlement buyer pays for placement or reviews on this site. Our revenue comes from connecting qualified sellers with competing buyers — we are incentivized to get you the best possible outcome, not to favor any single company.