Call us now at 1-800-598-1178
to get started.
This page contains some
frequently asked and some not so frequently
asked questions about lawsuit funding. If your question is not
covered here, please call us at the above number to discuss your
question. Remember, there is no such thing as a stupid
question. Chances are if you have a question we have not already
covered here, then it is likely that other people may have the same
question. Your question may be one we choose to add to the site
so other people can benefit from it.
- What is Lawsuit Funding?
- What are the basic qualifications for
lawsuit funding?
- Do I need to have filed a lawsuit to
use lawsuit funding?
- What is a "contingency fee" and why must
my attorney be working for me on a "contingency fee" basis?
- Can I get lawsuit funding in my
state?
- I live in Ohio. Can I get lawsuit
funding on
my case?
- Can I get lawsuit funding in
Canada?
- Do I need to have a job to get lawsuit
funding?
- Does my credit history affect my
ability to get lawsuit funding?
- Can I get lawsuit funding on a
case involving a minor child?
- Are there any restrictions on how use
the money I get from lawsuit funding?
- Should I payoff my credit cards using
the cash from lawsuit funding?
- How much can I get from lawsuit funding?
- Do I have to take my lawsuit funding
advance as a single payment?
- I have prior advances from another
company, and they won't advance more on my case. Can I get more money
from your company?
- How long does it take for me to get my
lawsuit funding advance?
- Are there any upfront fees required to
get lawsuit funding?
- How much is lawsuit funding
going to cost me?
- Do I have to make monthly payments
while I am waiting for my lawsuit to settle?
- What types of lawsuits might qualify
for lawsuit funding?
- Do I need to have an attorney?
- Does my attorney need to approve my
request for lawsuit funding?
- Does the underwriter get involved in
legally representing me?
- Are you giving me a settlement for my
lawsuit?
- How do I
get the lawsuit cash advance after my attorney and I approve the
funding agreement?
- When
should I get a lawsuit funding via your company?
- Why
should I go through the additional expense of getting lawsuit funding?
- Why
should I use Chestnut Hill Funding to get my lawsuit funding?
- What
is Lawsuit Funding?
Lawsuit Funding is a cash advance against an expected
settlement of a lawsuit. The advance is made before or after your case settles. Some people
refer to what we do as a "lawsuit loan". However, unlike a loan there
are no monthly
payments, and you owe nothing if your lawsuit case is lost. Therefore,
what we do should be thought of as "lawsuit funding" or a "lawsuit cash
advance" rather than
a "lawsuit loan".
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- What are the basic
qualifications for lawsuit funding?
The following are the basic qualifications for lawsuit
funding.
- the liability for the incident resulting in the lawsuit
must be on someone else (in other words, you cannot have been
responsible for causing the accident
or situation resulting in the lawsuit)
- there must be insurance from which you will be
compensated
- you must have injuries caused by the accident, or have
been affected by the incident such that you are entitled to
monetary damages from the defendant
- you must be represented by an attorney on a contingency
fee basis
- the settlement must go to your attorney before it is
paid to you by your attorney
- you cannot currently be in bankruptcy (Chapter 7 or
Chapter 13)
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- Do I need to have filed a
lawsuit to use lawsuit funding?
Maybe. Filing a lawsuit implies that you are getting ready to take your
case to trial. Most cases never go to trial. It will depend on
the case type whether a lawsuit should have been filed before applying
for lawsuit funding. For example, for an auto accident case it is not
necessary to have filed a lawsuit if the case can be resolved via
negotiation. If settlement negotiations fail, then a lawsuit will
be filed. Employment and medical malpractice cases usually
require that a lawsuit has been filed and a complaint document has
been produced before applying for lawsuit funding. Please contact
us to discuss if your case requires that a lawsuit be filed before
applying for lawsuit funding. In all cases you will need an attorney
representing you on a contingency fee
basis.
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- What is a "contingency
fee" and why must my attorney be working for me on a "contingency fee"
basis?
Attorneys usually work on either an "hourly retainer" basis or a
"contingency fee" basis. When an attorney works on an "hourly
retainer" basis you will make an upfront payment to the attorney from
which the attorney will make draws as the attorney performs work for
you. You will have to make additional payments to the attorney each
time the "hourly retainer" account is exhausted. A "contingency fee"
means that your attorney's fees for legal services
are paid from the recovery in your case rather than by payments for
hourly services paid directly by you as your case progresses. If
nothing is recovered,
then your attorney receives no compensation for legal services. The
percentage of the settlement that an attorney can receive under a
contingency fee relationship can range from 20% to 50% of the
settlement. Depending on the details of your agreement with
the attorney, you may or may not be responsible for reimbursing the
attorney for expenses (toll calls, document copying, expert witness
fees) related to your case whether or not there is a recovery in
your case. Our underwriters are only paid back when there
is a recovery in your case. Therefore, they want the attorney to
be in the same position they are. The underwriters want the
attorney to have an incentive for winning your case. This protects
their investment in your case. If the attorney is being paid by the
hour, then the attorney does not have the same incentive to win your
case because the attorney is compensated whether or not the case is
won.
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- Can I
get lawsuit funding in my state?
Lawsuit funding is allowed in all states except North Carolina (see the
case of Odell v. Legal Bucks). However, some
of
our underwriters may not do lawsuit funding in other states based on
their experience
in those states.
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- I live in Ohio. Can
I get lawsuit funding on my case?
Yes. It became legal to do lawsuit funding in Ohio about
August 29, 2008 as the result of a new law.
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- Can I get lawsuit funding
in Canada?
Possibly. Some of our underwriters will do lawsuit
funding on Canadian
cases However, they will not do cases in Quebec.
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- Do I need to have a job to
get lawsuit funding?
No. In fact, many of our clients are unable to work or have lost their
jobs because of the injuries from the accident that resulted in their
lawsuit. Many individuals with employment cases find it difficult
to get new jobs when a possible new employer learns they have an
employment lawsuit in-progress.
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- Does my credit history
affect my ability to get lawsuit funding?
If you are in a bankruptcy proceeding (Chapter 7 or Chapter 13), then
we cannot help you. Otherwise, your credit history does not matter.
Only the details of your case are used to determine whether you can get
lawsuit funding.
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- Can I get lawsuit funding
on a case involving a minor child?
No. Lawsuit funding is not
permitted on cases involving children under 18 years old. We can
only advance on the portion of a case involving injury or damages
to adults. If your attorney is willing to state in writing that
you are entitled significant damages as a result of the injuries to
your child, then we may be able to advance on the share of the
settlement to
which you are entitled. It should be noted that one of our underwriters
refuses to do lawsuit funding on cases where a minor is named in the
complaint as a plaintiff in the case even if the main injury was not to
the minor.
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- Are there any
restrictions on how I use the money I get from lawsuit funding?
No. The money you get from lawsuit funding is meant to be used to pay
your bills that you have been unable to pay due the circumstances
brought about by your
lawsuit. The advance from lawsuit funding should be used to help avoid
such events as foreclosure on your home, eviction from a house or
apartment,
repossession of a vehicle, and shut off of utility services. However,
you can use the lawsuit funding advance funds in any way
that you choose.
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- Should I payoff my credit
cards using the cash from lawsuit funding?
Probably not. In most case the cost of lawsuit funding will
be higher than the interest rate you are paying on your credit
cards. However, if you are getting collection calls from
your credit card companies and these calls are having a negative effect
on you, then lawsuit funding may allow you to make payments
that may at least temporarily stop the collection calls you are
receiving.
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- How much can I get from lawsuit funding?
For cases that have not settled yet, the amount that can be advanced is
about 10 percent of the value of the settlement as estimated by our
underwriter. The settlement value is based on the severity of
your injuries, the amount of treatment you have received for those
injuries, and the amount of insurance coverage available to
compensate you for those injuries. The minimum advance amount is
usually about $250. If a settlement agreement has been signed, it may
be
possible to get an advance of more than 10% of the agreed
settlement. Contact us for details.
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- Do I have to take my
lawsuit funding advance as a single payment?
No. In fact we recommend that you take small monthly advances
rather than one large advance, if possible, to reduce the fees you will
owe. For example, if you were seriously injured and your case
qualified for a lawsuit funding advance of $30,000 to cover your
expenses for the next
year while you recover, then we would recommend that your take the
lawsuit funding
advance as monthly payments of $2500 over each of the next 12
months. If your case settles before the year is up, you will not
be paying fees on money you did not need.
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- I have prior advances
from another company, and they won't advance more on my case. Can I get
more money from your company?
Maybe. There is a limit to how much lawsuit funding can be done on any
case. In general that limit is 10% of the estimated settlement
value of the case. However, each company evaluates cases in their
own way and may have limits as to how much they will invest in a single
case. Our underwriters will evaluate your case. If they
believe the maximum lawsuit funding has not already been done on your
case, then an
offer will be made to you that includes buying out your prior advances
and advancing additional funds to you. In order to determine the
"buyout amount", we will request that you obtain a "payoff letter" from
the company to which you still owe money for prior lawsuit funding
advances.
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- How long does it take for
me to get my lawsuit funding advance?
Assuming the underwriter approves your request, the lawsuit funding
advance can usually be made in a few days after receiving the documents
for your case from your attorney. This also assumes that you and
your attorney approve the lawsuit funding agreement from the
underwriter. Below is a list of the steps and how long they might
take. The steps may take more or less time than that listed.
Do
initial screening ,
take application, request documents from attorney
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1
day
|
Wait
for attorney to
respond with requested documents
|
1
to ? days
|
Prepare
case submission to underwriter once documents are received
|
1
day
|
Underwriting
review
|
2
days minimum
|
Review
funding offer
with you and send funding contract to your attorney
|
1
day
|
Review
and approval of
contract by you and your attorney, FAX contract to underwriter
|
1
day
|
Review
of signed contract by underwriter-Send check via overnight shipping or
do wire of
advance to your account
|
1
day
|
Receive
advance check via overnight shipping service
|
1
day
|
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- Are there any upfront fees
required to get lawsuit funding?
For most non-commercial or personal injury cases, all fees are deferred
until your case settles. Some commercial (e.g. breach of contract,
defamation, fraud, copyright or patent infringement) cases may have a
non-refundable fee for due diligence review by an expert in the case
law.
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- How much is lawsuit
funding going to cost me?
There are fees associated with the use of the money you receive from
lawsuit funding. There may be a combination of both one-time fees
and
monthly
fees. These fees vary based on the merits of the lawsuit, the length of
time it takes to settle the case, and the underwriter providing the
lawsuit funding. All fees will be disclosed to you as part of the
process
to determine whether lawsuit funding can be obtained for your lawsuit.
We
will always try to get your case funded through our lowest
cost underwriter first. However, if they are not able to fund
your case, we will try other underwriters if you give us your
authorization to do so.
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- Do I have to make monthly
payments while I am waiting for my lawsuit to settle?
No! Lawsuit funding provides you with a cash advance and is not a loan
on your lawsuit.
You will pay the cash advance amount plus fees owed for the use of the
cash advance only when the lawsuit settles, and then only if their is a
recovery in your case. You do have the
option of paying the advance plus fees owed back before the case
settles, if you choose.
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- What types of lawsuits
might qualify for lawsuit funding?
The following types of lawsuits may qualify for lawsuit funding.
The following cases do NOT
qualify for lawsuit funding.
- Social Security Disability cases
- Cases where the attorney is being paid by hourly
retainer, or you are acting as your own attorney
- Cases where you were liable for causing the accident or
incident
- Cases where the settlement will be paid by a person
rather
than an insurance company
- Small claims cases
- Criminal cases
- DUI or DWI cases
- Custody cases
- Immigration cases
- Cases where the plaintiff is a minor (under 18 years of
age)
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- Do I need to have an
attorney?
Yes. You must have an attorney. We cannot get lawsuit funding for you
unless you have an attorney. Also the attorney
must be working for you on a "contingency fee" basis. Lawsuit funding
cannot be done on cases where the attorney is working
for you on an "hourly fee retainer" basis. You cannot be acting
as your own attorney.
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- Does my attorney need to
approve my request for lawsuit funding?
Yes. We strongly suggest you discuss your need for lawsuit funding with
your attorney before you request a lawsuit cash advance from our
company. Some attorneys will not support their client's request for
lawsuit funding. Other attorneys support the request when
they believe it serves the needs of their client. Your attorney's
support is essential. They will be asked to provide information and
documents about your case. If you are approved for lawsuit funding,
then both you and your attorney must approve the lawsuit funding
agreement.
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- Does the underwriter get
involved in legally representing me?
No. Your attorney is your legal representation. The underwriter is only
involved to provide you with the lawsuit funding.
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- Are you
giving me a
settlement for my lawsuit?
No. The money you receive as an "advance" is not a settlement for your
lawsuit. You and your attorney must still reach a settlement with the
defendant and their insurance company.
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- How do I get the lawsuit
cash
advance after my attorney and I approve the funding agreement?
All of our underwriters will overnight a check to you. Some of our
underwriters will do a wire transfer or direct deposit into a bank
account of yours.
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- When should I get lawsuit
funding via your company?
You should only try to get lawsuit funding from our
company when you need money to pay your bills, and you have used all
your other resources such as personal savings, borrowing from family
and friends, and banks. When you get lawsuit funding from your lawsuit
it should be the minimum amount to meet your needs at the time in order
to minimize the fees you will pay when your case settles. If you have
not reached the maximum amount the underwriter will advance for your
case, it may be possible to get additional lawsuit funding at a later
date.
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- Why should I go through
the additional expense of getting lawsuit funding?
You should not get lawsuit funding unless it will buy your
attorney the
time needed to get the settlement you really deserve, or you simply
have no other way to pay your bills. The insurance companies that
usually pay out the settlements will wait as long as possible to settle
with you. If the cash advance on your lawsuit will allow you to hold
out until your attorney can get you the settlement you really deserve,
then it may be worth the expense to get the lawsuit funding. It
may also
be worth the expense to you if it will help you through a difficult
financial situation. Such situations include avoiding foreclosure on
your home, avoiding eviction from your apartment, avoiding repossession
of your vehicle, avoiding shutoff of your utilities, or just keeping
food on your table. You should discuss what is the best strategy for
you with your attorney.
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- Why should I use Chestnut
Hill Funding to get my lawsuit funding?
Here are some reasons to work with us. We work with
multiple underwriting companies so you and your attorney do not have
to. Most attorneys do not like sending the same documentation to
several companies. When you work with us we can put your case in
front of multiple underwriters without the need for your attorney to
send the same documentation to multiple companies. This saves your
attorney time and money. When your request is turned down by one of
our underwriters, we request your permission to send it to another
without the need to get your attorney's office involved in providing
documents again. We try to get the lowest cost advance we can for
you from our list of underwriters. We always try to treat you in
a courteous and sympathetic manner. We know you are going through
a difficult situation, and should not be treated in a rude or
insensitive manner by people who you are contacting for help. We
have helped hundreds of people from all over the country get lawsuit
funding on their cases. We would welcome the opportunity to do the same
for
you.
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If you have additional
questions, or if you would like to learn if your
lawsuit qualifies for lawsuit funding, please
click here to contact us, or
Call us now at 1-800-598-1178
to get started.
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