- What is a structured
settlement?
A "structured settlement"
is a
payment arrangement created to settle a
lawsuit. The settlement provides legal release from liability in
exchange for payments to be made on an agreed upon schedule. The
"structure" is meant to meet the financial needs of
the injured party over some period of time. For example, if a
person was disabled as the result of an automobile accident, the
"structure" of payments might be set up to provide monthly income to
the injured person for some number of months or years.
- Do I have to
sell all my future structured settlement payments?
No. You should sell only
the
number of payments required to obtain the lump-sum of cash needed to
meet the
requirements of your situation. You have the option of selling
additional payments in the future, if necessary.
- I need to continue
receiving monthly income from my structured settlement, but I also need
money now. What can I do?
If you are receiving
monthly payments from your structured settlement, but you do not need
the whole monthly payment amount to live on, you may be able to split
the payments such that you continue to receive a lesser monthly payment
and the remainder is used to provide a lump-sum for you now.
- Can I sell structured settlement payments
that resulted from a Workers' Compensation lawsuit settlement?
Maybe. In order to
determine if your future payments from your workers' compensation
structured settlement can
be sold, we will need to
review your settlement and release documents, and your annuity
policy documents.
- My settlement
documents say the settlement payments are “non-assignable”. How does
this affect my ability to sell all or part of my settlement payments?
This should not affect
your ability to sell all or part of your structured settlement
payments. The 2002 federal law that setup the framework for selling
structured settlement payments makes the "non-assignable" language no
longer valid.
- My child has a structured
settlement which will start to make payments when my child becomes an
adult. Is it possible for a parent to access these payments for
the benefit of the child before the child becomes an adult?
It may be possible to sell
future payment due a minor child when they become an adult. It will be
necessary to convince a judge that it is in the best interest of the
child to sell the future payment before the child becomes an adult.
- How much will I
get?
We
can get you the answer to this question
usually within 24 hours after gathering information about your
circumstances
and the details of your structured settlement. The
quote is free and there no obligation on your part.
- Should I have an attorney
during
the process of selling my structured settlement payments?
Yes. We recommend that you
have
your own legal counsel to answer your questions and protect your
interests. You are responsible for the fees for the attorney you
consult with. Some states require that you consult an attorney during
the process of selling your future structured settlement payments.
- Who pays the court
costs and the fees for the attorney who presents my request in court to
sell my future settlement payments?
We do. Some of our
competitors expect you to pay these costs. When comparing our
quote with others you receive, make sure you find out who pays court
costs and the fees for the attorney who presents your request in
court. Their quote may initially look better until you discover
that you have to pay these additional costs. It is also important
to note that we pay these costs even
if the judge turns down your request to sell your future settlement
payments.
- Do I have to appear in court to justify my
request?
It will make your request
stronger if your are able to appear in court. You are the best
person to convince a judge that what you are requesting is in your best
interest.
- Will
I have to pay tax on the lump-sum payment?
You
should consult your tax advisor for tax
treatment for your specific situation. In general, for federal income
tax
purposes the lump-sum payment should receive the same tax treatment as
the original structured settlement payments.
- What
information do I have to provide to get a
quote?
The
following information is needed to get a free
no-obligation quote.
a) the
payment dates (month, day, and year) and the amount to be paid on each
date
b) the
name of the insurance company making the payments
- Will you buy payments from
a
settlement with someone other than an insurance company?
No. Only settlements with
insurance companies are purchased.
- How long does it take to
sell my
structured settlement
payments?
Because of the steps required by the legal framework meant to protect
the interests of all parties involved, it takes 60 to 90 days to sell
your structured settlement payments. All companies have to go
through the same process to purchase your future structured settlement
payments, so beware of companies that promise a time frame much less
than 60 days to complete the transaction.
- Can I sell my structured
settlement payments if my state does not have a law specifying how the
sale of structured settlements should be handled?
The states with a law specifying how the sale of structured settlements
should be handled continues to grow. However, if your state does not
yet have a law modeled on the 2002 federal law that defined the
framework for selling structured settlement payments, it is likely that
the insurance company making your settlement payments is based in a
state that does have such a law. In this situation the law of the state
where the insurance company is based is used to specify the process by
which your structured settlement payments will be sold.
- Why is there a "discount" on the structured
settlement payments that I sell?
There are several ways to
answer this question. Here is one of them. Let's suppose you had
a dollar and you put it in a bank account paying interest
of 10% per year and
you left it in that bank account for 10 years. To make the
math easier let's use simple interest. What this means is that
the bank account increases by 10 cents every year (10 % of the
original dollar). After 10 years you would have $2 in that bank
account (the original dollar plus $1 from interest over the 10 years).
Your $2 tens years from now is really only worth $1
today when you could earn 10 percent per year on your
money. This is similar to the situation seen by the people
who "invest" in your structured settlement payments. They want
to earn a
certain percentage on their money over the time they have to wait to
get the payments you are selling to them. To use our example
above, if you had a $2 dollar payment due in 10 years and the people
buying
your payments wanted to earn 10 percent simple interest on their money,
they would only be willing to pay you $1 today for the $2 they
would receive from your structured settlement in 10 years. This
is the reason why there is a discount on the future structured
settlement payments you sell. Please
note that numbers used in this example were chosen to make the math
easier to understand. The actual numbers when you sell all or
part of your future structured settlement payments will vary
depending on
the situation.
If you have additional
questions, or if you would like to start the process to sell all or
part of your future structured settlement payments, please
click here to contact us.
Call us now at 1-800-598-1178
to get started.
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