By following a few simple steps, you can get cash for your Structured Settlement.
When accidents happen, like a car crash, a slip and fall, medical malpractice, a wrongful death, or any other injury that doesn't happen at work, structured settlements are often made with insurance companies to pay for the damage. People involved in personal injury or insurance cases choose to get a series of payments over a long period of time instead of a lump sum payment right away. Most of the time, the total amount of these payments is more than what a person would have gotten if they had taken the money right away. The injured party (Plaintiff) goes through a process in which they decide to take this long-term payment and sign a "Settlement and Release Agreement." This gives the insurer (Defendant) permission to buy an annuity policy on behalf of the insured, which would pay the injured party (now called the Annuitant) on a monthly, quarterly, or yearly basis.
With the passing of new federal laws in 2002 and more state protections, the person who was hurt can now get cash from their structured settlement by selling this annuity stream to a third party if they want to. These regular payments, which come from an annuity contract with an insurance company and are called a "structured settlement," may be
The money can be transferred at any time in the future for a lump sum today, but the person who is hurt should be very careful to get a court order. The court order is meant to protect the injured party, and it does this in two ways. First, it protects the annuitant (the injured party) from a dishonest transaction. Second, and we think this is just as important, it keeps the transaction tax-free. Without a court order, the entire amount of money received would be taxed, which is a very scary thought.
The person who owns the structured settlement should know that these annuity sales are governed by laws that vary from state to state. To finish the transaction, these specific parts must be followed to the letter. Most of the time, the injured party who gets the payment stream must sign a new transfer and assignment agreement that spells out all the terms of the contract and the price to be paid.
At this point, the person who was hurt might be wondering how hard it is to get cash for their structured settlement because the process seems complicated. In fact, selling a structured settlement annuity is a simple, straightforward process that any institutional funder has done thousands of times and will handle all the paperwork correctly. The only thing the person who was hurt has to do is make sure they give the funder the right paperwork at the right time. This is a simple transaction that can be done in any way. Once in court, the possible sale is told to everyone who is interested and then put before the court for approval.
Keep in mind that this is a process that will usually take at least 90 days to finish. To speed up the process, the person who was hurt needs to make sure they respond right away when the funding party asks for information or paperwork. The institutional funder should know a lot about structured settlements and have done many transactions. They should also be able to give you references. This is for your safety and to let you know that all the rules of the law will be followed. If your structured settlement company doesn't meet these criteria, you should find another one.
Can a structured settlement be turned into cash? Yes. As long as you follow these simple rules.
