Structured settlement factoring transaction

A structured settlement factoring transaction describes the selling of future structured settlement payments (or, more accurately, rights to receive the future structured settlement payments). People who receive structured settlement payments (for example, the payment of personal injury damages over time instead of in a lump sum at settlement) may decide at some point that they need more money in the short term than the periodic payment provides over time. People's reasons are varied but can include unforeseen medical expenses for oneself or a dependent, the need for improved housing or transportation, education expenses and the like. To meet this need, the structured settlement recipient can sell (or, less commonly, encumber) all or part of their future periodic payments for a present lump sum.

Structured Settlements

Is a structured settlement right for you? You might find yourself re-considering this option. Remember, the structured settlement will be paid over a course of time in several installment payments equalling the whole. This can be good or bad, depending on your personal needs. It's looked upon as a secure and safe way to budget your funds properly, eliminating the chance of accidental overspending. It's also important to note that structured settlements are tax-free. All payments made via a structured settlement are nontaxable by federal tax guidelines (IRS Section 104(a)(2). 100% of every payment is tax exempt.

However, it's possible to sell structured settlements, and people do this all the time. There are firms that buy structured settlements and you have the option to sell to them. This provides you with a large one lump sum payment rather than the installment payments you would be locked into with your structured settlement.

There are some very trustworthy firms that will buy your structured settlement, J.G. Wentworth The Leading Purchaser of Structured Settlement and Annuity Payments are among the top of the list. They are one of the leaders in the business with 15+ years experience purchasing more than $2 billion of future payments, including structured settlements and annuities, from over 50,000 customers.

Another firm to consider would is Patriot Settlement. They go the extra mile in helping people obtain a large lump sum of cash now for their future payments from a Structured Settlement, Annuity or Lottery award.

Novation is a direct buyer of structured settlements. They provide cash now, in a lump sum, for people who are receiving payments over time, but need their money now.

You can get your free consultation at American Financial, it might be the best place to start if you're undecided.

Choosing the right specialty finance company to work with is an important decision, and many people do not know where to turn for advice. The Structured Settlement Alliance is designed to help you get the most money for your structured settlements and annuity payments. The SSA helps to make this process easy for you by matching you with the best possible financial institution to handle your settlement, and letting you decide how to proceed -- putting the control where it should be, in your hands.

Annuity Purchases offers a free quote as well. Their programs can help convert your long-term income from an annuity into cash that you can use today. While annuities serve an important role and often meet the payees' needs as originally planned, they are inflexible and incapable of resolving unplanned, immediate financial needs.

Another firm worth mentioning is Settlement Funding. Fill out their short form, and receive immediate quotes from top structured settlement funding companies, as well as free information on structured settlements, settlement selling tips, and your rights as a structured settlement owner. To get cash now for your structured settlement or annuity payments, explore these respected firms for yourself and decide which is best for you.

Remember: Under a structured settlement, an injured victim doesn't receive compensation for his or her injuries in one lump sum. They will receive a stream of tax-free payments tailored to meet future medical expenses and basic living needs. A structured settlement may be agreed to privately (for example, in a pre-trial settlement) or it may be required by a court order, which often happens in judgments involving minors and incapacitated adults.

article sourse:http://www.structuredsettlementsum.com/

What you need to know before selling your structured settlement payments.

What you need to know before selling your structured settlement payments.
Before the state structured settlement protection statutes and the Victims of Terrorism Relief Act of 2001 which created ?5891 of the Internal Revenue Code, any one wanting to sell their settlement payments were on their own. The sale of structured settlement payment rights today requires a Court in your state to review and, if appropriate, make a "qualified order" approving the sale of such payments or a hefty 40% excise tax is applied. The concept of Court approval is intended to protect you from entering into a deal that is not in your best interest.

Should I sell my payments?
The answer to that one is difficult. The question you might ask yourself: Do I need the money now? For example: to buy a house, pay for an education, a business opportunity or to keep from filing bankruptcy. Any good reason would make sense. To go on vacation or buy an Acura Legend might not be in your best interest.

If you have other money sources to explore, I suggest using those options first. Selling your structured settlement should be a last resort.

Five things NOT to do when Selling your Structured Settlements.

One: Don't sell to the highest bidder. Why?
There is what is called High Balling. Some brokers or structured settlement or annuity sources will make a high offer just to get someone under contract. Then they will start making excuses and reduce the offer. Once you are under contract with a funding source, it is very difficult to back out. Even if you are able to pull out, you will have to start the whole process over again losing valuable time, at a time when you may need money desperately.

Two: Believing the funding source when they say you will have your money in a couple of weeks.
The time to close is dictated by individual state laws, both where the state and the insurance company have their home office and the state where the client resides. In some states, it is possible to close in about a month. In other states, it can take as long as four months. With the rest, it is somewhere in between. Court orders take time and all transactions need one. Don't believe it if someone says they can close in a week or two.

Three: Thinking you have to sell the whole settlement or annuity. Not determining how much you really need.
Why sell a $300,000 settlement when you only need $25,000? If you need additional cash sometime in the future you will be able to sell more payments or lump sums at that time. You will end up with more cash, than if you sell all payments at once; and it allows you options.

Four: Letting emotions or being desperate control our decisions.
We have all gotten excited or felt desperate when faced with various situations. We could be excited about buying a home or starting a new career; or we could be feeling desperate because we are about to lose our home or are facing high medical expenses. Even though we are excited or desperate, we really must think through our decision. Some brokers or funding sources will try to take advantage of us and our situation. We should discuss our situation with a trusted family member, friend, attorney, pastor or whomever. We do not want to ruin tomorrows financial options by making irrational decisions today.

Five: Check out the reputation of the structured settlement or annuity purchaser.
Call the attorney general or consumer affairs in your residence state and the state where your funding source is located to see if there are any complaints about that funding source. If there are a lot of complaints against the source you are considering, take that as a red flag and move onto the next source. Don't agree to anything or sign any agreements until you feel you are dealing with a reputable structured settlement or annuity purchaser.
Remember to first look for other sources of money like family, banks and ect., before selling payments. If your settlement is your only source of income it is not in your best interest to sell. Make sure the people who are buying your payments have your interests in mind. SELLER BEWARE.
I hope that you have a positive experience and put the money to good use, if you decide to sell your payments.

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The Truth About Selling Your Structured Settlement

Structured settlements are an increasingly popular option for resolving injury or damage claims. These types of agreements allow the beneficiary to receive periodic (usually monthly) payments instead of a single, large payment all at once.

This might turn out to be a great option for some people, since the settlement is usually arranged so that they payments cover some or all of the injured party's medical and/or personal expenses. However, with the high cost of medical care, some people may need a larger sum of money to cover the additional cost or that money might be needed to cover other non-medical expenses.

If you're receiving payments from a structured settlement as a result of an injury claim, you have several options if you need to get more of your money immediately versus having smaller payments trickle in over time. There are several companies that specialize in purchasing structured settlements and this can offer you a quick and easy way to get access to more of your money with very little headaches.

Usually, you can sell either part of your structured settlement or the entire settlement. However, one thing to keep in mind is that the amount you receive as a lump sum will probably be significantly less than if you added up all the payments you would have received over time. In other words, there's still a "cost" in selling your structured settlement. But if you need money now, the cost is reasonable and you can get enough money to meet your current needs, this can turn out to be a great, creative solution to an otherwise stressful situation.

You can either work with a company that will buy your structured settlement directly or with a company that acts as a broker, putting you in contact with a large number of financial institutions who might be able to meet your needs. Working with a broker saves you time and energy since you can get multiple offers and choose the lender that best suits your needs.

The great thing is that more often than not, a broker can get you a free quote based on some simple info you provide. Then, they will notify their network of lenders who will then respond with their offers. You can choose which offer to accept or simply walk away. This is a huge time saver when compared to researching, contacting and negotiating offers with each financial institution one-by-one and all on your own.

Of course, when going this route, you definitely want to make sure you're working with a structured settlement broker with a vast network of financial partners. That will get your information in front of more lenders and will hopefully result in more offers.

If you simply want to receive a lump sum of money but don't have any particular reason for doing so, this probably isn't an option you should consider. Instead, this should be used for emergency situations or situations that truly require quickly raising money for a specific purpose.

But if you find yourself in an emergency situation, facing a financial challenge requiring you to raise money fast, and you're also receiving structured settlement payments, this is one of the most flexible options available to you.

If that's the case, start investigating your options immediately.

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When a Structured Settlement is Best

This article explains a few things about Structured Settlements, and if you're interested, then this is worth reading, because you can never tell what you don't know.

Structured settlements are structured cash payments through an annuity system that is established to compensate injury victims for their losses. Structured settlements are the other alternative payment system to a lump sum cash settlement and are set up to provide payments to you over time.

Structured settlements received special legislative treatment by the U.S. Congress in 1982, as a way to make large settlements more agreeable to parties and provide certain protection to victims. As a result, many people now choose a structured settlement agreement over a lump sum distribution, and courts often award them in civil actions where there will be long-term costs of living and the necessity for obtaining cash payments at some point in the future.
Under a structured settlement, the victim will receive compensation over an extended period of time (often a lifetime) instead of a large single payment. The structured settlement is a way of protecting the victim from economic loss and hardship, while also making the payout more palatable to the defendant.

Structured settlements are obviously not appropriate in every case. A simple accident where the injured party is and will be fully capable, cases where the term of the treatment or care is not spread out over a long period of time, and where the kind of injuries are not severe would probably not have a structured settlement agreement.

Structured settlements are designed for many other types of cases though including:

?Severe injury where there is long-term treatment requirements, where future medical costs will necessarily be incurred, and to meet living and family expenses.

?Worker?s compensation cases where the injured party may not be able to work or at least work to the earning capacity that they would otherwise have enjoyed.

?Permanent or temporary disabilities that will take extensive recovery time

?Wrongful death cases where a surviving family will need a regular income to replace that of the lost spouse/parent

?Guardianship cases where there are minor children or another person who is judged to be incompetent such as a person with psychological, emotional, or mental handicaps

If your Structured Settlement facts are out-of-date, how will that affect your actions and decisions? Make certain you don't let important Structured Settlement information slip by you. That's how things stand right now. Keep in mind that any subject can change over time, so be sure you keep up with the latest news.

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Purchase Structured Settlements

We purchase structured settlements.

Oasis helps you to do what YOU want when YOU want with YOUR money.

Structured settlements arise when a consumer settles a lawsuit claim.

With a structured settlement, the injured party receives periodic payments. However, it is very common for consumers who are receiving structure settlements to run into financial problems simply because they cannot access their future settlement payments in time to meet current financial obligations.

This is typically not an issue of being unable to pay the bills. Rather, structured settlement recipients often want to fund major life events such as buying a home, purchasing a business, or paying for college. The timing of their settlement payments makes it difficult to make those important investments.

Oasis solves this common problem by restructuring the structured settlement payments. In effect, we purchase structured settlement payments due in the future and provide consumers with a lump-sum cash settlement payment now. For consumers who are receiving structured settlement payments, it allows them to make investments in their own future that might otherwise not be possible.

How We Purchase Structured Settlements

It all starts with your completing our no-cost, no risk application form. If you prefer to talk on the phone, our helpful representatives are ready to assist you at our toll free number: 1-877-333-6675.

SUBMIT A REQUEST FOR A FREE QUOTE NOW

More Information on Structured Settlements

Structured Settlements Cash Advances
Cash for Structured Settlements
Insurance Settlement Loans
How We Buy Settlements
Selling Annuity Payments
Cashing Out an Annuity

article sourse:http://www.oasislegal.com/case_types/plaintiff/settlements_judgements/purchase-structured-settlements.aspx

NSSTA 2009 Winter Meeting

"Protect the business model and prepare for the future" was the unstated theme as the National Structured Settlement Trade Association (NSSTA) hosted its 2009 Winter Meeting in Orlando, Florida January 28-30.

From NSSTA's perspective, the structured settlement model depends upon:

• Helping injury victims and improving dispute resolution;
• IRC sections 130 and 104(a)(2);
• Integrating these tax preferences with other government benefits including:
  
  • Social Security;
  • Medicare;
  • Medicaid;
  • Veterans benefits; and
  • Federally-assisted housing.
• Cooperation among defense and plaintiff intermediaries;
• Bi-partisan political support in Washington, D.C.;
• Controlling negative secondary market conduct and publicity;
• Continuing payment performance by all annuity providers.

The challenges facing NSSTA, and the structured settlement industry, include:

• The impact of the financial crisis;
• Anticipated legislative and regulatory changes;
• Identifying new leaders;
• Growing the market;
• Addressing 468B and the secondary market;
• Reconciling claim management and settlement planning;
• Transitioning to Internet-based technologies and business models.

Directly or indirectly, NSSTA's educational program in Orlando addressed all of these issues.

Educational program highlights:

Injury Victims

• Andrew Imparato - Imparato, President and CEO of the American Association for Persons with Disabilities (AAPD), was NSSTA's keynote speaker in Orlando. Imparato praised structured settlements as one possible model for modernizing other federal entitlement programs. NSSTA and AAPD have collaborated previously on legislative initiatives including IRC 5891. NSSTA participated as an event sponsor at the 2008 AAPD Gala Leadership Dinner. Imparato spoke previously at NSSTA's 2007 Fall Meeting. The 2009 AAPD Gala Leadership Dinner is scheduled for March 4 in Washington, D.C.
• Eric Vaughn - NSSTA's lobbyist summarized existing federal consumer protection legislation and highlighted some of the consumer and investment protection legislative proposals and issues now before Congress. Although he anticipates federal reforms, Vaughn did not predict whether the primary or secondary structured settlement markets will end up inside or outside any legislative and regulatory net.

Washington Reports

• Congressman Kendrick Meek - Congress Kendrick B. Meek, a Democrat representing Florida's 17th district, addressed economic challenges facing President Obama and Congress. TARP has not served the purpose Congress intended according to Congressman Meek. He predicted continued economic problems "for at least 15 months" including the structured settlement industry. To be effective legislatively, Congressman Meek recommended NSSTA feature "real stories and real people". Congressman Meek further stated: "now is the time to come together" legislatively to protect and improve the structured settlement industry. Congressman Meek also confirmed his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat which will be vacated when Florida Republican Mel Martinez retires in 2010.
• Eric Vaughn - Vaughn's summaries of NSSTA's political challenges and strategies highlight every NSSTA meeting. In Orlando, Vaughn discussed lobbying opportunities for structured settlements both in Congress and within the Obama Administration. Vaughn provided his political analysis of current Congressional committees as well as proposed legislation important for structured settlements. Vaughn urged all NSSTA members to attend NSSTA's 2009 Annual Meeting April 29 to May 1 in Washington, D.C.

Plaintiff and Defense Brokers - NSSTA's educational program featured two panels addressing plaintiff and defense structured settlement cooperation.

• James Early and Ronald Sullivan - Early (defense) and Sullivan (plaintiff) agreed on most issues: their collaborative objectives include facilitating settlements and taking care of injury victims; both plaintiff and defense brokers are needed; clients should not be able to dictate whether and how brokers share commissions; most brokers are "good people"; 468B funds should be limited to multi-claimant cases and not utilized to eliminate defense brokers. Their only stated disagreement concerned "approved lists" with Sullivan asking what is wrong with injury victims selecting their own annuity providers?
• Roger Bernstein; Bruce DeBacher; and Michael Goodman - Bernstein (special needs attorney), DeBacher (defense) and Goodman (plaintiff) discussed how each helps to settle cases by adding value. Bernstein deconstructed a sample life care plan and integrated collateral benefits to reach "reasonable" settlement expectations. DeBacher and Goodman explained how to build a settlement in an adversarial context, emphasized the need for early involvement and agreed upon the advantages of having both a plaintiff and defense structured settlement broker. They expressed shared concerns: trust companies using factoring to sell against structured settlements; and the decline in small cases resulting from defendants' de-emphasis of structured settlements.

Settlement Consulting - Joseph DiGangi addressed problems the structured settlement industry faces with its historic "annuity broker" business model. According to DiGangi, these problems include a stagnant market, negative perceptions of roles and value, limited knowledge base and resources as well as a single product offering. DiGangi proposed an alternative "consultant" business model with multiple products and services providing added value. Using a case example, DiGangi constructed a planning solution matching the injury victim's "needs and wants" for which he utilized a structured settlement annuity as the foundation product. For structured settlement professionals who lack the expertise or licensing to offer comprehensive solutions, DiGangi recommended teaming up with other professionals.

IRC Section 468B - With Henry Strong moderating, William Winslow and James Klapps discussed the use of 468B funds in cases involving multiple claimants. Their presentation objectives included helping brokers use 468B to expand their structured settlement business and highlighting errors that brokers and their clients should avoid. The presentation purposely omitted references to controversial single claimant 468B issues as well as technical tax and administrative issues. Instead, Winslow and Klapps provided a general introduction to IRC 468 plus encouragement for uninitiated structured settlement professionals that IRC 468B business opportunities and issues do, in fact, exist.

Note: for persons interested in understanding the single claimant 468B controversy, see: Robert Wood's article titled "Single-Claimant (468B) Qualified Settlement Funds?" and Richard Risk's article titled "A Case for the Urgent Need to Clarify Tax Treatment of a Qualified Settlement Fund Created for a Single Claimant" ". For information about technical 468B tax and administrative issues, see Wood's new book "Qualified Settlement Fund & 468B". For information about structured settlements and 468B funds, see Section 3.08B of "Structured Settlements and Periodic Payment Judgments" (Release 44) written by Daniel Hindert, Joseph Dehner and Patrick Hindert.

The Secondary Market

• As part of the NSSTA Legal Committee's "All Things Considered" presentation, Illana Hanau and Michael Miller spoke about structured settlement secondary market issues. Hanau summarized historic abuses and continuing bad business practices by structured settlement factoring companies. Her examples: In re Wiggins, a 2001 Idaho case involving Peachtree Settlement Funding, and the Fresno County cases involving 321 Henderson (a J.G. Wentworth affiliate). Henderson is appealing the Fresno County cases. Hanau also summarized results from a "random sample" of factoring cases as evidence of bad business practices by factoring companies. Miller summarized other business activities in which some structured settlement companies engage: the secondary market for life insurance; the purchase of taxable annuity products; and litigation funding.
• During his "Business Ethics" discussion, Rev. Oliver Williams asked the audience to identify structured settlement business conduct that has caused "shocked disbelief" among NSSTA members. As one example of such "shocked disbelief", NSSTA attendees identified structured settlement factoring. More specifically, that factoring has dismantled many "permanent" structured settlement case "solutions" and that NSSTA's "proscriptive" political strategy for factoring (IRC 5891and the state protection statutes) has resulted unexpectedly in substantial secondary market growth.

Internet Transition - Patrick Hindert, S2KM's blog author, led a discussion titled "Web 2.0: How to Improve NSSTA's Online Communication. Learning and Collaboration". Hindert introduced and proposed a NSSTA wiki prototype designed to support NSSTA's committee policies and procedures.

For S2KM reports about prior NSSTA meetings as well as other settlement planning professional associations, see S2KM's structured settlement wiki.

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