Thursday, April 1, 2010

Understanding the Concept of Structured Settlements

Because there's a relatively high demand, many companies are willing to purchase structured settlements nowadays. Generally speaking, this involves these companies purchasing any future payments which you have coming to you in exchange for paying you a lump sum in advance, and of course this is usually significantly more than the monthly payments you receive. In other words, rather than having to receive a monthly payment according to the structured settlement agreement, these companies will pay you a lump sum, and then they will in turn receive the payments which would otherwise have come to you.

For example, if you've been on the receiving end of medical malpractice, or if you've recently been involved in a lawsuit because of personal injury sustained at your place of work, your lawyers may have managed to agree on a settlement offer. Of course, because the average settlement amount in such cases is usually very large, it is usually paid to you in the form of structured settlements, meaning that it could take a relatively long time before you actually receive the full amount. In fact, the agreement may even involve you receiving a fixed amount each month until such time that you pass away.

Depending on where about you live, together with several other factors, there can be several tax benefits to be had when the settlement amount is received over a relatively long period of time rather than receiving it as a lump sum. Additionally, the recipient also has the peace of mind in knowing that they will receive a regular income for as long as what the settlement agreement states. Likewise, if you're receiving such payments because of having sustained a serious illness or injury, then a structured settlement can be beneficial in that it can allow you to pay for ongoing medical treatment should it be necessary.

Even so, there are many cases where the recipient would rather have a lump sum instead of receiving small amounts every month. For example, they may wish to use the money in order to purchase a property, further their education, or indeed, any other reason they may have for wanting a lump sum. In that case, the best option would be to get in touch with one of the companies who purchase structured settlements.

Although each company has their own fee structure, most of them will generally charge between 10 and 30% of the amount they advance you. In layman's terms, the process can be compared to a regular payday advance, apart from the fact that there is usually significantly more money involved, and of course, the repayments will then go directly to the company that purchased your structured settlement. Contrary to what many people tend to believe, companies which purchased structured settlements are for the most part willing to purchase only a percentage of your settlement. In that case you would get a lump sum from the company, and any remaining money would then once again be paid to you in installments, but of course the payments would be adjusted accordingly.

One thing to bear in mind however is that it's usually necessary for you to have such an agreement approved by the court. The reasoning behind this is because the structured settlement terms were decided upon for good reason in the first place, and as such, the court needs to be convinced that you have a valid reason for wanting to sell your settlement. Something else to bear in mind when you're looking for companies which purchase structured settlements is that the smaller companies out there often offer more attractive rates than the larger companies. For this reason, it's essential that you do adequate research regarding several companies before you make a final decision.

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