When you want to sell your structured settlement payments some companies you may talk to will feed you the oh so popular line that “It’s your money” do do with as you please. Well, yes. It is your money. And, yes. You may spend it however you like. What the often won’t mention is that sometimes the reason for selling is valid, and sometimes your reason just doesn’t make good financial sense.
If you’re planning on going on a holiday shopping spree and need a little extra cash to fill the stockings, your structured settlement is not a good place to look for dollars. However if you have gotten yourself into a situation where you are drowning in debt at very high rates, it may make financial sense to use part of your settlement to clear the books.
When faced with a serious financial crunch, some people hastily sell their annuities and structured settlements to the first company who would be willing to buy them for a lump sum amount. These companies who are willing to buy-out annuities and structured payments are commonly referred to as “Factoring” companies, because they use “Factors” to determine how much future payments are currently worth, and how much they should buy them for.
Many companies that advertise structured settlements web make the process seem easy. The process of selling your structured settlement can be a complicated legal process that requires court approval and can take up to 90 days to complete. Structured settlements are not available in every state.
Selling your settlement under some of these scenarios can save you money and ensure you keep a solid credit rating, however it is critical to note that if you are going to sell all or part of your settlement to pay off credit card debt, you must have a plan to keep that debt from creeping back up on you or it will all have been for nothing. This requires making a future budget and possibly consulting with a financial counselor to figure out how to keep out of such a financial mess in the future.
Your structured settlement or annuity is the foundation of your financial future. If you find yourself in financial need now, you should at the very least give yourself a couple more weeks to shop your deal to the competition.
You might be telling yourself that you cannot afford to wait, but the truth is that you cannot afford to take the first bid that you are offered. In some cases, jumping at the first offer could be the equivalent of financial suicide to a structured settlement owner.
It’s important to speak and deal with a company that knows the process well and can take you through it smoothly.
If you need help selling your structured settlement, annuity or lottery payments,
contact us today. We are here to answer your questions and help you obtain the
highest possible price for your payments.
Tags: cash for structured settlement, sell payments, sell settlement, sell structured settlement, selling payments
