After suffering injuries or damages, you may be awarded a structured settlement to ease financial difficulties and help relieve any pain or inconvenience you might have endured. Although, you may discover that your structured settlement payments aren’t meeting your needs and may considering selling them. While you can sell your settlement in part or in whole, it isn’t a simple process. Some problems can arise, but if you know what to do, you can avoid them.
Appearing before the Judge
Many people don’t realize that in order to sell their payments, or “transfer” them, they must go back before a judge. Deciding whether or not the sale is actually in your best interest is the judge’s job, and they will consider many criteria when making this decision. The judge will look at your financial situation or circumstances and base their decision on that. And, he will deny your transfer if your immediate need isn’t proven to their satisfaction.
Examining your Offer
The company making your offer can also be a factor the judge looks at when determining your best interests. Your transfer will be denied if the judge decides the terms they are offering are not fair to you. What terms will the judge consider to be fair and in your best interest? In this case, the judge’s job is to make sure you aren’t ripped off, and that most of the funds awarded to you actually go to you and aren’t lost to the buying company. The amount varies from company to company (which is why it pays to comparison shop when looking for a buyer), but many times you can get up to 90% of the money you are owed.
Hire a Professional
You may not realize it, but having a competent lawyer on your side can be important if you are considering selling your structured payments. Competent counsel from a lawyer can give you an idea of whether your offer will be approved or denied by a judge. They can also stop a predatory company from taking advantage of your situation and ripping you off.
Compare Companies
Comparing offers from competing companies is the best way to ensure you get the best deal, and an expert settlement broker can get you offers from many companies in a short amount of time, allowing you to choose the best company for your financial needs.
Tags: factoring, law, legal, tips on selling settlement payments
