What Are Structured Settlements And Why Should I Consider Selling Mine?
When a person is the victim of personally injury or wrongful death through the negligence of another, a structured settlement agreement is often reached. Here, learn about what structured settlements are, if you might be the owner of one, and why you might consider selling yours.
What Is A Structured Settlement
In simplest terms, a structured settlement is a payment agreement between two parties. Party A (party responsible for violation or injury) agrees to pay to Party B (the victim) a set amount of money paid out over time to compensate for an injury, wrongful death, and/or loss of property, wages, etc. In many cases Party A will be an insurance company paying on behalf of the insured Party B, but if there is no insurance claim to fall back on, or otherwise if Party A prefers to settle outside of their policy, it may be possible that the structured settlement agreement was reached between two private parties. In any case, the basics of structured settlements remain the same.
Most often structured settlements result from a personal injury lawsuit of some kind; these can include product liability cases, negligence cases, slip and fall, medical malpractice, automobile accidents, and wrongful death, as well as other types of personal injury cases. When an agreement is reached, the claimant or plaintiff (you, Party B) agrees to release the paying Party A from any future liability in connection with the case.
In order to make payments affordable, Party A, the payer, will usually purchase an annuity for a sum less than the agreed upon settlement amount; Party B is then paid from the proceeds of the annuity investment through a combination of principal and interest earned through the fund. Party B receives funds on a set schedule and in fixed amounts. This is all determined and disclosed ahead of time, prior to finalization of the case.
If you are the victim of a personal injury or wrongful death, or another negligence-related violation, and you receive monthly or regularly scheduled payments to compensate for your injury and loss, chances are you are party to a structured settlement agreement. And chances are also good that you could sell those payments to a third party to receive a lump sum of cash instead of waiting for years to collect the monies owed to you.
Structured settlement payments work well for some, but for many there is a greater financial need. Often by the time payments commence a combination of lost wages, bills, and living expenses has left the recipient in great financial need. A lucky few manage to get to the point of settlement financially unscathed, but still in need of funds to support life expenses such as home purchases, college, and repayment of debts. For many, scheduled structured settlement payments are just not adequate to allow them to live life to its fullest.
By selling structured settlement payments, you can receive a large lump sum payout for some or all of your scheduled payments. This can give you the financial flexibility to see to your needs and expenses and meet your financial obligations.
Structured settlements are a convenient and more affordable way for a responsible party to compensate you for their negligence; and while the settlement offer should have taken into account your financial needs, the outcome is not always favorable to you. You do have options, though, and by selling structured settlement payments you could gain better control over the money you receive for your pain, loss, and suffering.
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Prosperity Partners provides capital to recipients of
structured settlement payments.
