90% of the time, selling structured settlement payments is not a good investment decision. In fact, selling structured settlements for cash should be the last option and, even then, the seller should have the knowledge and skill needed to manage his or her investment portfolio competently.
Cash Out Structured Settlements and more
Free Advice Center
Cash Structured Settlement – Educating Consumers through the Internet
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
How Can Structured Settlement Companies Educate People Who Want to Cash Structured Settlements?
Studies reveal that about 68% of Americans use the Internet on a daily basis. This is more than twice the number recorded at the turn of the millennium. Over the next three to five years, it is expected that more and more people will log on to the Internet, continuing the trend observed in the last nine years. This technological revolution therefore has presented structured settlement companies an excellent opportunity to properly educate people who sell structured settlement payments for cash.
Those who want to receive cash for settlement payments must be made aware of the following facts:
- The relationship among variables such as:
- Discount rates
- Present value
- Time value of money
- State and federal laws that affect structured settlement rights assignment
- Pricing - price calculation and rate guides
- The individual stages in the process of factoring transactions
- The unscrupulous tactics and sales practices they must avoid.
Continuing efforts should be concentrated on the above points in order to guide consumers into formulating the course of action that will allow them to get the best value for their structured settlements.
Look for Companies That Buy Lottery Payments For Cash
Monday, November 16th, 2009
Why Look for Companies That Buy Lottery Payments for Cash
Winning the lottery can change anyone’s life. One of the most important decisions a lottery winner has to make is whether to take the lump sum payment or annual payments. The answer is really a risk premium and a mathematical question. Do you think you can do a better job investing your lottery winnings than your lottery commission can? When you choose annual payments, the lottery commission is in charge of investing your money.
They will make sure that you that you will earn a certain amount of money each year over the life of your lottery annuity payments. They are banking on the fact that they can invest lottery premiums and earn a better return than you could on your own. Another option is to shop for companies that buy lottery payments for cash and choose the best offer. If the prize winner is not investment savvy, he or she can get the services of a competent financial professional.
Sell to Companies That Buy Lottery Payments for Cash – It’s a Smart Financial Move
There are many companies that buy lottery payments for cash as a business. They can offer alternative cash flow funding with lump sum cash buyouts for your lottery winnings and structured lottery annuity settlements.
If the winner wishes flexibility and control of his or her money, selling lottery winnings is the best option.
Sell Settlements Discount Rates & Inflation
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
When Periodic Structured Settlement Payments Are Not Enough…
Though structured settlements are an excellent way to receive compensations from a court claim, there are instances when being bound to such a settlement can prove problematic. If you feel this is the case, you ought to familiarize yourself with companies that purchase structured settlements and the options they can offer you.
Let’s say you were awarded a claim and are receiving it through a structured settlement agreement. However, a few years later you need a large sum of money to pay for an unexpected medical expense. You need cash right away, but the periodic payments you receive are too small and far between.
Sell Structured Settlement Payments for a Lump Sum
Fortunately, you have the option to sell future payments to structured settlement companies.
For example, if you need $15,000 to cover your unexpected medical expense, you can sell a portion of your future structured settlements worth that amount for cold cash. These companies were founded to purchase and sell structured settlements in order to help out the recipients of such settlements.
Sell Settlement - Legal Implications
Since structured settlement agreements are mandated by legal statutes, your agreement with a structured settlement company has to be approved with the ruling of a judge. To ensure the court approval of your application, go with a reputable and experienced structured settlement company that can convince the judge that the transaction serves your best interests.
Discount Rates, Inflation and Other Complications
Selling structured settlement payments involve a lot of complications. Some of the more significant of which are tax implications and inflation problems. Since structured settlement calculations take inflation into account, payments may need to be discounted to present value when they are bought from structured settlement companies. Furthermore, there is a ‘discount rate’, which discounts a small percentage from the rate of your settlement if you sell it early.
Do Your Research Before You Sell Your Settlement
Because of these and many other complications, you would do well to work with a structured settlement buyer that has years of experience and the patience to help you understand the process.
Whatever your reasons, if you think your structured settlements no longer fulfill your needs, you don’t have to hang on to them. You have the choice to sell them for a lump sum that is more suited to your financial situation. Now that you have the basic information of how to sell structured settlements, evaluate your next move and start looking for a structured settlement buyer who can offer you the best value for your future payments.
Success Stories and Endless Posibilities From Selling Your Structured Settlement
Thursday, October 15th, 2009
Selling Your Structured Settlements
Can Lead To Your Dreams Coming True!
Decisions are never easy when it comes to money. We are pulled so many different ways on how to spend and invest our income. And it’s not any easier when we are receiving structured payments from work-related or personal injury settlements, lottery winnings or annuities.
But the decision to sell structured payments need not be a long and winded process. People are making the choice to sell structured payments all the time and a lot of them testify that these have either solved a lot of financial problems or made their dreams come true.
Baton Rouge- A Construction Workers Sell Settlement Success Story
Take for example the case of a construction worker from Baton Rouge who sustained an on-the-job injury in September 2004. His injury was bad enough that he was unable to work in construction. After filing and winning the lawsuit, he got a settlement that helped support his family for a few years. But things don’t always remain smooth and easy because at some point his wife’s health took a turn for the worse and the bills started piling up. With the decision to sell their structured payments to Woodbridge Structured Funding their financial woes were soon solved.
California- Women Opens A Home Bakery Business Thanks To Woodbridge Structured Funding!
A woman from California was also thrilled to find out that she had won the lottery. It was a great thing regardless of how she got paid but it was NOT one of those mega-million jackpots so pay outs would not be that big a sum. She decided that she needed the lump sum so she could move into a better house and start a home bakery business. The sale of her structured payments made two of her greatest dreams come true.
Retire From Your Settlement!
Retired couples can also get the most by selling part of their structured settlements. When one couple from Ohio decided to retire and move to Clearwater, Florida their immediate problem was getting someone to buy their old home. Selling their structured payments allowed them to secure a down payment for their new payment while waiting for a buyer.
And these are only a few examples of people who got money they needed and deserved to turn their lives around!
Should You Cash Out Your Structured Settlement For a Lump Sum?
Friday, September 18th, 2009
Why Should I Cash Out My Structured Settlement For A Lump Sum Payment?
More often than not, when people are awarded compensation for accidental injury or wrongful death from their insurance companies, they choose to receive a series of payments over a longer span of time instead of an immediate lump sum of cash. These structured settlement payments usually total more than the amount one would have received at settlement. In order to opt for a settlement structured in this manner, the plaintiff must sign a settlement and release agreement that permits the defendant to buy an annuity policy to provide for the payments to the annuitant. The annuitant does not own the annuity nor does he have the right to sell it. He does have the right though to sell structured settlement payments to a third party.
Is a Lump Sum Payment Necessary For You?
The specific reasons plaintiffs have for selling structured settlement payments may vary but it all boils down to some kind of change in their financial situation. During the time the structured settlement was made, the scheme fitted the annuitant’s needs. Over time, financial hardships may strike or investing opportunities may come knocking that necessitate the possession of a large sum of cash now instead of staggered payments.
Structured Settlement Factoring versus Structured Settlement Creation
Thursday, September 17th, 2009
Structured Settlement Factoring versus Structured Settlement
Ever wonder why settlement brokers and settlement factors seem to dislike each other?
A settlement broker’s work involves structuring a large settlement to be paid over time via annuity to their client. What a settlement factor does is the reverse: if the client needs a large sum of money for an emergency, a factor helps convert part or all of the structured settlement into a lump sum.
Some Possible Reasons of Conflict between Structured Settlement Creationists and Factors
At first glance it seems that creationists and factors have more or less the same goal of helping clients receive their settlement. So what’s the source of the conflict? Here are a few possibilities:
• Settlement creationists take it personally when their work is replaced by factoring. After all, how would you like it if someone undid the job you worked so hard on?
• Settlement creationist thinks factors charge too much and thus make more money.
• Settlement factors dominate the search engine results for “structured settlement.”
• Settlement factors benefit from the work of structured settlement consultants whereas settlement creationists do not.
• Settlement brokers have been around longer and have more certifications, accreditation and titles. Maybe they feel superior to factors.
Similarities between Structured Settlement Factors and Creationists
For every difference between the two groups, there also exists a similarity. Both settlement creationists and settlement factors:
• work for profit,
• follow state and federal guidelines,
• provide a service associated with structured settlement,
• and have associates with high integrity and others with less integrity…
The reality is that though both businesses may not get along, they provide services that help people in their financial need. It’s not important that they agree or like each other, but they must never let those feelings compromise professionalism.
Structured Settlements in Cases of Serious Injury Victims
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
Structured Settlements Help Serious Injury Victims
For nearly 25 years, the federal government has encouraged the general public to use structured settlements in serious injury cases. Structured settlements have also gained the favor of plaintiff attorneys, state attorneys general, legislators, judges, and disability advocates.Before 1982, serious injury victims were awarded damages in the form of a single lump sum. This form of payment, especially in catastrophic injury cases, often put the injury victim and his family in a financial bind. With the victim unaccustomed to managing such large sums of money, there was the ever present danger of unwise financial decisions.
The Periodic Payment Settlement Act; Helping Protect Injury Victims with Mismanaging Lump Sum Payments
Such decisions can spell disasters like the premature loss of funds before the victim’s medical treatment completed. These bad judgment calls also risk putting lump sum recipients on public assistance. To address these concerns, a bipartisan coalition of legislators in Congress took action to amend the federal tax code. Thus, the Periodic Payment Settlement Act of 1982 (Public Law 97-473) came to be. The Act formally recognized and encouraged the use of structured settlements in serious injury cases so that injury victims could be protected from maladjustment to sudden wealth.
Smart Decisions When Planning Your Settlements
Thursday, August 20th, 2009
Planning Your Settlements Smart
If you are an injury victim, you probably know that reaching a settlement can be a long and tiresome process. But once an agreement has been reached, you must carefully plan to shelter your money.
What many people do not realize is that, with the help of a qualified settlement planner, there are many ways to increase the value of a settlement.
Factors to be considered when formulating a settlement plan
Laws that involve Medicaid, Medicare and ERISA. In many situations, creating a trust – a Special Needs Trust or a Medicare Set Aside Trust – is compulsory. Tax concerns, property concerns, and resolutions related to investment issues also need to be addressed when planning a settlement.
Further complicating matters is the fact that public benefits provided to injury victims such as Medicaid and Medicare can be lost if not planned in advance. Studies show that more than 90% of injury victims have cleaned out their settlement money in just five years.
You must therefore have a structured settlement agreement that provides just enough so you will not be tempted to overspend. Since every injury case is unique, your settlement plan must be designed to fit your needs.
Pay Attention to Detail!
Understand every detail of your case so that you can make sound decisions when faced with issues involving settlement planning, taxation, preservation of public benefits and lien resolutions.
A thorough understanding of your case combined with the services of a skilled settlement planner can make your money go a long, long way.
Tips on How to Get Out of Debt
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009
In Debt? Here’s Some Tips on How To Eliminate Your Debt
When trying to get out of debt, there are so many quick fixes that may seem to work at first but will sooner or later degenerate into a new and even worse problem.
Dos and Don’ts When Struggling to Get Out of Debt.
• Avoid the temptation to apply for payday advance loans as long as you have other options. It is a quick fix that can turn into a problem even worse than the one you were trying to solve in the first place. Exhaust all other options first: family, friends, home equity, Debtors Anonymous, etc.
• Splurging and getting into debt can be a self-destructive habit just like alcoholism or any other addiction. Seek professional help if you think you may have a problem.
• Do not cancel all your credit cards because this will shorten the length of your reported credit history and make you seem less credit-worthy. It is normally best to keep older cards and get rid of newer ones. However, still take your different rates into account before you finalize any cancellation decisions.
More Tips to Stay Out Of Debt
• Beware of low-interest balance transfer credit cards. Their default rate will usually get you into more debt.
• It is best to pay off cards and the balance owed in full. If you pay less than 100% than what you owe, that account will reflect negatively on your credit report.
• Refrain from giving too much personal information to collection agencies or you might end up saying something self-incriminating that will be put on record.
• If you decide to go to debt settlement companies, select one that is a registered member of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and that have a history of little or zero complaints.