Structred Settlements – Cash Now

2009-12-19 / What is a settlement? / 0 Comments

If you are like most people who watch tv you have seen the commercials for JG Wentworth and getting ‘cash now.’  The commercial says something like – ‘if you are getting a settlement but you need cash now.’  He then follows up with the catchy little phrase ‘its your money, use it when you need it.’  If that commercial has ever peeked your interest it is because you either have a structured settlement you want to sell or you have thought about buying one from somebody.  In this article I will explain the best way to do each one of those things.

First lets examine what it takes to get a structured settlement so you can make sure selling it is really what you want to do.  A settlement is made when you win a lawsuit of some kind where cash compensation is awarded by the court.  Rather than receiving all the money upfront you chose to receive payments over time.  This is also the case if someone has left you money and they want to make sure you spend it wisely.

If you are in the market to sell your cash settlement keep a few things in mind.  You can arrange to sell a portion of the settlement and keep the rest.  Say you are receiving the settlement over 30 years, you could potentially sell years 10 through 20.  Or you can also sell the whole thing, but in either case you receive a lump sum payment in exchange for your future pay outs.

In order for this to be a good deal for anyone who would want to buy your settlement you need to know they will charge you a fee in addition to giving you less money in the upfront payment than you would have received over time.

If you are looking to buy a settlement than you are looking for a way to invest your money safely.  Settlements can be a great option because they are guaranteed payments not just based on the performance of a company like most stocks.  What you need to know is that the only way a settlement can default is if the company funding the settlement goes bankrupt, so make sure to do a proper financial evaluation.  Also, make sure the deal isn’t too good to be true.  If someone tells you that you can buy a 4 million dollar settlement for 2 million now, you may be looking at a fraud attempt.

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Purchase Structured Settlements without Being Scammed

2009-12-19 / What is a settlement? / 0 Comments

How to go about choosing structured settlements and make sure you don’t get cheated.  When you purchase a structured settlement you need to make sure you take every possible step to make sure you don’t get cheated.  You should be aware that there are many people waiting to create a scam and make a quick buck.  This is mainly because most Americans cannot tell the difference between legitimate documentation and fake ones.  Con artists will go so far as to create fake office locations with nice office furniture.  Recently a couple made a large upfront payment in an effort to create a long term payback, unfortunately they purchased a fake structured settlement.

The con men had even set up a fake court room to hold the legal proceedings.  The couple were  convinced they were buying a settlement that was funded by someone who had recently won the lottery.  They met the fake ‘attorney’s’ in an office that was set up to look like the offices of the lottery funding the settlement.  They met at these offices to make sure the couple believed the settlement was actually funded by this lottery pay out.  The court room was set up on the same block as the actual city court building which went even further to convince the couple they were buying a legitimate settlement – they actually thought that they needed to purchase structured settlement in order to fund their retirement.

What ended up being the icing on the cake for this couple was that the person who had won the lottery was willing to settle for significantly less than what was actually won in the lottery.  He had won 6 million but was willing to take just 2 million in upfront payout.  From an investment standpoint this meant the couple would be paying 2 million now to receive 4 million back over time.  Because of the greed of the couple they chose not to look any further into the legitimacy of the company selling the settlement.  In the end it was this poor judgment that lost this couple their life savings.

So in order to make sure you are not taken advantage of when you purchase structured settlement you need to make a thorough evaluation of the company you are considering making the purchase from.  A history of their previous dealings and state and federal licensing information will help you determine whether or not they are financially viable.  Make a checklist of questions to ask when you evaluate different companies and make sure YOU are the one who seeks out the purchase don’t let people come and try to sell it to you.

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