Structured Settlement Cash

When one is injured in an accident of some kind and they sue the responsible party in a court of law it is possible that they will be offered a cash award to settle the case. In the lawsuit the plaintiff is typically suing an insurance company that is the defendant in the case. If the insurance company offers to settle there may be the option to take an all cash award or a structured settlement.

A structured settlement pays the injured party out over time rather than all at once. The insurance company buys an annuity that will make periodic payments to the injured party usually monthly or quarterly. They payments can stretch out for many years to come 5, 10, 15, 20 years or more. The terms are set up by the two parties as to the number of years the payments will last, the frequency of the payments and the amount of each payment.

The goal of a structured settlement is to help the injured party to have regular income that can help them meet their financial obligations over many years. One frequent problem for those that get an all cash award is that they speed through the money spending it and are left with nothing. If they were injured in an accident they may not be able to work and thus have no source of income. A structure is set up to help insure they have income coming in to support themselves.

The downside to such an agreement is that once some agrees to receive the recurring payments in rare cases ~5% of the time – the needs of the settlement recipient may change in unforeseen ways. In these cases the settlement recipient may want a larger sum of cash or need to increase the amount of payments they are receiving. Unfortunately, once the terms of a settlement are agreed upon they cannot be changed.

However, seeing the need that arises in this circumstances settlement recipients do have the option to sell their future payments to a third party company for a lump sum. Companies that buy settlement payments are called factoring companies. The provide options to those looking to cash in their future payments. It is possible to sell all future payments for one large lump sum check or there is the option to sell only a portion of the payments. In this case a recipient can get the cash they want today and still keep some of their future payments giving them the best of both worlds and some flexibility. If one opts for this choice they can always sell more payments in the future if they need or want arises.

Selling payments is a straightforward process. Factoring companies can guide one through the process and take care of the majority of the work. The timeline takes about ninety days on average from start to finish. If there is an immediate need for cash most companies can provide a cash advance upon request.