How Does A Structured Settlement Annuity Work?

The process of arriving at a structured settlement is through negotiations concerning the value of the annuity and payment schedule. The process involves primarily a claimant and the life insurance company; if the structured settlement annuity is related to litigation, it will involve the defendant as well.
As per the process, the defendant agrees as per a contractual agreement to pay the claimant sums of money on a periodic basis and in exchange the claimant drops his litigation. The defendant directs a third party/assignee to execute the annuities on its behalf and provides it with funds necessary to do so. An annuity contract is purchased by the assignee and is used for fulfilling the periodic payment obligations.
Individuals who are in the process of obtaining a structured settlement annuity can avail the services of a broker who can help them with the best deal available with respect to their circumstances.
Structured settlements are popular because of the benefits that they offer. These include a tax-free payment stream over a period of time and a guarantee of payment. Other investment alternatives such as stocks and real estate may offer better returns but do not provide the guarantee and security offered by structured settlements. These settlements are regulated by state and federal laws that need to be observed. These laws may require compulsory legal opinion in a structured settlement transaction.
Structured settlement firms manage the paperwork of a structured settlement annuity. The documents include the Settlement Agreement and Release, court orders, assignment agreement, and the annuity contract. The defendant should ensure that he fulfills all conditions for the annuity to remain tax-free for the duration of the settlement. In order to protect the tax-free status of a structured settlement annuity, it is also important to ensure that once the structured settlement annuity has been agreed upon by the concerned parties, it should not be altered. The payments from a structured settlement can also be made to an estate, in such a case, they are free from income tax but estate tax is levied. The closing of a structured settlement can take three to six months. An individual starts receiving payments thirty to forty-five days after getting the court order.

Top Three Things To Look For In A Structured Settlement Annuity

If you are about to sign a structured settlement annuity agreement then it is highly important that you first look for certain clauses and payment plans. This is necessary to rule out the possibility of suffering financial damages if the policy does not have ample safety clauses. This will also remove any chances of incurring losses if you want to sell the policy.

1. Value

A structured settlement annuity has a set value that is defined at the time of settling a personal injury lawsuit. This value is sometimes set by the judge deciding the case though in most cases it is the plaintiffs who do that after negotiating with the defendants. If a case has been settled out of court then it is always the mutual agreement that sets the value of an annuity. There are two types of annuities available in this case with the first one offering payments for a couple of years and the second one offering life-time payments. If you are in the process of negotiating a deal then it is important to set a value that corresponds to your life-long expenses on medical treatment. If the annuity is spread over a couple of years then you can ask for greater annuity payments to benefit from financial stability. On average, six figure payments are considered normal in case of serious and debilitating injuries.

2. Nature of payments

A structured settlement annuity comes with varying payment plans. Some annuities are payable every quarter while others will remain dry until a year has passed since the agreement was signed. You can negotiate a deal where an annuity payment arrives in your bank account at least once every quarter. This is necessary to fund medical treatments and other expenses incurred by the prolonged effects of your injuries. Some annuity payments also offer monthly payments though it comes with higher discount rates and other charges. Quarterly payments thus remain the most popular and manageable way of receiving injury compensation. If you have signed a life-long deal then yearly payments are generally preferred by the insurance company. This is also a lucrative deal as the payments will come as long as you are alive.

3. After sale value

It is common for a structured settlement annuity to be sold by the claimant. There are many reasons cited for this trend with financial need being the most common factor. Every annuity settlement plan comes with certain clauses that dictate these sales. Most jurisdictions do not have an income tax deduction on annuity payments but discount rates and other charges need to be taken care of. It is always recommended to select an annuity plan that comes with minimal deduction and additional charges. This will enable you to sell your plan at a higher rate and receiving as high as 95% of the total value of the agreement.

If you have taken care of these aspects then you will be able to sign a structured settlement annuity deal that offers you maximum benefits while paying little in discount rates, processing fees, and other charges.

Darren is a financial planner who specializes in assisting individuals and families with their current financial goals and retirement planning. Specializing in annuities but also REIT's, Darren is also familiar with life insurance planning. He enjoys writing articles on various aspects of financial planning and what you can do to protect your net worth. You can check out his latest articles on Sell Structured Insurance Settlement [http://sellstructuredinsurancesettlementtips.com] tips and how to negotiate a Structured Settlement Annuity [http://sellstructuredinsurancesettlementtips.com/top-five-questions-for-negotiating-a-structured-settlement-annuity] so you will know how to benefit the most for long term financial security.

Reasons for Selling Structured Settlement Annuity

When an emergency arises, people need to get money quickly. They don't have the time to wait for their annuity payments. Luckily there are various companies that will purchase your structured settlement annuity so you can have the cash when you need it the most.
There are various reasons why people decide on selling structured settlement annuities. Some do it voluntarily while others sell because they have no other choice. Whatever the reason is, having a buyer to turn to in time of need is a welcome option for anyone concerned.
Basically, to understand what a structured settlement is, it's simply a financial agreement where you're getting compensated from an insurance settlement or some other type of settlement. It will be paid using an annuity. The payments are made in regularly scheduled installments over a period of time instead of one bulk payout. However, a lot of people decide to sell their annuity payments because they don't want to have the restriction of waiting for each disbursement.
Some of the reasons for selling a structured settlement is because they need it for their children's education, a medical emergency or because they're starting a business.
There are different types of annuities that an individual is allowed to sell. In fact even medical malpractice settlement, personal injury settlement, product liability settlement, or from a wrongful death settlement can be sold. You can receive a lump sum cash for shared, partial, or even complete buyouts depending on the plan you choose.
Take note though that you should submit relevant documents for you to be able to sell your settlement annuity. These include the completed copy of the application, the annuity policy documents, the extended release or the settlement agreement, a recent copy of the annuity check or stub, your tax return, two identification cards (one must have a photo), marriage license if applicable, divorce decree if applicable, a copy if the Will and Probate document if applicable, and copies of any assignment, revisions, and other papers that are related to the structured settlement annuity.
Meeting these requirements is actually quite easy if you have all documents at hand. If you decide on a selling structured settlement annuity to an interested company, you should do some research on their rates because you may find another company that can buy your annuity at a higher rate.
But remember that most of all, you should be assured that the company you are dealing with is really reliable so that you can get the cash you need right away.



If you're looking for information about buying or selling structured settlement annuities, then visit http://www.sellingstructuredsettlementinfo.com

Tax Advantages of a Structured Settlement Annuity

If you have been awarded a large monetary settlement due to injury or malpractice, deciding how to invest or accept the funds can be a daunting task. Oftentimes, recipients will receive their court awarded funds in more than one way, but the use of a structured settlement annuity account offers several advantages when utilized in the transaction.
Structured Settlement Annuity Accounts Avoid Income Taxes
The most significant advantage an annuity account has over all other forms of settlement options is that future payments avoid income taxes. It is a common misconception when investing in an annuity that offers periodic payments, the insurance company only disperses the principal over time. This is incorrect.
In fact, structured annuities pay interest and principal to the insured each payment cycle. It does not matter how and when you receive payments, the interest generated by the internal return of the annuity is not considered taxable income by the I.R.S.
This is in stark contrast to any other means of receiving settlement dollars. Should you opt for a lump sum payment, no part of the lump sum would be taxable. However, when those same dollars are invested in a money market account, mutual fund, traditional deferred annuity, stock or bond account, then all gains would be subject to income and/or capital gains taxes.
This means that any other investment would need to create larger returns than a structured annuity to account for the loss due to income taxes. If both accounts were yielding 5%, you would have less take-home spending dollars with the lump sum investment due to the taxes owed to all levels of government.
Structured Settlement Annuities for Future Needs
Annuities are commonly used as part of a structured settlement not only to avoid income taxes, but also because they provide reliable income in the future. A serious problem with lump sum payouts is dissipation. Too often the recipient will aggressively spend through their court awarded damages in the first few years and be left with very little in the future when it may be needed most.
In other cases, poorly performing investments can quickly erode a lump sum settlement leaving less funds to generate income or to withdraw for living expenses. The stock market has witnessed precipitous loss of value twice over the last decade. Lump sum structured settlement awards, retirement accounts and discretionary investments alike can all lose significant value should the markets fall again.
In contrast, fixed annuity accounts are not subject to market fluctuations and will not decrease when the overall markets are declining. Additionally, the systematic payments will be credited on a regular and agreed upon basis helping to prevent the insured from spending their award too quickly.
In summary, a structured settlement annuity account is usually a wise choice for at least part of the funds received as a result of litigation. The annuity principal and interest payments now and in the future are not subject to income taxes. Annuities also help prevent dissipation either through poor investments and aggressive spending. Most importantly, annuity accounts have a strong track record of safety and security so you can rest assured that your payments will arrive each cycle when they are expected and needed.



A.M. Hyers has been working in the insurance and investment industry for over twelve years. He owns and operates Hyers and Associates, Inc. an independent insurance agency doing business across the U.S.
His agency offers insurance products to individuals, families, and businesses They use the leading national carriers to quote structured settlement and structured sale annuities.
His firm also offers traditional fixed, immediate, and indexed annuity accounts providing safe, reliable growth and income for those saving toward or enjoying retirement.
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Structured Settlement Annuity

A Structured Settlement Annuity: Comparatively Speaking

In earlier articles, we've seen the benefits of structured settlement annuities over lump sum payments. For some, this protects them from the temptation of spending the bulk of their payment on unsound or unwise investments. Protection and incoming cash flow over the long haul are what structured settlement annuities provide. However, not every person faced with a lump sum payment necessarily will be tempted to spend the money rashly. Obviously, there are people who are savvy investors and think that given the opportunity with a lump sum payment over a structured settlement annuity, they will be able to make more money investing on their own.
With that in mind, let's take a look how a structured settlement annuity compares with one of the most popular investment vehicles, the equity income mutual fund.
First, let's look at who issues the annuity and the mutual fund.

A structured settlement annuity is issued by a life insurance company. An equity mutual fund is issued by and investment company that pools the assets of multiple investors in equity securities.
Next, let's look at the long term capabilities of each to provide a lifetime income.

An annuity payment plan is created up front and is a predictable and dependable source of income that can not be outlived. A mutual fund can be a high paying investment. However it can also be highly volatile and unpredictable based on market conditions and can actually lose money and stop your earnings if the fund performs poorly.
What about guaranteeing the payouts?
An annuity is guaranteed by the issuer of the annuity based on the terms of the structured settlement. A mutual fund is solely dependent on market activity and thus can not be guaranteed.
What about costs?
The annuity has no cost associated with it. A mutual fund can be subject to a number of fees, like a sales load, yearly management fee, and marketing expenses. Even the lowest cost index funds have some costs associated with them.
What about keeping up with inflation?
A structured settlement annuity can have a cost of living adjustment incorporated into the annuity at the time it is designed. An equity mutual fund can outperform inflation based on how the underlying securities perform. However it is difficult to predict what the return will be and remember "past performance is not and indicator of future results."
But what about the dreaded T-word....Taxes??
A structured settlement annuity is tax free as long as the money received is the result of personal physical injury or physical illness. As income is earned from an equity mutual fund taxes, capital gains, income etc, must be paid.
What about flexibility?
A structured settlement annuity payment amount and schedule may not be altered at any time. Conversely, money can be moved in and out of mutual funds. However, taxes, sales loads etc may be applicable with each transaction.



Michael DeGeorge has done extensive research on structured settlements and shares a wealth of information on his website [http://structsettle.gitgoingnow.com]. Download your free Structured Settlement Annuity information today from [http://structsettle.gitgoingnow.com].

5 Tips For Selling Your Structured Settlement Annuity

Wondering if you should avail a lump sum or take your annual annuity payment? If you need a lump sum to invest in your life right now, selling your annuity payments is a wise choice. It could help bring you out of abyss of debt or deal with urgent need of cash, including medical expenses, home or car purchase or even education. You can sell either a part of your annuity/settlement structure or all of it, depending on your needs. Here are the five most important tips, which you can use before you sell your structured settlement annuities for cash:
1. Research to Find a Reputable Buyer
You need to scrutinize the private investor, who is ready to buy your structured settlement. Read more about their options and testimonials to determine what clients say about them before you choose their services. Check if they are a member of the Better Business Bureau. You need to be sure that you are getting the most value for your settlement.
2. Ask for Certification
Conversion of your annuity to a lump-sum payment with unregistered or illegitimate companies can leave you helpless and without the cash you need. If you do not understand the ramifications, you are susceptible to scams and might end up with very low cash or no cash at all! It helps to consult a legal advisor, stay alert and choose a trustworthy firm when you have decided to sell your structured annuities.
3. Know Your Rights
It helps to contact a legal advisor to determine what the law permits and what rights you are entitled to, before you sell your structured settlement annuities. To begin with, selling your structured settlement is completely a legal process and individuals have been buying and selling them for years. Most states in the U.S. allow you to sell your structured annuities in a risk-free manner. Financial advisors will help you determine what the law of your state permits and ascertain your rights too.
4. Have a Long Term Plan
Evaluate your current financial standings, determine the obligations, your plans for the future, and consider if selling all or a part of your structured settlement can help you meet your goals.
5. Seek Advice
As with any other financial transaction, it is important that you seek expert advice and several opinions before you agree to sell your annuity payments. Most companies will give you a free quote. Take a look at several offers and determine if it is worth selling you structured settlement annuities or not.



Fairfield Funding can help you with information, advice and assistance when you decide on selling your structured settlements. Fairfield will take you through the entire process of selling your structured settlement annuity. You are assured the best treatment and most money for your payments.
Stefano Grossi
Fairfield Funding
1-888-943-8637

Giving Options - Buyer of Structured Settlement Annuity

When you end up being in a court case and having payment made to you because of it, you will probably be wondering when the payments will end. You obviously need the money or you would not have gone to court over an issue but what happens when the payments end? Wouldn't it be nice to have the payments all at once in one lump sum so that you are not always worrying about next month's bills and how they will be paid. It is possible that a lump sum payment could be better because you would be able to see all of your money at once and spend it according to your immediate and longer term needs. Of course, some prefer to keep their payments coming in on a monthly basis but this system does not work for all people. Many individuals would prefer to find a buyer of structured settlement annuity incomes.
In case you are curious how selling your settlement annuity works, you might like to know that you are not alone. Many people have no idea that they can sell their annuity incomes at a low costs as to receive their sum of money all at once. Many people do not even know that there are options within the selling market. There are sellers to offer certain types of services and rates for different amounts of annuities and settlements. Buyers may come in the forms of a large corporate company who does this as their business or in the form of a small business or even an individual lawyer type situation. Depending on the amount of paperwork, types of features and amount of money your settlement entails, you will want to choose the option most suited for your settlement annuity.
Now if this strikes you as an odd type of transaction, be assured that it is beneficial to everyone involved. As mentioned above, in the case of deaths and such incidents, many people need their annuity settlements sooner than later but with the plans they are on, payments may not come in at a quick enough rate thus creating problems for the already stressed out individual. This should not be so. That is why companies have gone to buying up settlement annuities for a certain price. This gives companies an extra way of doing business while still benefiting its customers in an enormous way. Customers will be pleased to have their lump sums delivered to their accounts with only a small percentage of the annuity taken out for servicing fees. Be sure to check out several different companies or individual buyers as you will likely get the best deal if you shop around rather than go with the first interested buyer.
So if you are looking to have your money all at once, be informed that there are options. You do not have to wonder and worry about your settlement payments and fret that you will not have enough money for next months bills. Get ahead of the game and sell your annuity to a buyer of structured settlement annuity.



For more in-depth information on Buyer of Structured Settlement Annuity and general Structured Settlements information. Please visit StructuredSettlement101.com

Structured Settlement Annuity Payments

Structured settlement cases have increased, and largely due to the maximum settlement awards in many lawsuits. When an individual has been the victim of an injury, directly related to the fault of a large company or corporation, the settlement deemed appropriate by the courts, is usually so large, the settlement is handled through annuity payments.
Annuity payments are divided into increments over a long period of time, sometimes over the lifetime of a claim recipient. The injured or affected parties in a settlement case usually have suffered over a long term rehabilitating process and the structured settlement annuity payments work well in providing timely access to funds needed by the injured party.
Often, in structured settlement cases, the initial annuity payments assist the injured parties to make current restitution with their accumulated medical bills, but as time goes on,the lost wages the injured party incurs, leaves a shortfall in ongoing daily expenses. Having to wait on the scheduled annuity payments becomes stressful and this actually affects the injured persons healing process in a negative manner. Adding stress or insult to injury prolongs the battle of recovery.
Once an injured party has suffered persistent stress and anxiety over their recovery time and financial concerns, they begin to reconsider if their installment payments are their best solution. They realize they do have options available to sell their structured settlement for a lump sum amount. There are companies and a few individuals willing to buy their annuity payments at a discount percentage of the total remaining value.
If a recipient of annuity payments is willing to accept a lesser total amount in a lump sum, in order to collect a final but larger immediate settlement, then the buyer of the note benefits from the entire remaining amount of the structured settlement.



Structured settlement annuity payments and who to contact if you are considering selling a structured settlement be sure to check our directory for the companies that are deemed highly capable of assisting you. It's important to compare offers for your settlement, you'll find a wide range of offer amounts. Be sure to ask any questions that concern you and the bids for your business.
http://wealthsmith.com/structured-settlement.htm

Structured Settlement Annuity Buyer

Annuities are one of the most important and inevitable and lucrative policies for the well being of the senior citizens of America. However, at some crossroads of life one might need to have their future to be planned in a proper way, especially during and after the retirement phase. The best time to buy an annuity is age 55 or older. An annuity is the ideal life planning tool for a senior citizen that comes up to him or her with all the advantages near the end of his life.

A structured settlement annuity is a particular kind of an annuity plan that has its own advantages and disadvantages. A structured settlement means "by the obligation of a payment that is deferred". This type of annuity results from the settlement of a personal injury lawsuit. Usually a structured settlement annuity buyer has to make his or her payments over a considerable time or over a period of several years. This kind of annuity plan varies from personal injury accidents and such other mishaps to product liability. It is the fundamental right for a citizen to receive the amount of compensation that he or she deserves if he or she is hurt for some other person. Therefore various insurance companies and agencies buy annuity plans. This plan would be valuable enough to pay a combination of principal and interest over a long period of time. This payment is even possible on the conditions of restrictions regarding the schedule of disbursement.

There are a number of structured settlement companies, however, that offer a number of flexible, individually tailored plans. This is a great leap for those who are structured settlement recipients in receiving a considerable amount of money for their future payments. In one word, a structured settlement helps one to meet today's needs, turning the future and distant payments into the money one needs today.

What is a Structured Settlement Annuity?

You may ask yourself, what is a structured settlement annuity? A structured settlement annuity is also referred to as structured settlement payments which can occur as the result of legal action.

If you should happen to get into a wreck or be sued over another legal matter then you may have to be paid in a settlement that would have to occur over a period of time instead of one lump sum because you or the other party may not have all of the funds at one time.

Once you receive this kind of settlement you can find an insurance company which buys that annuity policy from another insurance company. These annuity payments may be changed for a lump sum instead of monthly payments. They often offer cash for structured settlements if you are more interested in receiving a lump sum.

Selling a structured settlement annuity can occur for a difference in reasons you may no longer want to receive monthly payments and just want all the money at once for a big cash purchase or down payment on a car or house.

There are is a lot of paperwork involved when trying to sell the settlement annuity. There must be a written guideline to follow as well as all of the disclosures must be agreed upon as well as the settled amount. Once these terms are agreed upon all of the parties involved such as the insurance company and the beneficiaries then this must be agreed or approved by a judge. Once the judge agrees or disagrees then the money can be paid out and it is yours to do whatever with.

There are several benefits by having a structured settlement annuity versus selling one. A big con is the extra monthly payment sometimes people can get accustomed to the monthly income coming in that once it stops they feel strapped or their budget gets tied down because they rely on the monthly check. A lot of people look into selling their annuity just to avoid this problem in the future.

Structured Settlement Buyer

Structured Settlement Buyer, If you are seeking an information for buyer of structured settlement payment, I may say that you are on the right place. But before that, I must remind you that you need to find a reliable / good buyer because there are lot of bad buyer out there are ready to take an advantage from your payments, and you are going to loose some money if you aren’t aware of them. Or, you may want to know who willing to purchase your structured settlement first. So, how to find a good / reliable structured settlement buyer anyway? There are several things that you can check / consider before dealing with these buyers or normally people call them brokers to ensure that they are truly legitimate buyers. So, here you are:

1. A good structured settlement’s buyers / brokers normally estimate their fees inside their quotation; then offers to buy your settlement payments in their best latest value together with deducted amount for their fees purpose. 2. Good buyers will never ask you for down payment, up front fees or deposit (however some fake buyer will ask you for consultation fee even before doing any work progress or just for a simple discussion).
3. Good structured settlement buyer will never give you an extremely high quotes that you can feel it too good to be true. If you find this, they are scammer for sure (bear in mind that things that too good to be true is hardly to become reality in real world).
4. Good buyers / brokers will never promise you that they can manage to give your lump sump cash by tomorrow or only in few days. You should know that the process of buying your structured settlement takes at least 4 weeks and may be up to 12 weeks to get your lump sum cash in hand.
5. Good broker / buyer shall be member of the Better Business Bureau. However, some unethical broker claims that they were expert even they are only completed a week long course or nothing at all. So, ask them politely for prove that they are registered or member of that bureau.
I think there are still some of things that you can consider to ensure that your settlement’s buyer is legitimate before selling your structured settlement payments. But what were highlighted above is the obvious characteristics and attributes of bad buyers and I could say that if you found one of them, they have a huge possibility to be scammers.
So, once again, just get an enough and precise information about structured settlement transaction and of course check out the background of the buyers before making any decision to sell your structured settlement payment to them… cheers.

Cash For Structured Settlement

Cash For Structured Settlement, Receiving structured payments systematically over a long period of time may work for some people, but what if a sudden unforeseen need for cash arises and the fixed payments are insufficient? Banks do not really consider the still-to-be-collected payments appropriate secured loan collateral. Rest assured there are other options.

It is possible to transfer structured settlement annuity payments in case unexpected expenses come up and a lump sum amount of cash is needed. To be able to get lots of cash fast, one needs to contact an individual who is a representative of a structured settlement buyer. These people buy settlements as investments for amounts less than their real worth, and in return will give the seller a lump sum of cash. The seller needs to decide which suits them more, to get the full amount over a long period of time in small quantities, or to collect the lump sum that is less than what they are entitled to.

Should the recipient of the structured payments decide to sell them for a lump sum, there are a number of methods they can employ. One possibility is to sell all future payments, get one large lump sum, and not hold any rights to any future payments. The second option is to sell a portion of the future payments. The investor collects a specified number of payments, while the seller gets the agreed upon lump sum. After the completion of the specified number of payments, the payments revert to the seller again. The third possibility is to sell part of the payments. Instead of the investor getting all of the payments and the seller getting nothing , both the seller and the investor get partial payments over a longer period of time, until the agreed upon amount of money is returned to the investor. The final option is to sell all or part of the structured payments in return for two or more payments of large amounts. The seller needs to decide which option will be most suitable for their specific need and then search the market for a suitable customer.
Once the details of the sale have been worked out with the buyer, the amount of time needed to complete the transaction and actually receive the lump sum of cash varies. Every state has its own set of laws and procedures on how these types of transactions can be carried out. These rules are there to protect the seller form unscrupulous investors, hence they can’t be carried out without the court’s approval. Many times the legitimate investor, after getting the go ahead from the seller, will go to court on behalf of the seller at their own expense. They will get the structured settlement payments assigned to themselves for the predetermined amount of time. The court order is a compulsory step that is designed to protect both the buyer and the seller. Upon approval from the court, the lump sum is paid to the seller and the operation is completed.
The actual amount of time to complete the court authorized process and all the paperwork is influenced by many factors. Depending on the state in which the transaction is being carried out, and the time taken to complete the documentation, the process can last anything from roughly 45 to 90 days. The settled upon amount can be transferred to the seller by a check or wire transfer, whichever they prefer