Financing[edit]The nature of structured settlements requires personal injury claimants to receive part of their settlement money at the time of settlement, and part of their settlement money in the future through periodic payments that are "fixed and determinable as to amount and time of payment." At the time of settlement, the claimant decides exactly when they want to receive the future periodic payments. The life insurance companies who underwrite these periodic payment obligations must comply with the Internal Revenue Code, and are therefore not allowed to cash out or give a cash advance for one's structured settlement. Unfortunately, these transactions have low rates of return and can be a bad deal for personal injury claimants. Various
legal financing companies offer to buy part or all of one's structured settlement (or other fixed annuity payments) in return for a lump sum cash upfront. Basically, such companies allow one to switch, for example, a structured settlement payment of over 20 years to one (lesser-valued) payment now. Such financing can be used to pay for a house, send a child to college, or pay off one's debts. Such financing will need the approval of a judge and the insurance company.
[12] In 2012, a Tennessee Chancery Court issued an order denying a payee's transfer of workers' compensation settlement payments under a structured settlement agreement. Judge William E. Lantrip held that (i) workers' compensation payments are not within the definition of "structured settlement " under the Tennessee Structured Settlement Protection Act, Tenn. Code. Ann. §47-18-2601
[13]A purchaser of a structured settlement is an individual or company who buys a pre-existing structured settlement. Such settlements might include payouts for lottery winnings or annuities. For example, a court ordered structured settlement pays $5,000 a year for twenty years. The recipient doesn't want to wait for twenty years to receive their money so they approach a purchaser. The purchaser offers them $50,000 cash. In this example, the person trades a total of $100,000 for $5,000 cash now. The seller receives less money than they would if they waited twenty years, but they receive the money immediately.
[14]In popular culture[
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In April 2009, financial writer and TV personality
Suze Orman wrote that structured settlements "provide ongoing income and reduce the risk of blowing a lump sum through poor financial choices." She added that financial security can be improved "if you use the structured payouts wisely."
[15]J.G. Wentworth is the largest buyer of structured settlements in the US. The company is best known for the "Opera" and "Opera on a Bus" commercials that appeared in early 2010 on most cable channels in the continental United States.
[16] J.G. Wentworth's commercials are often considered to be over the top and many parodies have been born from it ever since. The company's CEO appeared on Fox News to discuss the effectiveness of the campaign.
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