Structured settlements are created so that the owner or recipient can have financial security from compensation that is split up over a set amount of time. A structured settlement is often created after a lawsuit is decided. The final compensation can be set up as a structured settlement instead of a lump sum, which is often in the best interest of everyone that is involved.
A structured settlement can also be set up when lottery winnings are paid out over a period of time instead of in a lump sum. There are plenty of other ways that structured settlements can arise, but these are among the most common ones, according to Yahoo.
Reasons to Use Structured Settlements
In many cases the recipient will make out better with a structured settlement, because the payments over time can be advantageous to those who do not trust their ability to manage a large amount of money, or who know that they will need certain expenses covered by the settlement over a period of time. When they are deferred, it also makes it less of a financial burden in the short term to the parties making the payments.
Within the structured settlements, there can be a lot of different ways to set things up. Payments can be set up to be disbursed evenly over time or with larger payments at key times throughout the timeline. Structured settlements can also be set up to offer larger payments later on when they are needed more.
Lump Sum Annuities
In many structured settlements or annuities, there are large payments that are deferred into the future. These can be done to set something up in a trust for an individual who is a minor when the settlement is awarded. As a result, they will be able to receive the lump sum in the future.
Understanding the Marketplace
Whether you are buying or selling structured settlements, it is important to understand the marketplace and the way it has changed over the years. For example, those selling structured settlements today have much better options than they did in the past. Now that there are Internet sites set up that enable sellers of structured settlements to solicit offers, the marketplace favors the buyer a lot more than it used to.
In the past, when selling a structured settlement, if you didn’t know a number of buyers, you had to simply try to search one out and then hope to get a strong offer. This was a process that gave the sellers almost no leverage, leaving all of it in the hands of the buyers.
However, now that sellers can go online and get numerous offers bought to them, buyers know that they have to beat out some competition in order to be able to buy a structured settlement.
That leads to better offers for more money, with greater selection in offers. In addition, most of these sites do not force you to commit to accepting an offer. As a result, there is nothing to lose by filling out the information and getting some quotes. You can browse them and decide if you want to accept one and go ahead and get some cash for your structured settlement.
This can help you out immensely if you are in need of some extra money right now, or if you are presented with an investment opportunity that requires you to put down a lump sum in the near future that you do not already have at your disposal. In many cases, it’s worth the small discount that you will give on the full long-term value of your structured settlement.