Sell your structured Settlement - New Way to Cash?

Many people in North America own investments. In theory they are wealthy. The reality is that they are virtually rich because the asset is often not liquid. I.e: no Cash. How can you cash on your equity ? Is it really safe to do so ?

Montreal, Quebec, January 12th 2006

Today too many people in North America are "virtually rich". They have investments that are worth a lot of money (e.g a house) but lack cash to put food on the table or afford good medical care. How is this possible and what can we do if we are facing this situation?

We must find cash. One of the irony of our society is the structured settlement case. Today, it is common for victims of injury to accept a structured settlement instead of a lump-sum payment. With a structured settlement, the injured party receives payments over a mutually agreed period of time (even lifetime) instead of being paid the whole amount up front in a lump sum.

The advantages are as follow: If the injured person requires constant medical care the regular payments of a structured settlement will guarantee that income is available to cover the medical expenses. For the company paying, the settlement can be paid by acquiring an annuity. This will allow an upfront payment to accrue interest, thereby producing a larger long-term yield from a minimal investment.

However, there are limitations on structured settlements. Once you agree to a structured settlement, you cannot trade it back. Also it cannot be used as a collateral for a loan. Then one day you need cash: you cannot exchange your settlement against a one time sum of money anymore. So, you are rich on paper but it barely pays your monthly bills.

Hopefully there is one solution: under some circumstances, you might be able to sell your structured settlement to a third party.

BUT: are you really making such a good deal ? Look at what is happening with real estate. Everybody sell the house because prices have tripled. We forget that buying a new one will put us more in debt because the new one is far more expensive. Same situation with the sale of your settlement. Be simply aware that anybody buying you out does the deal to make a profit.

Sometimes, state regulations even prohibit the sale of structured settlements. Do you want to go to court to arrange your deal ?

Consumers need to be careful. Sometimes the sums involved seem enormous and overwhelming. But considering a lifetime of over 40, or 50 years, this sum does not seem so huge anymore. Before selling your structured settlement, think carefully about the long term implications and talk to several specialists.

For more information about this trend, contact Francois Marin at http://www.refinance-solutions.info

This release was published on openPR.