Structured settlements can be generated from lottery winnings, litigation or insurance awards from workers compensation or personal injury cases. In some instances, you can inherit an annuity or scheduled monthly payments from a relative that has passed.
When negotiating your settlement, you may want to consider the following items:
- Sometimes a settlement is due to a personal injury situation that could decrease the individual’s life expectancy. When considering your structured settlement, you may want to stipulate that if you pass before the agreed upon payments are complete, the balance will be paid to your estate so that the agreed upon amount is fully paid. If this is not part of your agreement, the amount paid could be significantly less than what was due.
- Structure the agreement so that the annuities are funded through multiple providers or companies. This will help ensure funds are still available and that payments continue over the entire period if one carrier goes into bankruptcy.
- Planning for steady monthly payments will help with day to day expenses, but you may want to negotiate larger disbursements on annual basis or other schedule to help with unforeseen situations or to assist in upcoming college bills that may be on the horizon.
In summary, negotiating terms during the structuring of the settlement will give you more flexibility over time and allow you to plan for situations that may not be evident at the time. In any case, find the appropriate counsel who will look out for your best interests for the short and long term.
Structured Settlement payouts should be based not only the immediate needs, but also have enough flexibility built into the agreement for the future. For more info go to http://gravitygarden.com/my-structured-settlement/index.html
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