When it comes to structured settlements, there is a lot of misguided information on the internet. There are many companies or experts who will make recommendations based on the commissions they are paid instead of what is best for you. This article will cover the insider secrets banks, brokers, and “experts” don’t want you to know.

If you have suffered a personal injury through no fault of your own, chances are it was a traumatic experience, to say the least. The time it took to settle could have taken many months or even years. The stress you went through was overwhelming, to say the least. When the judgment was finally given, the next surprise you received was that you would be paid through a structured settlement. A monthly payment over many years instead of receiving your settlement in one lump sum.

This may have confused you, as the attorney you hired and who received one-third of your settlement amount received his/her payment in one lump sum, so why didn’t you?

This dates back to the 1970s when legislation was put into place to protect the victim in a personal injury case to have consistent income, as many people who were receiving a lump sum would spend it within the first year and then go on the government roles for welfare assistance. The government wanted to have not only stability in the economy but security in the growing cities.

The Decision to Sell Your Structured Settlement

Secret #1: There are many structured settlements which have “no-sell clauses” and most people just accept that clause and never consider the option of selling their structured settlement for cash. What they don’t know is a little-known secret that a judge can override the “no-sell clause”. It’s true. This is why it is vital you pick the right company to help sell your structured settlement.

Selling a structured settlement is no small task, and it can often be one of the biggest decisions of your life. Getting the right advice for you and your family is important. Apparently, you are suffering some financial hardship, or you would not be on this page learning of your many options to get out of your stressful situation.

There are two factors in front of you now. Your short-term financial health and your long-term financial health. Some experts will tell you that you can focus on one or the other, but there are not options which will fulfill both. This is just not true.

Secret #2: You can sell just a portion of your structured settlement and not the entire account. A lot of companies put pressure on you as it is an “all or nothing” option for you. Maybe you just need 20% of your account in cash to get through a short-term financial crisis.

You may think this is a new option, but it has been around ever since structured settlements began. Most companies do not mention that it is an option as their commissions and profits are much lower. This is why it is important for you to be armed with the right information so you can make not only the right decision, but also ask the right questions

Secret #3: Annuities and Structured Settlements aren’t the same and shouldn’t be treated the same. A structured settlement is an award judgment most often associated with a personal injury case. Annuities, on the other hand, are typically part of a retirement strategy. During a person’s working years, they set aside money to be placed in an annuity which gets better than standard interest rates and then the money is paid back in monthly installments once the person decides to retire.

Secret #4: Having the right reason to sell your structured settlement. If you have the attitude of “it’s my money, I should get it no matter what” you might be in for a shock. Why? Most people don’t know they have to appear before a judge to explain why they want to sell their structured settlement. The judge may or may not ask a series of follow-up questions, and then he/she will make the determination. Some of the reasons which have been most successful in granting the sale of a structured settlement is:

• Wanting to go back to college or vocational training to receive their degree for a promotion or a better position with another company, or for an entirely different career which will provide a more stable and higher level of income.
• To make a down payment on a new home to give the family a stable home environment.
• Pay off debt to avoid having to file for bankruptcy.
• Starting a business.
• Investing in a business venture with a solid business plan
• Pay off outstanding medical bills from an unexpected illness

Do one or more of the above scenarios match your current situation? If so, it makes sense for you to pursue selling your structured settlement with a licensed broker. If your case doesn’t match any of the above, that doesn’t necessarily mean you should not contact a broker; it just means that your reasons may not be substantial enough for the judge to approve. The broker is the best person to advise you on the path moving forward.

Secret #5: The right judge DOES make a difference if you get approved or not. You know the old saying, “it’s not what you know, but who you know?” This is particularly the case with judges. This is not implying that hiring the right company will get you automatically approved as they have an “in” with a judge. That borders on bribery or a quid pro quo. This is not the purpose…the purpose is if a certain judge is known to approve cases in certain areas and deny cases in areas that you fall into, the broker would be wise to tell you to either drop the pursuit of selling your structured settlement, or work to get a different judge for your case.

Information is power.

I am sure you are taking this all in, but in the back of your head you are still staying, “it’s my money, and I should be able to choose how I spend it.” You have to focus on how the process works and that a judge must sign off on your case. Mainly, the judge must approve of the reason why you wish to sell your structured settlement payments. The judge must believe it is in your best interest to do so.

Some examples that a judge will probably not approve of is if you want to buy a Lamborgini with the money, or if you want to help a friend or someone else in need. The fancy sports car is an easy answer why the judge would not approve, however, what about the person in need? You see, the judge is looking to see how the sale will improve YOU, not others.

At DRB Capital, the well-being of people like you are our top priority. We won’t give you advice based purely on the chance of earning a commission. If we believe that selling your structured settlement would be a bad choice for you either short-term or long-term, we will advise you against doing so.The following are examples of instances in which we have counseled customers against selling their structured settlements:

• Performing home renovations for aesthetic purposes
• Purchasing a new wardrobe
• Buying a car for a child as a graduation present
• Taking a year off work to travel the world

While many of these are good and worthwhile expenditures, none of them provide a direct benefit to the owner of the structured settlement or improve their quality of life in the long-term.

Pros and Cons of Selling a Structured Settlement

Selling your structured settlement or annuity can have great and even life-changing implications. Selling your payments can vastly improve your standard of living. But, there are downsides to selling that each and every owner of a structured settlement or annuity needs to be aware of before making the final decision. While it may seem that receiving a lump sum of cash carries little downside, keep in mind that to receive that payment, you will be forgoing future payments from your structured settlement when you decide to sell it in its entirety. In essence, by the sale of a structured settlement or annuity, you are actually ‘borrowing’ from your future self.

With DRB Capital, you have the option to sell some payments, while leaving the remainder of your scheduled payments intact.

When a customer comes to DRB Capital looking to sell their structured settlement, we make sure they have a thorough understanding of the advantages as well as the drawbacks of their decision. The following are the pros and cons of selling a structured settlement or annuity that you need to be aware of before you make the decision to sell.

Pros of Selling a Structured Settlement

• Immediate access to a large lump sum of cash that otherwise would have taken months or even years for you to receive
• The ability to invest in endeavors that can substantially improve your prospects, such as credit card debt repayment and consequent credit repair, furthering of education, home ownership, business ventures, etc.
• Relief from healthcare-related debt
• Unlike a loan, the money you receive is yours and never has to be paid back

Cons of Selling a Structured Settlement

• Once you receive a lump sum payment after selling all of your payments, you will no longer receive your structured payments
• Actually managing a one-time, massive infusion of cash is much more challenging than budgeting based on smaller, predictable, structured payments
• Certain unscrupulous structured settlement buyers will allow you to “sell” your structured settlement before a court has awarded you the settlement in what is called ‘pre-settlement funding.’ If the judgment isn’t returned in your favor, you will end up owing back the money at exorbitantly high-interest rates

As with any decision that will have a substantial impact on your life, selling a structured settlement has its advantages and drawbacks. The best course of action is to work with a structured settlement buyer you can trust and talk through the decision, considering your particular circumstances and deciding whether or not the pros outweigh the cons.

Avoiding Structured Settlement Fraud

In the structured settlement industry, as in most other industries, reputable buyers are looking out for the best interests of their customers, and other buyers are looking to profit at the expense of customers. It is these unscrupulous buyers that taint the industry as a whole and scare some would-be sellers into forgoing the opportunities selling their structured settlement could afford because they are afraid of being ‘scammed.’ While it would be irresponsible to deny that structured settlement fraud exists in the industry, there is a sure-fire way to avoid it: perform your due diligence and deal with a reputable structured settlement buyer you trust.

What is Structured Settlement Fraud?
Structured settlement fraud can appear in many forms, with the most common being dishonest structured settlement buyers convincing customers it is in their best interest to lie to a judge about the way they intend to spend their lump sum to gain approval for a sale that never should have happened.

Actual cases of structured settlement fraud have ranged anywhere from just misleading judges as to how cash payments will be spent, to actually falsifying residential documents to make it appear as though a seller lives in a state with laxer structured settlement selling laws, when in fact, they do not. At the time, these customers may have felt as though those buyers were looking out for their clients. After all, they agreed to the buy structured settlement payments no one else would. But in the long-term, many victims of structured settlement fraud can find the results devastating.

How Can Structured Settlement Fraud Be Avoided?

The best way to avoid structured settlement fraud is to work with a structured settlement buyer with a good and solid reputation. How can you tell which company is the wrong one to work with? In your online research, if you can’t find anything negative, but when you call they don’t ask you why you want to sell, they just go right to the quote, this is a red flag that they are just interested in getting your business without understanding your circumstances or if selling the structured settlement will help them at all.

The Structured Settlement Selling Process

Selling your structured settlement isn’t just walking into an office and then walking out with a check a few minutes later. It is a complex and serious process which requires the approval of a judge. This is for your protection.

The first step in the process is something you have most likely already done, or you are planning to do so, which is to contact companies to purchase your structured settlement. At DRB Capital, they make it easy for their customers to find out exactly how much they’re entitled to by either calling directly or filling out a quote form online. Either way, their top quote guarantee gives you the peace of mind you are getting the most money with the fewest headaches possible.

Once you have a quote from DRB Capital, the next step you want to take is to discuss your personal situation your contact and he or she will determine if selling your structured settlement is the right financial choice for you. If your reasoning for wanting to sell your structured settlement is valid, they will agree to purchase your structured settlement for the amount in the quote you received.

Before the deal for your structured settlement cash out can be finalized, a state court judge must approve the terms and the transaction. Don’t be nervous as we will have a representative attorney by your side during the process. It is as simple as explaining your reasoning to the judge.

After the overseeing judge has approved the sale of your structured settlement, your funds will be made available so you can get on with your life with less stress. DRB Capital makes the transaction as quick and easy as possible for our customers. While they do their best to get the entire process done in under thirty days, often completing the entire process from the initial quote to receiving your funds averages 45-90 days. While this is the industry standard, we strive always to get your money in your hands as quickly as possible.

Why Choose DRB Capital?

When you decided that selling your structured settlement is your best option and that DRB Capital is the company you want to handle the transaction, there are a few things you can rest assured you will receive.

•  you will get the most money for your structured settlement with the DRB Capital guarantee
• excellent customer support
• one professional and knowledgeable contact from start to finish
• A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau
• one of the most knowledgeable, trustworthy and respected structured settlement buyers in the business

Make the right choice. Choose DRB Capital.