11 Things You Didn't Know About Structured Settlements

1. A structured settlement, annuity, is a determined amount of periodic
   payments you will receive over a determined length of time.
   


2. Part of your future payments include interest you are being paid that you
   have not earned yet.
   


3. You can choose how you will receive your payments - usually you can
   receive monthly, quarterly, bi-annual, or annual payments.
   


4. Once a structured settlement payment agreement is reached, the plaintiff
   cannot make changes.
   


5. It was not until 1982 when Congress enacted the Periodic Payment Act that
   pre arranged payments became the new alternative to one tie cash lump sum
   payments.
   


6. While structured insurance settlements are created for the benefit of the
   victim, they are inflexible and often are inadequate to deal with immediate
   financial needs or unplanned emergencies
   


7. United States Congress and most state governments have agreed that
   settlement victims should have the ability and right to sell their structured
   insurance settlement and receive money from insurance settlement in the way they
   see fit.
   


8. Some people choose to repay a debt or to use the cash for investment
   purposes such as starting a business or buying a home. Others use the money to
   fund an entire college education.
   


9. Laws require the beneficiary to demonstrate that selling their annuity
   payments is in their best interest. If the court agrees, it will issue an order
   authorizing the sale of a structured settlement payment to an authorized
   third-party. The requirement of court approval is to protect the beneficiary
   from an inappropriate sale and also to verify that the sale is in the victim's
   best interest
   


10. Generally pension and annuity payments are subject to Federal income tax
    withholding. The withholding rules apply to the taxable part of payments
    from an employer pension annuity, profit-sharing, stock bonus, or other deferred
    compensation plan. The rules also apply to payments from an individual
    retirement arrangement (IRA), an annuity, endowment, or life insurance contract
    issued by a life insurance company.
    


11. If you are considering selling your settlement payments it is wise to
    call or go online for several free quotes and information from settlement firms
    you can trust. Then compare the terms, costs and services provided in the
    offers to guarantee you are receiving top dollar.