Things to Consider Before Selling Your Structured Payments

If you are being paid a certain amount of money each month from a settlement, an annuity or a lottery you’ve won, you can often sell these structured payments for a single, lump sum of cash. Although there are advantages to doing this, you need to take some time to think about it. The following are a few things to consider before making a decision.

Things to Consider Before Selling Your Structured Payments

It may not be possible with a structured settlement
Although, in most cases, you will be able to do this, the party paying you the money will have to agree to the deal. An offer will have to be made, and it will need to be one that is attractive to them. This will mean receiving less than you would get if you continued to receive your monthly payments. An attorney will also want a certain amount of money for fees, and make no mistake, you will need an attorney to
sell structured settlement payments for a lump sum. Your best course of action is to first consult with an attorney before you decide on selling your structured settlement. An attorney will be able to give you a ballpark estimate of how much you can expect to receive as a lump sum.

Cashing in your lottery winnings
It may have made more sense in hindsight to take your winnings as a lump sum, but you decided on the payments instead. Or you may not have had a choice, and you’re now stuck with payments you simply don’t want anymore. Whatever the case may be, it is a fairly straight forward process to sell your lottery payments. There are investment groups that are willing to buy these payments from you. You need only determine if the lump sum that they offer you is acceptable. Also, you should pay attention to the tax implications of getting all of your money in a lump sum.

Selling an annuity
This is similar to selling your lottery winnings, with the notable exception that most people receiving an annuity are retired, can no longer work or both. In this case, you need to take plenty of time to decide on whether you want to sell your annuity. Once the deal is done, there is no turning back. Of course, if you inherited the annuity, then it may be similar to selling lottery winnings, it’s simply a matter of finding the offer acceptable. Those who buy annuity payments are often the same as those buying lottery payments.

Keep in mind that whatever you decide, your lump sum of cash will be all that you have. This may still be an attractive situation for you.

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