Litigation

Most People Who Sell Their Structured Settlements Do So To Pay Bills

By John Darer

It is clear from both scientifically relevant structured settlement surveys and unscientifically irrelevant structured settlement surveys, that most people sell their structured settlement payment rights to pay their bills.

Q. Why do people have bills?

You receive a bill because of a product or service you have purchased. It is important to distinguish between those products or services representing necessary staples such as food, basic clothing,  shelter, fuel  and medical and those that represent the cost of discretionary expenses like a new plasma TV, the cruise, the new XBox or re-doing the kitchen with the latest Gaggenau range.

Q  Why do people get into trouble with their bills?

Some possible reasons:

1. Failure to budget.
2. Failure to adhere to a budget
3. Price increases in goods or services that stretch or exceed budgeted and available income resources
4. Failure to monitor budget and adjust for increases in prices of necessary goods and services with a concomitant reduction in discretionary spending
   
5. Unexpected large expense for unforeseen medical needs not covered by insurance
6. Loss of income due to job termination, death of spouse or divorce
7. Excessive or irrational largesse due to "sudden wealth syndrome" (tort victims, beneficiaries of inheritances and lottery winners)
   
8. Failure to set up and maintain a reserve fund

The above possible reasons for not being able to pay bills is not limited to tort victims, or those tort victims who receive structured settlement annuity payments.

There is nothing sexy about budgeting, but the cost of not budgeting is severe. The old adage that says that "people don't plan to fail, they fail to plan". The adage applies whether or not you have a structured settlement or whether or not you have been a tort victim.

For tort victims good practices start early and budgeting should be integral part of an ongoing litigation recovery management process. Institutional expertise is available for those that need it or for those who would benefit from its convenience. For further details contact John Darer at 888-325-8640. The call is toll-free in the United States.

Full post as published by Structured Settlements 4Real on December 03, 2008 (boomark / email).