Litigation

Structured settlements recipients seeking to cash in some of their structured settlement payments may be bewildered with the court approval process. Court approval is necessary to get your money early under the structured settlement protection acts in most states. Without Court approval, under Federal law, the purchaser of your structured settlement payments rights would incur a 40% excise tax* on the discount rate charged to you.

The general purpose of the court approval process is to  make sure that such transaction is in your best interest. There have been one too many stories of annuitants who have sold structured settlement payments and then been taken advantage of . Part of the process may include making sure that you have a clear plan. There's an old saying "People don't plan to fail, they fail to plan".

* see IRC 5891(a)