Structured Funding for Peace of Mind

If you’re eligible to receive cash compensation as a plaintiff in a lawsuit, there’s more to worry about that just getting payment. Although income from insurance claims can compensate for medical expenses, loss of earnings, repairs or replacements, and so on, they don’t necessarily help with the planning required to get back to a normal life. The after-effects of an accident may mean your financial needs vary over different periods, a situation that can be even more complex according to your age and personal projects.

This is where structured funding can help considerably. Rather than try to manage one lump sum paid at the beginning with its investment and tax ramifications, you receive installments of income in the amounts you need, when you need them. For example, if you were injured in an accident that left you unable to work afterwards, income might be funded on a monthly basis as compensation for the salary you earned before. If your child suffered an accident, such a settlement might also increase the payments for the period in which your child attends college, to compensate for the extra expenses at that time.

Structured funding, or a structured settlement, also has significant tax advantages compared to income earned by investing a lump sum elsewhere. Using a specialized, professional organization to handle your settlement and set up the installments in the way that best meets your requirements allows you to maximize these benefits. Settlements can be defined very flexibly: not only can you vary the income you receive at different times, but you can also defer income if it suits you to receive the money later. Settlements do not in general change once they have been put in place, although it may be possible (if for example your financial needs changed again) to convert the settlement back to a lump sum payment.