by Structured Settlement Watchdog
Just because you made what proved to be a bad financial decision to sell your structured settlement doesn’t necessarily mean that you got scammed or were a victim of fraud.
While unethical and corrupt business practices are prevalent among settlement purchasers due to insufficient regulation and, in Florida, instances of questionable judicial application of the “best interest test,” there are also situations where mature adults made decisions that ultimately turned out to be poor choices.
Desperate mature adults often make impulsive financial decisions, while those who are not desperate may still make poor choices regarding money and life decisions that seemed appropriate at the time. Individuals who sell their structured settlements may face challenges associated with a Sudden Money event and should seek proper guidance.
The Structured Settlement Watchdog seeks credible information about bad business practices involving structured settlement buyers.
If you have a legitimate case where you have been taken advantage of please contact me. For more information about the structured settlement watchdog activities, please click here
- Always get independent professional advice from a licensed credentialed professional before you engage in any major financial transaction, including seeking cash for structured settlement payment rights.
- If you sell, always appear in court. If someone is coaching you on what to say and there is anything untruthful about it don’t say it and don’t sign an affidavit that is untruthful. Read what you are being asked to sign. Ask questions if you do not understand something.
- Seek advice from someone who is qualified and independent of the buyer.
- Be careful of tie-ins between the buyer and someone selling you alternative investments.
Selling your structured settlement means that you never receive full value
Therefore when you sell your structured settlement and put the money in another investment you must first make up what you lost as a result of the sale of the payments before you show any profit. Make sure you get an apples to apples comparison.
Based on what I’ve seen and heard, unsophisticated people are being shown investments that are speculative and of questionable suitability. The affidavit submitted to a Florida judge at a November 2013 transfer hearing, concerning one credible seller who contacted me, who had obvious cognitive defcits, was clearly not written by him and not his own words. The affidavit, apparently presented to the seller as a “sign here”, falsely portayed him as someone with an elevated level of sophistication, a ruse that a few words with him at a transfer hearing would easily betray. Unfortunately the system betrayed the seller on the day. He was fortunate to have contacted us soon enough to have the matter turned around with the assistance of legal counsel.
Image 2 : Chris Noble/Dreamstime.com
Image 3: Marek Uliasz/Dreamstime.com