by Structured Settlement Watchdog
Can a Structured Settlement Be Inherited?
It’s a simple enough structured settlement beneficiary question, but if you seek an answer from Atlanta based factor Silver Dollar Financial, you might swear you were at the word salad bar separating snow pea pods. Lettuce Begin…Croutons and all…
“When a loved one with a structured settlement passes away, what happens to it? If you were listed to receive the structured settlement, you can inherit it after the death of the original owner. Structured settlements are inheritable so long as there is a will or other legal provision that allows you to take ownership of it.” Source: Silver Dollar Financial website retrieved May 29, 2024
Silver Dollar Financial’s explanation was full of deficiencies:
- When a loved one with a structured settlement passes away, what happens to it? If the periodic payment obligations under a structured settlement agreement (and the likely qualified assignment agreement) have remaining certain payments, and/or remaining guaranteed lump sum payments, those payments survive the death of the payee under the structured settlement,
- Nobody is “listed”. Not a list such as 1 large container of Tide, 1 large box of Poop Like a Champion, Aunt Mary, a lab grown corn beef sandwich and the proverbial kettle of fish. They are named, as in Payee named in annuity policy or named beneficiary, or named beneficiaries,
- A structured settlement is a form of settlement in which at least part of the consideration for the settlement involves an obligation to make future periodic payments.
- The majority of structured settlements involve a qualified assignment agreement, pursuant to IRC 130(c), in which the obligation to make future periodic payments under a settlement agreement is assigned to a qualified assignment company.
- The qualified assignment company may purchase an annuity to fund the obligation it assumes to make periodic payments to the payee with funds it has received from defendant (and/or defendant’s insurer) concurrent with the time of the qualified assignment as set forth in IRC 130(d).
- The qualified funding asset is not owned by the original Payee and the Payee only has the rights to receive periodic payments as payments as damages. The qualified assignment company has all rights of ownership in the qualified funding asset. Therefore you can’t take ownership of the qualified funding asset, whether it an annuity or a trust holding United States Treasury Obligations.
Silver Dollar Financial isn’t a Georgia Registered Structured Settlement Purchase Company
See Registered SSPCs.xlsx (ga.gov). which at time of this blog’s publishing was last updated May 9, 2024. The list is maintained by the Georgia Secretary of State.
Silver Dollar Financial’s Office Address Stated on Its Website, Virtual Office Space
Rent Office Space in Atlanta US on 3455 Peachtree Road North East, The Pinnacle Building
Sparse Regulatory Framework Assures Challenges for Sellers and Investors
The limited regulatory oversight of the structured settlement secondary market creates challenges for both sellers and investors in obtaining accurate information. This market comprises purchasers who may lack professional licenses, hold no formal credentials, and whose conduct is not consistently held to the standards governing other financial professions.
My interest is to see that all consumers have accurate information about structured settlements