If you have won the lottery or a lawsuit, you may be thinking about selling your sell your structured settlements. People do not always realize that when you win a big lottery, like the Mega Millions prize, the way they normally pay that out is to give the winner one big payment and then spread the rest out over 29 years. Each year, the winner receives a payment. Each year the payment is 5% larger than the last payment. For many people, this is fine but not for everyone. Some people prefer to get settlement money now. More than 90% of the people who sell their annuity or lottery payments are happy they did it.
If you decide you want to get settlement money now rather than wait, you have to have a good reason for the court to approve your sale. There are many different reasons people sell annuity payments.
They have medical bills. More than 50% of the bankruptcies in the United States are cause by medical bills. These are often because of accidents or illnesses that take people completely off guard. If this happens to you, yu can sell your lottery winnings and get settlement money now. This can save you and your family from having to fuel for bankruptcy. Many American families are just one medical crisis away from bankruptcy.
Start a business. A very large percentage of new businesses go under because they do not have access to enough start up capital. Maybe you have always wanted to open a restaurant or own your own salon. This is one way to finance that dream and protect yourself for the future.
Finance an education. High education is expensive, though pays off. People who have attended or finished college make more money than those who do not. If you want to go back to school or you want to help your kids go to college, selling your annuity to get settlement money now can be a great way to do that. Financial aid offices do not often give loans and grants to people receiving structured settlement or lottery payments. Being able to send your kids to school without making them incur a large student debt is a great gift that will last most of their lives. Studies show that a person’s income potential, when they start out without a large student loan debt, is much higher than if they have that debt.
Fix up your home or buy a new one. Maybe you home needs lots of costly repairs or you want to buy your dream home Selling your settlement or lottery payments may be the best way to make that dream become a reality. Plus you will most likely be able to buy your new home without a mortgage.
Live on the money and put off retirement. Maybe you have some investments. You can diversify your portfolio, which most financial advisors say is a good idea. You can also either keep working and not dip into your Social Security or live off of the money from the sale of your structured settlement and delay using your Social Security. This will make your payments increase. The longer you can delay starting to get the Social Security checks, the better. Selling your structured settlement can help you achieve that goal.
Everyone’s situation is different. For some people, having payments come in regularly for a long time is the best thing they can do for their financial future. If you find that this is not what you want to do with your lottery winnings or lawsuit settlement, consider selling it. Consult with financial experts you trust so you can go over your finances with someone who can help you make the right decision for you and your family. You have a lot of options and you want to be as sure as you can be that the decision you make is really the best for you.
