Imperial Structured Settlements Announces the Winner of Their Mortgage/ Rent Mailer Sweepstakes

Imperial Structured Settlements, LLC, a leader in the advance funding of structured settlement payment rights and assignable annuities recently announced Pittsburgh - resident Shayla Thompson as the winner of their Mortgage/Rent Mailer Sweepstakes. The sweepstakes ran from August 14 through September 30, 2009 and paid two months of rent for one of Imperial’s customers. The customers did not have to purchase or start a transaction with Imperial to qualify.

“We would like to congratulate Shayla Thompson on being chosen as the winner of our sweepstakes. As the winner, Ms. Thompson will have her rent or mortgage paid for the next 2 months,” Said Imperial Structured Settlements Senior Vice President Deborah Benaim. “In these trying times, Imperial wants their customers to know that we are here to do what we can to help.”

Shayla reached out to Imperial back in March of 2009. She was looking to transfer some of her future settlement payments to pay off credit card debt, her mounting medical bills and purchase a head stone for her daughter. Shayla’s structured settlement was the result of a faulty A/C unit in her apartment which took the life of her infant daughter De’Shanti Thompson by carbon monoxide poisoning. She currently has two children Davion Thompson age 6 and BeaJan Thompson age 1.

“I really want to thank everyone at Imperial for everything they have done for me and my family," said Shayla. “It’s a small step but certainly a step in the right direction,” She continued.

About Imperial Structured Settlements, LLC

Imperial Structured Settlements, LLC is a specialty finance company that purchases structured settlement payment rights and certain annuities from individuals. People who settle a personal injury, wrongful death, or medical malpractice claim often receive their payments from an insurance company over a predetermined period of time. Imperial Structured Settlements, LLC is based in Boca Raton , Florida .


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Settlement reached in 2007 traffic accident

Two insurance companies have agreed to pay a total of $450,000 to settle claims stemming from a 2007 traffic accident that left a 19-year-old Lawrence Park Township woman disabled.Lauren E. Voltz, now 21, suffered a moderate brain injury on May 14, 2007, when a minivan in which she was a passenger collided with a tractor-trailer at the intersection of Nagle Road and Iroquois Avenue in Harborcreek Township.

Under the terms of the settlement, Allstate, the insurer of the driver of the minivan, William C. Morris, will pay policy limits of $15,000.

Carolina Casualty, the insurer for David Mulligan, the driver of the tractor-trailer, agreed to pay $435,000 from a policy that had a limit of $1 million. With the settlement, neither Morris nor Mulligan admit any wrongdoing.

Voltz's lawyer, Alan Natalie, will receive $150,000 to cover his costs and a 33 percent fee.

Out of the remaining proceeds, $10,000 will be placed in a special needs trust for Voltz to support her vocational training, according to court records.

An additional $290,000 will be placed in a structured settlement that will provide monthly payments of $1,307 to support Voltz.

The settlement agreement bars all parties from commenting on the case.

Voltz's family, however, blogged online for several months about her long recovery efforts. Hundreds followed their reports of her long stay in the intensive care unit and her success at recovering movement and speech through rehabilitation.

The family stopped posting updates in 2008.

Voltz lives with her parents and relies on them for economic support and some physical support, according to court records.

The accident happened about 1:43 a.m.

State police at Lawrence Park said Voltz was one of two passengers in a 1999 Dodge Caravan that hit a tractor-trailer. Voltz was not wearing a seat belt, police said.

The collision caused her to be ejected from the van's sliding rear door.

The two other people in the minivan suffered minor injuries, police said. The driver, Morris, then 18, and another passenger, Anastasia N. Burchick, then 19, were wearing seat belts, police said.

The truck driver, Mulligan, then 47, was also wearing a seat belt and was not injured. Mulligan had the right-of-way in the intersection, according to court records.

Police said the minivan was northbound on Nagle Road when it hit the rig, which was eastbound on Iroquois Avenue.

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DoJ Says Google Settlement Must Be Changed

In a highly anticipated brief, the Department of Justice on September 18 said the Google Book Search Settlement as currently structured should be rejected by the court overseeing its approval. “As presently drafted the proposed settlement does not meet the legal standards this court must apply,” the DoJ report concluded. "This court should reject the proposed settlement and encourage the parties to continue negotiations to comply with Rule 23 and the copyright and antitrust laws.” 

In a silver lining, the DoJ recognized the potential value of a deal to facilitate book digitization, and officials urged the settlement parties to head back to the negotiating table. "A properly structured settlement agreement in this case offers the potential for important societal benefits," reads the DoJ statement. "The United States does not want the opportunity or momentum to be lost." 

In a brief statement, Google, the AAP and the Authors Guild, said they will address the concerns of the DoJ. “We are considering the points raised by the Department and look forward to addressing them as the court proceedings continue,” the statement read. 

The DoJ's opposition makes it increasingly likely that the October 7 fairness hearing, or at least its outcome, will be delayed. While the DoJ was upbeat about the settlement's potential, suggesting that the parties address DoJ concerns and make the settlement viable, the issues outlined in its brief nevertheless strike deeply at the heart of the deal, and it remains to be seen how quickly these thorny issues, the subject of years of tense negotations, can be resolved, if they can be at all. Without modifications, the DoJ indicated there was "a significant potential" that the Department would conclude that the settlement "violates the Sherman Act."

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Obtain Immediate Funds By Selling Annuity Structured Settlement

Structured settlements provide money over time. These include lottery winnings, pensions, or some other kind. Structured settlement payments are used more frequently today because they offer substantial benefits to everyone involved in the structured settlement agreement. Victims are offered tax-free payments and the offender is let off once there is a structured settlement agreement. You can sell structured settlements to businesses who will pay you a lump sump and accept gradual payments over time is a possibility. Families can pay bills now by having the full payments rather than waiting for installments.

The advantage of selling to a buyer of annuity structured settlement is that money is immediately available. These funds can be used to pay bills, buy a house, send your children to school, start a business, or for emergencies. Nonetheless, this cash flow can give security to retirees. This money is tax-free and any investments made with a cash settlement may not be. If you choose to sell structured settlement it is possible to lose half of what it is worth.

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A Reputable Buyer of Structured Annuity Offers Protection

There are some shady characters out there and some shady companies to go along with them. When it comes to anything to do with your money, it is imperative to be on alert at all times and to make those decisions that will allow you to protect yourself at all costs. People will sell you anything to make a buck and it is always buyer beware; it is incumbent upon us as consumers to educate ourselves most thoroughly so that we can make the best decisions we can.

This is the philosophy I clung to when choosing a buyer of structured settlement annuity. I had been receiving payments from a structured settlement for some time after I was awarded money from an accident. The money was put into an annuity and that was how the money was dispersed – through payments that came to me once a month. For as long as I have had the structured settlement it has worked very well for me – I have really counted on the payments. But now I have reached a point in my life when I could really use a lump sum of money and the only way to do that with a structured settlement is to sell annuity payments.

When you sell annuity payments you are trading in future payments for their current cash value and the entity that leads the transaction is the buyer of structured settlement annuity payments. Obviously, as with anything else that has to do with your money, selling annuity payments should not be done without fully educating yourself about the process. But one of the best ways to protect yourself is to choose a buyer of structured settlement annuity that is experienced, professional, and has a solid reputation in the industry. Do the process justice by finding the best out there in terms of experience and reputation; you will have the peace of mind that you are being guided well.

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Sell structured settlement annuity

What Is a Structured Settlement?
Sometimes when a plaintiff settles a case for a large sum of money, the defendant, the plaintiff’s attorney, or a financial planner consulted in association with the settlement, will propose paying the settlement in installments over time rather than in a single lump sum. When a settlement is paid in this manner it is called a “structured settlement”. Often the structured settlement will be created through the purchase of one or more annuities, which guarantee the future payments.

A structured settlement can provide for payment in pretty much any schedule the parties choose. For example, the settlement may be paid in annual installments over a number of years, or it may be paid in periodic lump sums every few years.

Benefits of a Structured Settlement
One significant advantage of a structured settlement is tax avoidance. With appropriate set-up, a structured settlement may significantly reduce the plaintiff’s tax obligations as a result of the settlement, and may in some cases be tax-free.

A structured settlement can protect a plaintiff from having settlement funds dissipated, when they are necessary to pay for future care or needs. Sometimes a structured settlement can help protect a plaintiff from himself - some people simply aren’t good with money, or can’t say no to relatives who want to “share the wealth”, and even a large settlement can be rapidly exhausted. Minors may benefit from a structured settlement as well, such as a settlement which provides for certain costs during their youth, an additional disbursement to pay for college or other educational expenses, and then one or more disbursements in adulthood. An injured person who has long-term special needs may benefit from having periodic lump sums with which to purchase medical equipment or modified vehicles.

In some situations, it will be better for a severely disabled plaintiff to set up a special needs trust, rather than entering into a lump sum or structured settlement. Any plaintiff who is receiving, or expects to receive, Medicaid or other public assistance, or the guardian or conservator entering into a settlement on behalf of a disabled ward, should consult with a disabilities financial planner about their situation before choosing any particular settlement option or structure.

Potential Disadvantages of Structured Settlements
Some people who enter into structured settlements feel trapped by the periodic payments. They may wish to purchase a new home, or other expensive item, yet be unable to muster the resources because they can’t borrow against future payments under their settlement.

Some people will do better by accepting a lump sum settlement, and investing it themselves. Many standard investments will give a greater long-term return than the annuities used in structured settlements.

Selling a Structured Settlement
If you have a structured settlement, you may have been approached by a company interested in purchasing your settlement, or may be curious about selling your settlement in return for a lump sum buyout. About two thirds of states have enacted laws which restict the sale of structured settlements, and tax-free structured settlements are also subject to federal restrictions on their sale to a third party. Also, some insurance companies will not assign or transfer annuities to third parties, to discourage the sale of structured settlements. As a consequence, depending upon where you live and the terms of your annuities, it may not be possible for you to sell your settlement.

Keep in mind that companies which buy structured settlements intend to profit from their purchase, and sometimes their offers may seem quite low. You may benefit from approaching more than one company in relation to the sale of your settlement, to make sure that you obtain the highest payoff. You also want to be sure that the company which wants to buy your settlement is established, well-funded, and reputable - you don’t want a fly-by-night outfit to obtain the rights to your annuities but to disappear or go bankrupt before paying you the buyout money. You may have to go to court to get a judge to approve the buyout. It is usually a good idea to consult with a lawyer before entering into an agreement to sell your settlement.

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Structured Settlement Payments – How To Know When To Sell Yours

Sydney, Steven Saunders today launched the structured settlement payments site http://www.structuredsettlementsadvice.com. Structured settlements provide injured persons with an opportunity to capitalise upon an injury suffered through negligence. The main issue is how best to manage the sudden influx of funds – whether a steady flow of instalments is best or alternatively to sell the structured settlement outright. The main reason structured settlements were introduced was because claimants rarely have the ability to manage the funds, as Tim Grant, contributor to Journal Gazette states: " A recent survey of people who had received big settlements in personal-injury cases showed more than half who took the lump-sum payment had already spent the entire amount at the time of the survey." A major benefit of structured settlements is that they are income-tax free and insurance companies can guarantee the benefits for life. Furthermore they provide residual and reliable income that provides claimants with security and ability to make repayments for various debts.

A claimant can also sell a structured settlement. This process is also known as factoring and can take between 60 and 90 days to settle and secure the lump sum payment in exchange for the remaining structured settlements. Knowing when to sell a structured settlement is a matter of personal circumstances, as Josh Shapiro, contributor to Best Syndication states: "Do you need a lump sum of money? This is the primary indicator that it is time to sell a structured settlement."

Examples how one could benefit from selling a structured settlement include: clearing a mortgage, buying a business and investing in stock.

If one is considering selling a structured settlement it is advisable to seek the advice of a trusted structured settlement broker to help negotiate the deal with the insurance company. There are various illegitimate online structured settlement companies that claim to negotiate on your behalf- one must be wary of such potential scam sites.

Interestingly as Tim Grant, contributor to Journal Gazette states in relation to the AIG American General survey:  “that 35 percent of Americans with no knowledge of structured settlements would take the lump sum, but after learning the merits of structured settlements, 73 percent of them preferred the lifetime payments”. It seems clear that there is a lack of awareness of the long term benefits of structured settlements, and how best to manage them. 

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