Litigation

The Structured Settlement Factoring Discount Rate Calculator puts cash strapped structured settlement recipients in control.

A structured settlement factoring transaction is the source of cash of last resort for those structured settlement recipients who have exhausted all other options. Unfortunately many tort victims are victimized however, through their own ignorance and laziness, by cash now pushers like Peachtree Settlement Funding and others (click here for the "cash now" pushers list) who opportunistically charge high discount rates, due to a lack of regulation of such companies and perhaps due to the knowlege that a significant percentage of consumers are so desperate that they won't shop (even though better rates can be had elsewhere). While it is hoped that the situation will change in the near future, now there is an easy way for you to take control. There is no need for you to be a victim! Take control NOW!

With the Structured Settlement Factoring Discount Rate Calculator you, your lawyer, settlement planner, or your financial advisor can easily input the offer that you receive from a company like Peachtree Settlement Funding and then tell them to "shove their offer up their ass"

To access the Structured Settlement Factoring Discount Rate Calculator simply click the title highlighte in blue and then enter the requested information. If it seems to tough to handle then STOP, immediately call your financial advisor, settlement planner or someone who can help you enter this information. It is critical to know what the discont rate is after all expenses so that you can evaluate what the deal is going to cost you. For example if some windbag from a cash now pusher is telling you to sell your structured settlement payment rights to buy a boat, an alternative investment, throwing a plasma TV into the deal and you use the calculator to determine that there is an effective discount rate of 19.9% that is a pretty crappy alternative for you.

Another thing you can use the calculator for is to determine the net effect of structured settlement factoring vig paid on your case. Structured settlement factoring vig is the term used to describe commissions and/or referral fees paid to persons or companies who refer business to factoring companies or factoring brokers.  It is possible that the person making the referral is taking vig and not disclosing this to you, or the amount. YOU NEED TO KNOW  (1)whether that person is taking a fee (SO ASK THEM UPFRONT- HOW MUCH? HOW IS IT CALCULATED?)  and (2) the effect of that commission/fee on the ultimate discount rate you are paying. You should ask for a quote with and without a fee. If the settlement planner or advisor insists on getting paid instead of working pro bono then, armed with the information about the effect of their fee on the discount rate you have the power to negotiate. If they won't negotiate then consider working with someone else, or someone who will not charge such a fee.

You can check the structured settlement clean vendor list. The individuals on this list, including this author, have made declarations under penalty of perjury that they do not take the "vig". While it may beg the question, if an individual is not on this list that doesn't automatically mean that they are a vig taker. You must ask them and get it in writing. Only 2 settlement planners have openly declared that they take referral fees, even though factoring broker Rhonda Bentzen publically declared in December 2007 that 90% of her clients do. Other sources besides Bentzen tell us that settlement planners are building in referral fees, some substantial, whether it they disclosed or not!

Kudos to Andrew Cravenho at the Settlement Quotes Factoring Exchange for posting this valuable discount rate calculator tool for consumers, lawyers, judges, settlement planners and advisors.