What Does Structured Settlement Mean
A structured settlement is a negotiated financial or insurance arrangement through which a claimant agrees to resolve a personal injury tort claim by receiving part or all of a settlement in the form of periodic payments on an agreed schedule rather than as a lump sum as part of the negotiations a structured settlement may be offered by the defendant or requested by the plaintiff.
What does structured settlement mean. Structured settlement is an agreement in a lawsuit by which specific payments are made over a period of time. Information and translations of structured settlement in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. Structured settlement protects a victim from economic loss and hardship. A structured settlement annuity is a way for someone who wins a legal settlement to receive the payout.
This agreement is much favored by defendants in lawsuits. Under a structured settlement a victim will receive compensation for life time. A lump sum payment means that the defendant or the defendant s insurance company makes one payment to you and that payment settles the case however instead of a lump sum payment some plaintiffs opt to have their compensation paid out in a structured settlement. That number has continued to increase.
Instead of receiving all the money in one lump sum the plaintiff puts their money in an annuity which is a type of financial contract. For smaller payouts it makes little sense to have the money paid out in installments purely because the payments would be so small it would be pointless. As of 2018 there were over 1 million attorneys working in the united states. Income from structured settlement payments also does not affect your eligibility for medicaid social security disability benefits or other forms of aid.
Definition what does structured settlement annuity mean. Structured settlement payments do not count as income for tax purposes even when the structured settlement earns interest over time. The majority of settlements in personal injury cases are lump sum payments. A structured settlement in court isn t always the best idea.