Structured Settlements vs Alternatives: Which Is the Best Option for You?
It was a normal day and you were driving back to your house when you felt something smash your car. Someone rear-ended you, and you’re not ok!
Now, you have to go through a court battle to sue for financial compensation from the driver that hit you. You’ll need that money for the upwards of 18 months of healing time it takes to recover from a spinal injury!
Structured settlements might not always be the best option for you to accept your compensation. But, what other options do you have?
Keep reading to learn everything you need to know before deciding how you want your legal settlement paid out.
Structured Settlements
The standard way that most legal settlements get paid out to the victim (or victims) is a structured settlement. In brief, it’s a set number of payments from one party to another as a civil lawsuit judgment.
You can choose to sell your structured plan to a company that then pays you a lump sum if you need it down the road. But, they charge fees so you’ll never get as much money as you would if you had not sold the settlement payments.
Managed Mutual Fund Portfolio
For those who aren’t sure about how much their future expenses might cost, a variety of mutual funds could help you by giving you access to cash if you need it while investing it at the same time.
Make sure to have a professional manage your portfolio because they know how to manage potential risk and economic volatility using strategic diversification.
Variable Annuity Payments
Another option is a variable annuity with a guaranteed income benefit rider. In this case, an insurance company agrees to make lifetime income payments to the investor (the victim) while also using their settlement for investments.
These long-term investments aren’t helpful for short-term financial needs because there are hefty penalties for early withdrawals. Also, note that the success of your settlement investment also depends on the economy. If the stock market crashes, so do your settlement funds.
If You Save Money Now, It Will Save You Later
Once you decide how you want to accept your financial compensation from your legal battle, you don’t want to squander all that money! If you focus on saving as much of that money as possible, then you’ll have plenty if you find that it’s taking longer for you to heal or if an unexpected expense pops up.
No matter how you choose to get paid, you don’t want to end up in a financial pickle while you’re trying to recover. If you need help, consider hiring someone to help you manage your funds.
We hope you enjoyed reading this article and that you learned all about structured settlements and the alternatives. If you’re looking for more great articles about finances, management, networking, and much more, check out the rest of our blog today!
