A personal injury structured settlement is a settlement paid out by Texas’s courts as an annuity instead of a lump sum. In other words, victims of serious accidents can receive personal injury structured settlements at a controlled rate, much like an allowance.
This payment structure helps recipients avoid significant taxes and can make it easier to save money after an accident.
Are you trying to decide how you want to get paid after a personal injury accident? You can discuss your preferred payment structure with our Arlington personal injury lawyers. We understand the different ways the courts can divide up your settlement and can advise you accordingly.
Who Makes a Structured Settlement Work?
If you, in collaboration with an Arlington personal injury lawyer, secure a settlement after a serious accident, you get to work with liable parties and insurers to determine how you want them to pay you for your losses. You must specifically collaborate with the defendant, your liable party, and their insurance provider to establish a pay schedule.
Per the Structured Settlement Protection Act, the insurance company collaborating with your liable party will have to come into possession of a structured settlement annuity to see your structured settlement payments through until you’ve received all the damages from your case.
What are the Benefits of a Structured Personal Injury Settlement?
Agreeing to personal injury structured settlements instead of a lump-sum payment allows you to maintain a consistent stream of income over time instead of tackling all of your possible earnings at once.
Other benefits of this structure include:
- Beneficiaries can continue to receive payments from a personal injury lawsuit even if the original filer dies.
- Curbed impulse spending and increased financial stability, as these payments aren’t impacted by market fluctuations.
- The possibility of increased yields, as you may earn interest on your structured settlement payments.
- The right to request future lump sum payments or increases in benefits received.
Perhaps most importantly, personal injury structured settlements allow recipients to benefit from a consistent income without paying taxes on those payments. Structured settlement payments are tax-free.
What are the Downsides of a Structured Personal Injury Settlement?
While there are a lot of benefits to requesting a personal injury structured settlement upon the conclusion of your civil case, there are some downsides to this payment structure. For example, you will not immediately receive a substantial amount of funds, meaning that you may have to continue budgeting throughout your post-case recovery.
What’s more, you’ll have a limited ability to modify your agreement about payments after you accept a structured personal injury settlement. While you retain the right to sell your payments for cash results, you may do so at a discounted amount, meaning that you’ll earn less from a sale than you would if you’d waited for a final payment.
Some insurers may even fail to disclose any costs you may have to bear when requesting a structured personal injury settlement, leading you to lose some of your due damages as a result of unanticipated administrative fees.
How Do Structured Settlements Pay Out?
There’s more than one way for a structured settlement to pay out. You can request deferred payments and start receiving damages after a certain date, up until which point you can earn interest on your annuity. If you have a more pressing financial need, you can instead request payments immediately.
Working with a personal injury lawyer in Arlington allows you to discuss whether you want to receive annuity for the rest of your life or if you want your payments to have a distinct final date. You can also work with us to establish your desired payment schedule, ensuring that you receive your financial due at a consistent rate.
How to Discuss a Structured Personal Injury Settlement With a Texas Personal Injury Lawyer
The logistics of a personal injury structured settlement aren’t always clear. If you’re still struggling to determine whether or not you want a structured personal injury settlement, consider discussing your right to accident compensation with our experienced legal team.
We can break down how a structured personal injury settlement might benefit your specific situation and make recommendations regarding annuity and payment schedules accordingly. We can also make it easier for you to have productive conversations about a structured settlement with a liable party and their insurance provider.
Learn More About Personal Injury Structured Settlements Today
You’ve fought for a fair accident settlement, and now it’s time to reap the benefits of those efforts. How are you supposed to get paid, though? If you’re weighing the pros and cons of a personal injury structured settlement, come and discuss your options with our experienced personal injury lawyers in Arlington.
At The Texas Law Dog, we can help you understand the different payment structures available to you through Texas’s civil courts. We can then make recommendations as to which structure you should take advantage of, depending on your circumstances and immediate needs.
We Don’t Just Bark, We Bite. Let our attorneys help you explore your right to recover today.
