For years, we worked in the structured settlement business advancing the use of structured settlements to help individuals recover financially from personal injury. Over the years, we became discouraged and frustrated to discover that despite the most careful planning, clients were selling their annuities to companies that pitched “Cash Now” and “Sell Your Structured Settlement Payments.” Despite explicit warnings, clients were responding to advertisements and direct contact by the big cash now companies and were cashing out their payments for no reason other than the relentless pressure of quota-motivated telemarketers. Over the years, we became bitter opponents of the “Cash Now!” industry and felt that the world would be a better place if the entire industry disappeared.

We have found this switch to be extremely rewarding as we have discovered ways to help people whose payment streams no longer match their needs.

Over time, however, we realized that there's a need for a secondary market for future periodic payments. We had seen people’s lives change in such a way that some would actually benefit from liquidating some of their structured settlement payments. Others had felt disempowered at the time of settlement and accepted future payments despite having reservations about being locked in. In those instances, it was impossible for them to locate a professional to help them plan and facilitate the transaction - especially one that treats them with the respect and honesty they deserve. Instead, their only option was to deal with an industry with a reputation for high pressure sales.

The question became, “How can the factoring industry change to become a legitimately beneficial resource?” The first step is to reduce the number of unnecessary – even harmful - transactions. The most important key to this is to ensure that claimants get planning resources at the point of settlement. When setting up a structure, attorneys and settlement planners should advise clients of the existence of factoring, warn them of the dangers of the secondary market, and encourage them to call the settlement planner if they ever consider factoring some of their payments. In this scenario, settlement planners would have the opportunity to advise clients while trying to find an alternative. If the planner determines that a real need exists to factor some payments, the planner may direct the client to an honest and suitable factoring professional who will provide further advice and, if warranted, facilitate the transaction.

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Bentzen Financial focuses solely on this type of settlement-planner relationship. Instead of leaving annuitants in the hands of whatever advertiser or solicitor gets their attention in their time of need, settlement professionals can direct them to a factoring professional who can help them best. These professionals further review the client’s situation and, assuming factoring makes sense, choose which payments to sell, guide them through the legal process, and secure the best price for those payments. In this scenario, the annuitant is surrounded by people who were looking after his or her interest from the beginning.

The settlement planner monitors the chosen factoring company, creating a system of checks and balances. The client benefits from this system because referrals receive much higher quality of service, being people treated within their proper contexts and stories, not as part of a multistage sales process, or worse, solicitation quota. The settlement planner screens out those who haven't thought through their alternatives, or who do not understand the “best-interest” standard, and they are recommended to our company. Those recommended to us have been prequalified and are unlikely to be rejected by a judge.

We envision a day when the factoring industry will be leaner, more efficient, and more professional. By referring annuitants to vetted, professional factoring consultants, settlement planners would help them avoid the hucksters and the large commercial enterprises who attempt to seduce unsophisticated or desperate individuals with offers of “cash now” in relentless TV and radio ads, telemarketing, and mailers. This system puts the power where it belongs – into the hands of settlement planners, attorneys, and judges, allowing them to look after the best interest of the annuitants.

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