Pre settlement funding is a fairly new idea in the world of personal injury cases. Basically, it means that if you or your lawyer has already successfully secured an agreement to settle your case before your case goes to trial, you can receive money from the other side before it ever even gets to court. This can be very helpful in several different ways. First of all, it allows you to avoid having to come up with all of the upfront fees associated with securing the settlement yourself, which can run into the thousands. Learn more about this service in this link. Another great thing about pre settlement funding is that you will never have to pay it back. While it's true that the other party will likely be paying for some or all of their costs, the fact is that you should still end up with a small percentage of the expected settlement amount, so technically you are receiving a loan. However, you will never have to pay the loan back once you've received your settlement, and it's typically not a factor in determining the final settlement amount. These loans are not subject to any state or federal laws that would prevent them from being granted, so you can be sure that there is no quid pro quo arrangement in place. The companies that provide this funding are typically referred to as "advisors" or "advisers". Typically they will work with you and your attorney to obtain the best possible settlement loan that you qualify for. An advisor may suggest an initial payment plan and then work with you to ensure that you are able to make timely payments on the loan. (The goal is to make your life a bit easier during this time while you recover from your injuries, not to keep you from paying your bills.) The USCLAIMS firm offers these services reliably at an affordable rate. Unfortunately, many attorneys do not fully understand the process of pre settlement funding, and some have actually tried to charge clients who utilize this method for funding their lawsuit loans without first ensuring that they are familiar with the lending process. Unfortunately, because pre settlement funding is currently unregulated, it is up to the client to check with local Bar associations and other regulatory groups to ensure that the funding that they are being charged is provided through a reputable lender. One way to do that is to ask the funding company to provide documents that prove that the funding is coming from a reputable source, such as a Bank of America or Wells Fargo. Don't take any chances when it comes to your lawsuit loans, do your homework ahead of time and do not sign any binding agreements or pay anything until you have read every word in the fine print. The purpose of pre-settlement loans is not to simply advance money to plaintiffs, but rather to create a working relationship between the funding company and the plaintiff. Ideally, a funding company will consult with a plaintiff's attorney before providing either a cash advance or a line of credit. If the funding does not come from a reputable source, the plaintiff's attorney will attempt to obtain the money from other sources, possibly on their own, or through other litigation funding entities. If that doesn't work, the plaintiff's attorney will pursue other avenues of obtaining the funds. While pre-settlement loans may seem like a tempting option at first, keep in mind that once the terms of the financing are disclosed, it becomes very difficult to get out from underneath the debt once it is issued, and if you are unable to pay for the loan, there is no coming back. One of the most important considerations in getting pre settlement funding is the interest rates and prepayment penalties that are associated with the financing. Pre settlement funding companies typically charge higher interest rates than would be charged by a private funding source. However, if you are able to secure a good interest rate, pre settlement loans can actually save you money in the long run. Because the rates are usually higher, there is an opportunity to save up to 10% of your potential lawsuit loan amount through the settlement loans. Pre settlement loans also have a shorter term commitment, typically between three to five years, whereas private funding sources may require a long term commitment that may extend over a decade. There are other considerations to keep in mind, but these two are among the most important when determining where to obtain pre settlement funding. To get a detailed overview of this topic, see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_financing.
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