Structured Settlements for Minors
Adults aren’t the only ones required by law to be the plaintiff in a lawsuit. Minors, otherwise known as children or underage, are also allowed to act as a plaintiff in a suit.
These are some of the cases in which your minors are allowed to act as a plaintiff in a lawsuit;
Wrongful Death
Medical Malpractice
Product Liability
Negligence
When a minor or child is involved in a suit, a structured settlement is usually deemed to be the best means of compensation as it is too difficult to estimate what arrangement is perfect both in the present circumstances and the future. Children or Minors are never allowed by law to receive a lump sum of money as settlement for a lawsuit.
Minors do not receive a lump sum of money as a settlement because the court is obligated to ensure that they achieve long-term financial stability. In other cases, the compensation is received in the form of a trust fund set up to help see to the plaintiff’s finances over a long period. There have also been cases where the court places her faith in both systems and suggests a combination of structured settlements and trust.
When dealing with minors in a lawsuit, the sole decision making is left in the hands of the judge who determines the outcome of the trial, whether the minor get
compensation or not and how they get it. In many cases, the minors involved are usually not able to directly access their settlement funds for an extended period if the court decides that they are not old enough to be responsible for it. This is the significant difference between structured settlement for minorities and adults. While adults are left with the decision making concerning their settlement options, minors are not given that enough free hand and usually have to wait until they clock a specific date of maturity as determined by the court.
Minors will not be able to make any decisions concerning their settlement funds, access or control it in any way until they have attained a curtained pre-determined age after which the court will then hand over the settlement to them. The judge who heads the lawsuit determines this age and form of compensation. The court is interested in the overall development of the child both now and in the future and therefore will not allow the parents or guardians access to the money unless needed in an emergency by the minor. A structured settlement is usually the best as the guardian can receive a stipend over a long period which goes to the care and upbringing of the minor until he/she is old enough to make binding decisions concerning the settlement.
How is the Structured Settlement Formed for Minors?
A judge is the sole decision maker as far as a minority settlement is concerned. The judge considers a few things and then decides how this is done. Minority settlement aims to help support the minor to have a better life as they grow into adulthood and for the rest of their life especially if the facts of the case will have them maimed or affected in any way.
Some of the things that a judge takes into consideration are;
Minor or Major Disability
Current Needs
Future Needs
Future Loss of Earnings
It is believed that a lawsuit which ends up in favor of a minor is most probably going to have them affected for life whether there’s any personal injury involved or not and the court will provide enough compensation to cover all the damages both physically and emotionally till so that they can live the most comfortable life.
What are the Advantages of Minors with Structured Settlements?
A minor who has been awarded a structured settlement by a court does not only enjoy the settlement award, the court as earlier reiterated, is very interested in the growth, development of the minor and especially their integration back into the healthy society without any fuss.
The court is obligated to do everything in its power to ensure that the structured settlement funds are used to the maximum benefit of the child and his alone. Some other advantages which a minor might be entitled to include;
01
The first and most crucial advantage that a minor enjoys as a result of a settlement proceeding is that their money will be protected till their adulthood and the court will see to it.
02
Despite earning interests on their structured settlement, minors are not required to pay any taxes as structured settlement for children in the eyes of the law is not viewed as an income source and therefore cannot be taxed.
03
In all the 50 states of the country, structured settlements are regulated by insurance companies. This saves the minor from the prying eyes of relatives, distant relatives, or another person who might be interested in taking advantage of their position.
04
The payment plans and return rate are fixed and cannot be changed. This means that in the long run, your minor’s stipend does not reduce for any economic or other reason.
At Express Funding Of America LLC,
we have a very long record of life-changing personal injury settlement buy-ins and our clients are all the better for it. We are not just interested in helping you sell your structured settlements.
We are happy to see you stay above your finances and live a debt free life.
We are just one call away today, don’t waste that chance.