Colonial pays cash for structured settlements!

Maine statues regarding Structured Settlements. This state statute overseeing the sale of structured settlement payments and the buying of annuities is not the Model Act and requires insurance company consent. Complies with Federal Law (Colonial's interpretation) MAINE REVISED STATUTES ANNOTATED TITLE 24-A. MAINE INSURANCE CODE CHAPTER 24-A. PROTECTION OF BENEFICIARIES OF STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS Current through 2001 1st Reg. Sess. of 120th Legislature

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§ 2243. Transfer of structured settlement payment rights

1. Application. This section applies to any transfer of structured settlement payment rights under a transfer
agreement entered into on or after the effective date of this section. This section may not be construed to imply that
any transfer under a transfer agreement reached prior to the effective date of this section is effective.

2. Requirements for transfer. A direct or indirect transfer of structured settlement payment rights is not effective
and a structured settlement obligor or annuity issuer is not required to make any payment directly or
indirectly to any transferee of structured settlement payment rights unless the transfer has been authorized in
advance in a final order of a court of competent jurisdiction or a responsible administrative authority, based on
express findings by that court or responsible administrative authority that:

A. The transfer complies with the requirements of this chapter and does not contravene other applicable law;

B. Not less than 10 days prior to the date on which the payee first incurred any obligation with respect to the
transfer, the transferee provided to the payee a disclosure statement in bold type, no smaller than 14 points, setting
forth:

     (1) The amounts and due dates of the structured settlement payments to be transferred;

     (2) The aggregate amount of those payments;

     (3) The discounted present value of those payments together with the discount rate used in determining that
      discounted present value;

     (4) The gross amount payable to the payee in exchange for the payments;

     (5) An itemized listing of all brokers' commissions, service charges, application fees, processing fees, closing
      costs, filing fees, administrative fees, legal fees, notary fees and other commissions, fees, costs, expenses and
      charges payable by the payee or deductible from the gross amount otherwise payable to the payee;

     (6) The net amount payable to the payee after deduction of all commissions, fees, costs, expenses and charges
     described in subparagraph (5);

     (7) The quotient, expressed as a percentage, obtained by dividing the net payment amount by the discounted
      present value of the payments; and

     (8) The amount of any penalty and the aggregate amount of any liquidated damages, inclusive of penalties,
      payable by the payee in the event of any breach of the transfer agreement by the payee;

C. The payee has established that the transfer is necessary to enable the payee, the payee's dependents or both to
avoid imminent financial hardship, and the transfer is not expected to subject the payee, the payee's dependents or
both to undue financial hardship in the future, except that if a federal hardship standard was in effect at the time the
payee and the transferee entered into the transfer agreement, in lieu of the foregoing finding the court or responsible
administrative authority must make an express finding that the transfer qualifies under that federal hardship standard;

D. The payee has received independent professional advice regarding the legal, tax and financial implications of
the transfer;

E. If the transfer would contravene the terms of the structured settlement:

  (1) The transfer has been expressly approved in writing by:

     (a) Each interested party; and

     (b) Any court or government authority, other than the court or responsible administrative authority from
      which authorization of the transfer is sought under this chapter, that previously approved the structured settlement;
      and

  (2) Signed originals of all approvals required under subparagraph (1) have been filed with the court or responsible
   administrative authority from which authorization of the transfer is sought under this chapter and originals or copies
   have been furnished to all interested parties;

F. If the transfer would contravene the terms of the structured settlement, the transfer agreement does not have
adverse tax consequences to the structured settlement obligor or annuity issuer. The structured settlement
obligor or annuity issuer must demonstrate to the court or responsible administrative authority that the transfer
agreement, if approved, will have adverse tax consequences; and

G. The transferee has given written notice of the transferee's name, address and taxpayer identification number to
the annuity issuer and the structured settlement obligor and has filed a copy of that notice with the court or
responsible administrative authority.

§ 2244. Jurisdiction; filing

1. Jurisdiction. The Superior Court has nonexclusive jurisdiction over any application for authorization under this
chapter of a transfer of structured settlement payment rights.

2. Filing. Not less than 30 days prior to the scheduled hearing on any application for authorization of a transfer of
structured settlement payment rights under this chapter, the transferee shall file with the court or responsible
administrative authority and serve on any other government authority that previously approved the structured
settlement, all interested parties, the structured settlement obligor and annuity issuer a notice of the proposed
transfer and the application of its authorization, including in that notice:

A. A copy of the transferee's application;

B. A copy of the transfer agreement;

C. A copy of the disclosure statement required under section 2243, subsection 2, paragraph B;

D. Notification that any interested party, structured settlement obligor or annuity issuer is entitled to support,
oppose or otherwise respond to the transferee's application, either in person or by counsel, by submitting written
comments to the court or responsible administrative authority or by participating in the hearing; and

E. Notification of the time and place of the hearing and notification of the manner in which and the time by which
written responses to the application must be filed, which may be not less than 30 days after service of the
transferee's notice, in order to be considered by the court or responsible administrative authority.

§ 2245. Prohibitions

1. Prohibition against waiver. The provisions of this chapter may not be waived.

2. Prohibition against penalty. A payee who proposes to make a transfer of structured settlement payment
rights may not incur a penalty, forfeit an application fee or other payment or otherwise incur any liability to the
proposed transferee based on the failure of that transfer to satisfy the conditions of section 2243.

§ 2246. Construction Nothing contained in this chapter may be construed to authorize a transfer of structured settlement
payment rights in contravention of applicable law or to give effect to a transfer of structured settlement payment rights
that is invalid under applicable law.

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