Colonial pays cash for structured settlements!

Mississippi statues regarding Structured Settlements. This state statute overseeing the sale of structured settlement payments and the buying of annuities is basically the Model Act and complies with Federal Law (Colonial's interpretation) MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE 2002 Regular Session To: Judiciary By: Senator(s) Turner Senate Bill 2912 (As Sent to Governor)
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SECTION 3. Not less than three (3) days before the date on which a payee signs a transfer agreement, the transferee shall provide to the payee a separate disclosure statement, in bold type no smaller than fourteen (14) points, setting forth:

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

(b) The aggregate amount of such payments;

(c) The discounted present value of the payments to be transferred, which shall be identified as the "calculation of current value of the transferred structured settlement payments under federal standards for valuing annuities," and the amount of the Applicable Federal Rate used in calculating such discounted present value;

(d) The gross advance amount;

(e) An itemized listing of all applicable transfer expenses, other than attorney's fees and related disbursement payable in connection with the transferee's application for approval of the transfer, and the transferee's best estimate of the amount of any such fees and disbursements;

(f) The net advance amount;

(g) The amount of any penalties or liquidated damages payable by the payee in the event of any breach of the transfer agreement by the payee; and

(h) A statement that the payee has the right to cancel the transfer agreement, without penalty or further obligation, not later than the third business day after the date the agreement is signed by the payee.

SECTION 4. No direct or indirect transfer of structured settlement payment rights shall be effective and no structured settlement obligor or annuity issuer shall be required to make any payment directly or indirectly to any transferee of structured settlement payment rights unless the transfer has been approved in advance in a final court order or order of a responsible administrative authority based on express findings by such court or responsible administrative authority that:

(a) The transfer is in the best interest of the payee, taking into account the welfare and support of the payee's dependents;

(b) The payee has been advised in writing by the transferee to seek independent professional advice regarding the transfer and has either received such advice or knowingly waived such advice in writing; and

(c) The transfer does not contravene any applicable statute or the order of any court or other government authority.

SECTION 5. Following a transfer of structured settlement payment rights under this act:

(a) The structured settlement obligor and the annuity issuer shall, as to all parties except the transferee, be discharged and released from any and all liability for the transferred payments;

(b) The transferee shall be liable to the structured settlement obligor and the annuity issuer:

(i) If the transfer contravenes the terms of the structured settlement, for any taxes incurred by such parties as a consequence of the transfer; and

(ii) For any other liabilities or costs, including reasonable costs and attorney's fees, arising from compliance by such parties with the order of the court or responsible administrative authority or arising as a consequence of the transferee's failure to comply with this act;

(c) Neither the annuity issuer nor the structured settlement obligor may be required to divide any periodic payment between the payee and any transferee or assignee or between two (2) or more transferees or assignees; and

(d) Any further transfer of structured settlement payment rights by the payee may be made only after compliance with all of the requirements of this act.

SECTION 6. (1) An application under this act for approval of a transfer of structured settlement payment rights shall be made by the transferee and may be brought in the county in which the payee resides, in the county in which the structured settlement obligor or the annuity issuer maintains its principal place of business, or in any court or before any responsible administrative authority which approved the structured settlement agreement.

(2) Not less than twenty (20) days prior to the scheduled hearing on any application for approval of a transfer of structured settlement payment rights under Section 4 of this act, the transferee shall file with the court or responsible administrative authority and serve on all interested parties a notice of the proposed transfer and the application for its authorization, including with such 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 3 of this act;

(d) A listing of each of the payee's dependents, together with each dependent's age;

(e) Notification that any interested party 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

(f) 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 shall be not less than fifteen (15) days after service of the transferee's notice in order to be considered by the court or responsible administrative authority.

SECTION 7. (1) The provisions of this act may not be waived by any payee.

(2) Any transfer agreement entered into on or after the effective date of this act by a payee who resides in this state shall provide that disputes under such transfer agreement, including any claim that the payee has breached the agreement, shall be determined in and under the laws of this state. No such transfer agreement shall authorize the transferee or any other party to confess judgment or consent to entry of judgment against the payee.

(3) No transfer of structured settlement payment rights shall extend to any payments that are life-contingent unless, prior to the date on which the payee signs the transfer agreement, the transferee has established and has agreed to maintain procedures reasonably satisfactory to the annuity issuer and the structured settlement obligor for (a) periodically confirming the payee's survival, and (b) giving the annuity issuer and the structured settlement obligor prompt written notice in the event of the payee's death.

(4) No payee who proposes to make a transfer of structured settlement payment rights shall incur any penalty, forfeit any application fee or other payment, or otherwise incur any liability to be proposed transferee or any assignee based on any failure of such transfer to satisfy the conditions of this act.

(5) Nothing contained in this act shall be construed to authorize any transfer of structured settlement payment rights in contravention of any law or to imply that any transfer under a transfer agreement entered into before the effective date of this act is valid or invalid.

(6) Compliance with the requirements set forth in Section 3 of this act and fulfillment of the conditions set forth in Section 4 of this act shall be solely the responsibility of the transferee in any transfer of structured settlement payment rights, and neither the structured settlement obligor nor the annuity issuer shall bear any responsibility for, or any liability arising from, noncompliance with such requirements or failure to fulfill such conditions.

SECTION 8. This act shall apply to any transfer of structured settlement payment rights under a transfer agreement entered into on or after August 1, 2002; provided, however, that nothing contained herein shall imply that any transfer under a transfer agreement reached before such date is either effective or ineffective.
SECTION 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2002.

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