Colonial pays cash for structured settlements!

New York statues regarding Structured Settlements. This state statute overseeing the sale of structured settlement payments and the buying of annuities is not exactly the Model Act because it has some consumer " add ons", but it complies with Federal Law. (Colonial's interpretation) MCKINNEY'S CONSOLIDATED LAWS OF NEW YORK ANNOTATED GENERAL OBLIGATIONS LAW CHAPTER 24-A OF THE CONSOLIDATED LAWS ARTICLE 5--CREATION, DEFINITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS TITLE 17. STRUCTURED SETTLEMENT PROTECTION ACT Current through L.2002, chs. 1, 5 to 589, 591 to 596 and 598 to 601.

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§ 5-1701. Definitions

For purposes of this title:

(a) "annuity issuer" means an insurer that has issued an insurance contract used to fund periodic payments under a structured settlement;

(b) "dependents" include a payee's spouse and minor children and all other persons for whom the payee is legally obligated to provide support, including alimony or maintenance;

(c) "discounted present value" means the present value of future payments, as determined by discounting such payments to the present using the most recently published applicable federal rate for determining the present value of an annuity, as issued by the United States Internal Revenue Service;

(d) "gross advance amount" means the sum payable to the payee or for the payee's account as consideration for a transfer of structured settlement payment rights before any reductions for transfer expenses or other deductions to be made from such consideration;

(e) "independent professional advice" means advice of an attorney, certified public accountant, actuary or other licensed professional adviser:

(i) who is engaged by a claimant or payee to render advice concerning the legal, tax and financial implications of a structured settlement or a transfer of structured settlement payment rights;

(ii) who is not in any manner affiliated with or compensated by the defendant in such settlement or the transferee of such transfer; and

(iii) whose compensation for rendering such advice is not affected by whether a settlement or transfer occurs or does not occur;

(f) "interested parties" means, with respect to any structured settlement, the payee, any beneficiary irrevocably designated under the annuity contract to receive payments following the payee's death, the annuity issuer, the structured settlement obligor, and any other party that has continuing rights or obligations under such structured settlement;

(g) "net advance amount" means the gross advance amount less the aggregate amount of the expenses required to be disclosed under subdivision (f) of section 5-1703 of this title;

(h) "payee" means an individual who is receiving tax free payments under a structured settlement and proposes to make a transfer of payment rights thereunder;

(i) "periodic payments" includes both recurring payments and scheduled future lump sum payments;

(j) "qualified assignment agreement" means an agreement providing for a qualified assignment within the meaning of section 130 of the United States Internal Revenue Code, United States Code Title 26, as amended from time to time;

(k) "settled claim" means the original tort claim resolved by a structured settlement;

(l) "structured settlement" means an arrangement for periodic payment of damages for personal injuries or sickness established by settlement or judgment in resolution of a tort claim;

(m) "structured settlement agreement" means the agreement, judgment, stipulation, or release embodying the terms of a structured settlement;

(n) "structured settlement obligor" means, with respect to any structured settlement, the party that has the continuing obligation to make periodic payments to the payee under a structured settlement agreement or a qualified assignment agreement;

(o) "structured settlement payment rights" means rights to receive periodic payments under a structured settlement, whether from the structured settlement obligor or the annuity issuer, where:

(i) the payee is domiciled in, or the domicile or principal place of business of the structured settlement obligor or the annuity issuer is located in, this state;

(ii) the structured settlement agreement was approved by a court in this state; or

(iii) the structured settlement agreement is expressly governed by the laws of this state;

(p) "terms of the structured settlement" include, with respect to any structured settlement, the terms of the structured settlement agreement, the annuity contract, any qualified assignment agreement and any order or approval of any court authorizing or approving such structured settlement;

(q) "transfer [FN1] means any sale, assignment, pledge, hypothecation or other alienation or encumbrance of structured settlement payment rights made by a payee for consideration; provided that the term "transfer" does not include the creation or perfection of a security interest in structured settlement payment rights under a blanket security agreement entered into with an insured depository institution, in the absence of any action to redirect the structured settlement payments to such insured depository institution, or an agent or successor in interest thereof, or otherwise to enforce such blanket security interest against the structured settlement payment rights;

(r) "transfer agreement" means the agreement providing for transfer of structured settlement payment rights from a payee to a transferee;

(s) "transfer expenses" means all expenses of a transfer that are required under the transfer agreement to be paid by the payee or deducted from the gross advance amount, including, without limitation, court filing fees, attorneys fees, escrow fees, lien recordation fees, judgment and lien search fees, finders' fees, commissions, and other payments to a broker or other intermediary; "transfer expenses" do not include preexisting obligations of the payee payable for the payee's account from the proceeds of a transfer; and

(t) "transferee" means a party acquiring or proposing to acquire structured settlement payment rights through a transfer or restructuring.

§ 5-1702. Initial disclosure of structured settlement terms

In negotiating a structured settlement of claims brought by or on behalf of a claimant who is domiciled in this state, the defendant or defendant's legal representative shall disclose in writing to the claimant or the claimant's legal representative all of the following information that is not otherwise specified in the structured settlement agreement:

(a) the amounts and due dates of the periodic payments to be made under the structured settlement agreement. In the case of payments that will be subject to periodic percentage increases, the amounts of future payments may be disclosed by identifying the base payment amount, the amount and timing of scheduled increases, and the manner in which increases will be compounded;

(b) the amount of the premium payable to the annuity issuer;

(c) the nature and amount of any cost that may be deducted from any of the periodic payments;

(d) where applicable, that any transfer of the periodic payments is prohibited by the terms of the structured settlement and may otherwise be prohibited or restricted under applicable law; and

(e) a statement that the claimant is advised to obtain independent professional advice relating to the legal, tax and financial implications of the settlement, including any adverse consequences and that the defendant or defendant's legal representative may not refer any advisor, attorney or firm for such purpose.

§ 5-1703. Required disclosures to payee

Not less than ten days prior to the date on which the payee signs a transfer agreement, the transferee shall provide to the payee by first class mail and certified mail, return receipt requested or United States postal service priority mail, a separate disclosure statement, in bold type no smaller than fourteen 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 price quote from the original annuity issuer or, if such price quote is not readily available from the original annuity issuer, then a price quote from two other annuity issuers that reflects the current cost of purchasing a comparable annuity for the aggregate amount of payments to be transferred;

(e) the gross advance amount and the annual discount rate, compounded monthly, used to determine such figure;

(f) an itemized listing of all commissions, fees, costs, expenses and charges payable by the payee or deductible from the gross amount otherwise payable to the payee and the total amount of such fees;

(g) the net advance amount including the statement: "The net cash payment you receive in this transaction from the buyer was determined by applying the specified discount rate to the amount of future payments received by the buyer, less the total amount of commissions, fees, costs, expenses and charges payable by you";

(h) 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

(i) 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.