Colonial pays cash for structured settlements!

Tennessee 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) WEST'S TENNESSEE CODE ANNOTATED TITLE 47. COMMERCIAL INSTRUMENTS AND TRANSACTIONS CHAPTER 18. CONSUMER PROTECTION PART 26--STRUCTURED SETTLEMENT PROTECTION
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§ 47-18-2603. Transfer of structured settlement payment rights; disclosure statement

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 authorized in advance in a final order of a court of competent jurisdiction or a responsible administrative authority, and complies with all of the following:

(1) The transfer complies with the requirements of this part and will not contravene other applicable law;

(2) Not less than ten (10) days prior to the date on which the payee executes the transfer agreement, the transferee has provided to the payee a 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 such payments, together with the discount rate used in determining such discounted present value;

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

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

(F) The net amount payable to the payee after deduction of all commissions, fees, costs, expenses and charges described in subdivision (2)(E); and

(G) 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;

(3) The payee has established that the transfer is fair and reasonable and in the best interest of the payee;

(4) The payee has been advised by the transferee, in writing, to seek independent professional advice regarding the financial, legal and tax implications of the transfer; and

(5) 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 such notice with the court or responsible administrative authority.

§ 47-18-2604. Jurisdiction; procedures; standards; liabilities; attorney's fees and costs

(a) The circuit court shall have nonexclusive jurisdiction over any application for authorization under § 47-18-2603 of a transfer of structured settlement payment rights.

(b) Not less than twenty (20) days prior to the scheduled hearing on any application for authorization of a transfer of structured settlement payment rights under § 47-18-2603, the transferee shall file with the court or responsible administrative authority and serve on any other government authority which previously approved the structured settlement, and on all interested parties, a notice of the proposed transfer and the application for its authorization, including in such notice:

(1) A copy of the transferee's application;

(2) A copy of the transfer agreement;

(3) A copy of the disclosure statement required under § 47-18-2603(2);

(4) 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

(5) 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.

(c) In determining whether the transfer is in the payee's best interest under § 47-18-2603(3), the court should consider:

(1) The terms of the transfer;

(2) Whether the payee has other sources of income, other than the structured settlement payment rights to be transferred;

(3) The effect of the transfer, if any, on the payee's dependents and whether the transfer would be likely to result in financial hardship for such dependents; and

(4) If a payee is currently required by a court order, judgment, or decree to pay child support or alimony, the effect of the transfer on the payee's ability to continue to pay such support or alimony.

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

(e) The transferee and any assignee shall be liable to the structured settlement obligor and the annuity issuer for any and all taxes and other costs and liabilities, other than costs incurred in opposing the transfer, incurred as a result of complying with the court order approving the transfer.

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

(g) If any party acting in bad faith withholds consent to the transfer, the court may, in its discretion, award the prevailing party reasonable attorney fees and costs.

§ 47-18-2605. Waiver; failure to comply

(a) The provisions of this part may not be waived.

(b) 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 the proposed transferee based on any failure of such transfer to satisfy the conditions of § 47-18-2603.

§ 47-18-2606. Construction

Nothing contained in this part shall be construed to authorize any transfer of structured settlement payment rights in contravention of applicable law or to give effect to any transfer of structured settlement payment rights that is invalid under applicable law.

§ 47-18-2607. Application

Thispart shall apply to any transfer of structured settlement payment rights under a transfer agreement entered into on or after June 23, 2000; provided, that nothing contained herein shall imply that any transfer under a transfer agreement reached prior to June 23, 2000 is ineffective.

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