Sunday, March 29, 2009

Will Pre-Settlement Lawsuit Funding Work For You?

By Frank Desaille

If you are in the process of taking an individual or company to court to claim compensation after an accident or other incident then you probably already realize that this can be a long and drawn out process. Although you may have a fairly good idea that you will get some money in the end that isn't necessarily much help to you now.

The problem here for many people in this situation is the fact that they actually need cash right now. The accident that they had, for example, may mean that they cannot work or that they need specialist care and attention. A bit of cash coming in at this stage can often seem more useful than the later settlement itself.

Many finance companies nowadays have therefore started offering funding to help people in this kind of situation tide themselves over financially until their lawsuit is settled one way or the other. Here, the finance company looks at your case, assesses the likelihood of you winning it in the first place and then, if things look good, they may agree to advance you a specific cash sum to help you out.

The finance company here has to take the risk that you will actually win your case. If you don't then you shouldn't have to pay back the cash advance(s) that it made. The money is made here by these funding companies when and if you win a settlement.

So, if you do win then you will have to pay back the money that was advanced to you as well as any fees that were levied for giving you the cash in the first place. Measures have been taken here to make sure that you won't be out of pocket. So, for example, if you took a higher sum of money as an advance than you win then you will only pay a proportion of it back.

The downside of this kind of arrangement is the fact that the fees that can be charged can be relatively high. Paying back your advances and your fees could see a high proportion of your actual settlement eaten away. The fees charged here are high to reflect the risk taken by the finance company that you might not win at all and they might not get all or any of their money back.

If this, however, seems like a good option to help you out of your fix then do make sure to take legal advice before you choose a company to use. It is also really important to check how you will be charged and how the company's fees work. Some finance companies here, for example, will simply charge a fixed fee that will apply no matter how long your lawsuit takes. Others may charge a monthly fee which can work out more expensive in a long lawsuit.

So, shop around to see what kind of cash advances you could potentially be offered and how much they will cost you in real terms. Your lawyer may be a good place to start here as he/she may be able to put you in touch with a reputable firm.

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