Sell Annuities & Structured Settlements in Iowa

Sell Structured Settlements                       Sell Structured Insurance Settlements

IOWA

Prior to selling structured insurance settlements in IA, one needs to be keenly aware of their rights as a structured insurance settlement recipient under the Iowa Structured Settlement Protection Act.

Receiving lump sum cash for structured settlement payments can be an exciting proposition to a structured insurance settlement recipient in Iowa. Settlement Exchange recommends that you review your structured insurance recipient and annuitant rights before contemplating the sale of structured settlement payments in Iowa or even procuring cash quotes for your structured settlement.

We firmly believe that basic education is the key to securing the best quotes for structured insurance settlements and lottery annuity payments. We always advise that one knows their rights as protected under the Iowa Structured Settlement Protection Act. We also advise that one should secure their own legal advice before attempting to get cash for structured settlement payments.

The Iowa Structured Settlement Protection Act dictates that a transferee of structured settlements must reside in the state of Iowa. An Iowa State court must also approve the selling of the structured insurance settlement and the sale of structured insurance settlements has to be in the best interest of the structured settlement recipient in all cases.

We have attached a copy of the Iowa Structured Settlement Protection Act and a direct link for your benefit.

http://coolice.legis.state.ia.us/Cool-ICE/default.asp?Category=billinfo&Service=IowaCode&input=682.1

682.1  SHORT TITLE.

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Structured

Settlement Protection Act”.

Section History: Recent For/b>

2001 Acts, ch 85, §1, 8

682.2  DEFINITIONS.

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

1.  “Annuity issuer” means an issuer that has issued an

insurance contract used to fund periodic payments under a structured

settlement.

2.  “Dependents” means a payee’s spouse and minor children and

all other family members and other persons for whom the payee is

legally obligated to provide support, including alimony.

3.  “Discounted present value” means the fair 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.

4.  “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.

5.  “Independent professional advice” means advice of an

attorney, certified public accountant, actuary, or other licensed

professional advisor.

6.  “Interested parties” means, with respect to a structured

settlement, the payee, a 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 the structured

settlement.

7.  “Net advance amount” means the gross advance amount less

the aggregate amount of the actual and estimated transfer expenses

required to be disclosed under section 682.3, subsection 5.

8.  “Payee” means an individual who is receiving tax-free

payments under a structured settlement and proposes to make a

transfer of payment rights.

9.  “Periodic payments” means both recurring payments and

scheduled future lump sum payments.

10.  “Qualified assignment agreement” means an agreement

providing for a qualified assignment within the meaning of section

130 of the Internal Revenue Code.

11.  “Responsible administrative authority” means, with

respect to a structured settlement, any government authority vested

by law with exclusive jurisdiction over the settled claim resolved by

the structured settlement.

12.  “Settled claim” means the original tort claim or workers’

compensation claim resolved by a structured settlement.

13.  “Structured settlement” means an arrangement for periodic

payment of damages for personal injuries established by settlement or

judgment in resolution of a tort claim or for periodic payments in

settlement of a workers’ compensation claim.

14.  “Structured settlement agreement” means the agreement,

judgment, stipulation, or release embodying the terms of a structured

settlement.

15.  “Structured settlement obligor” means, with respect to a

structured settlement, the party that has the continuing periodic

payment obligation to the payee under a structured settlement

agreement or a qualified assignment agreement.

16.  “Structured settlement payment rights” means rights to

receive periodic payments under a structured settlement, whether from

the structured settlement obligor or the annuity issuer, if any of

the following exists:

a.  One of the following is true:

(1)  The payee is domiciled in this state.

(2)  The domicile or principal place of business of a structured

settlement obligor or the annuity issuer is located in this state.

b.  The structured settlement agreement was approved by a

court or responsible administrative authority in this state.

c.  The structured settlement agreement is expressly governed

by the laws of this state.

17.  “Terms of the structured settlement” means, with respect

to a structured settlement, the terms of the structured settlement

agreement, the annuity contract, any qualified assignment agreement,

and any order or approval of any court or responsible administrative

authority or other government authority authorizing or approving the

structured settlement.

18.  “Transfer” means any sale, assignment, pledge,

hypothecation, or other alienation or encumbrance of structured

settlement payment rights made by a payee for consideration.

“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.

19.  “Transfer agreement” means the agreement providing for

transfer of structured settlement payment rights.

20.  “Transferee” means a party acquiring or proposing to

acquire structured settlement payment rights through a transfer.

21.  “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, attorney 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” does not include preexisting obligations of

the payee payable for the payee’s account from the proceeds of a

transfer.

Section History: Recent Form

2001 Acts, ch 85, §2, 8

682.3  REQUIRED DISCLOSURES TO PAYEE.

Not less than three days prior to 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

points, setting forth all of the following:

1.  The amounts and due dates of the structured settlement

payments to be transferred.

2.  The aggregate amount of the structured settlement payments.

3.  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 the discounted present value.

4.  The gross advance amount.

5.  An itemized listing of all applicable transfer expenses, other

than attorney fees and related disbursements 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.

6.  The net advance amount.

7.  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.

8.  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 agreement is signed by the

payee.

Section History: Recent Form

2001 Acts, ch 85, §3, 8

Referred to in § 682.2, 682.6, 682.7

682.4  APPROVAL OF TRANSFERS OF STRUCTURED SETTLEMENT

PAYMENT RIGHTS.

1.  A transfer of structured settlement payment rights shall not

be effective and a structured settlement obligor or annuity issuer

shall not be required to make any payment directly or indirectly to a

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 regarding all

of the following:

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.

c.  The transfer does not contravene any applicable statute or

the order of any court or other government authority.

2.  If the structured settlement agreement or transfer agreement

includes a provision requiring the terms of the structured settlement

agreement or transfer agreement to remain confidential, the court or

responsible administrative authority shall conduct in camera

proceedings relating to the approval of the transfer agreement and

shall not include any financial terms from the structured settlement

agreement or the transfer agreement in the order required under

subsection 1.

Section History: Recent Form

2001 Acts, ch 85, §4, 8

Referred to in § 682.6, 682.7

682.5  EFFECTS OF TRANSFER OF STRUCTURED SETTLEMENT

PAYMENT RIGHTS.

1.  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.

2.  The transferee shall be liable to the structured settlement

obligor and the annuity issuer for all of the following:

a.  If the transfer contravenes the terms of the structured

settlement, any taxes incurred by the structured settlement obligor

and the annuity issuer as a consequence of the transfer.

b.  Any other liabilities or costs, including reasonable costs

and attorney 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

chapter.

3.  An annuity issuer and the structured settlement obligor shall

not be required to divide any periodic payment between the payee and

any transferee or assignee or between two or more transferees or

assignees.

4.  Any further transfer of structured settlement payment rights

by the payee may be made only after compliance with all of the

requirements of this chapter.

Section History: Recent Form

2001 Acts, ch 85, §5, 8

682.6  PROCEDURE FOR APPROVAL OF TRANSFERS.

1.  An application under this chapter 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 days prior to the scheduled hearing on

any application for approval of a transfer of structured settlement

payment rights under section 682.4, 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.  All of the following shall be

included with the 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

682.3.

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.

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 not be less

than fifteen days after service of the transferee’s notice, in order

to be considered by the court or responsible administrative

authority.

3.  If a structured settlement agreement or transfer agreement

includes a provision requiring the terms of the structured settlement

agreement or transfer agreement to remain confidential, the financial

terms of the structured settlement agreement and the transfer

agreement shall be made available to the court or responsible

administrative authority for purposes of any in camera proceedings,

but shall not be disclosed in the copies of the transfer agreement

and disclosure statement filed as a part of the public record.

Section History: Recent Form

2001 Acts, ch 85, §6, 8

682.7  GENERAL PROVISIONS — CONSTRUCTION —

PENALTIES.

1.  The provisions of this chapter shall not be waived by a payee.

2.  A transfer agreement entered into on or after the thirtieth

day after July 1, 2001, by a payee who resides in this state shall

provide that disputes under the transfer agreement, including any

claim that the payee has breached the agreement, shall be determined

under the laws of this state.  A transfer agreement shall not

authorize the transferee or any other party to confess judgment or

consent to entry of judgment against the payee.

3.  A transfer of structured settlement payment rights shall not

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 both of the following:

a.  Periodically confirming the payee’s survival.

b.  Giving the annuity issuer and the structured settlement

obligor prompt written notice in the event of the payee’s death.

4.  A payee who proposes to make a transfer of structured

settlement payment rights shall not incur any penalty, forfeit any

application fee or other payment, or otherwise incur any liability to

the proposed transferee or any assignee based on any failure of the

transfer to satisfy the conditions of this chapter.

5.  This chapter shall not 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

prior to July 1, 2001, is valid or invalid.

6.  Compliance with the requirements set forth in section 682.3

and fulfillment of the conditions set forth in section 682.4 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

the requirements or failure to fulfill the conditions.



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