by John Darer CLU ChFC MSSC RSP CLTC
Is it a good business practice to use a single qualified assignment for more than one payee in the same family when each is scheduled to receive separate structured settlements? I submit to you that the answer is no.
- Sacrificing privacy for brevity is not acceptable.
- Using the example of a single qualified assignment for 3 children and a mother, a single qualified assignment means that if one of the payees decides to sell structured settlement payment rights down the road, all of the other non-selling payees' private information is in play, including the amount and timing of future periodic payments. Why not mitigate unsolicited and unwanted phone calls now?
- In the event of a later marriage, remarriage, or divorce, a single qualified assignment for all payees puts the privacy of the other payees in play. What business is it of Betty Sue's husband if her sister Annabelle is to receive a $500,000 lump sum in 2 years? Why not mitigate this potential recurring problem now?
- Boilerplate document wordings may not reflect what is actually happening. Many documents refer to a claimant in the singular, sometimes Claimant(s), but there is not a consistent distinction throughout the document. The more payees the less merry!
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