Learnng About Lawsuit Advances
Here are some facts that every person considering a lawsuit loan or advance should know. Understanding how litigation funding works, can help to make the right decision about lawsuit funding. Other terms that are used for this type of funding are, pre-settlement loan, lawsuit loan, case loan, lawsuit cash advance, plaintiff cash advance, litigation funding or finance, lawsuit funding, etc.
1. Plaintiffs should not think of an advance to solve all of their cash flow problems, and should understand that an advance is not another way to get cash for their settlement. It is an advance to enable the plaintiff to meet expenses until the case settles either in or out of court.
2. Litigation funding is not really a "loan". It's a cash advance based on the strength of the case that an investor of a litigation case is willing to advance on the possible successful outcome of the case. Companies that do these types of advances, invest in the lawsuit itself, rather than advancing cash to plaintiffs in the form of a loan. These are non recourse advances, which mean that if there is no recovery in the case, the plaintiff only pays back the advance if the case is successful. Attorneys take these cases on a contingency bases, and they too, only get paid if the recovery is successful.
3. Lawsuit loans do not require credit checks, employment, or bankruptcy status. It is based strictly on the strength of the case. There are no risks for the plaintiff and no monthly payments to be made as with traditional loans.
4. Although similar in what they do, each company is different, and charge fees and interest differently. Because lawsuit finance companies take on a lot of risk
on these cases, the interest rates will vary depending on the amount of risk involved in the case. Even good cases can sometimes be thrown out by the court, and called "frivolous." With this in mind, investors charge high rates on successful cases in order to make up for the cases that are unsuccessful.
5. Fees that are asocciated with lawsuit finance are different with each company.
In general the fees include: underwriting, origination, and multiplier fees. Some also have documentation, closing, and premature pay-off fees. These fees are added to the amount of the payback, and are based on how long it takes for the case to settle. Be sure to check with each company for their terms before applying. As with traditional types of loans, certain fees apply.
6. Use alternative funding whenever possible, because lawsuit loans can be expensive. Traditonal funding sources, do however, require monthly payments which can also strain the budget.
7. Investors will advance up to 10% of what they feel the case is worth, and will talk with the attorney to help determine the viability and value of the case.
8. Cases that are not approved for funding, do not mean that it isn't a good case, it just means that investors are not interested in the case. Sometimes the case is not worth what the plaintiff is asking for an advance. Funders determine the amount they are willing to invest, sometimes less than what the plaintiff requests.
9. Other reasons for a denial are the unwillingness of the attorney to either supply the necessary information, or sign the contract to put the lien on the recovery.
10.When approved for funding, a written agreement is signed by the plaintiff and the attorney puts a lien on the successful outcome of the case. Cash is received in 24-48 hours of the investor receiving the executed agreement.
In Conclusion, a plaintiff applying for a lawsuit advance, should understand the process and make the decision if that is the best way to proceed. This way the plaintiff won't be disappointed because it wasn't what was expected.
Author:
Linda Hughes is the founder and president of Freedom First Funding, and is a full service legal funding broker, experienced in helping plaintiffs thoughout the US, obtain advances on their pending lawsuits. Freedom First Funding is not a lawsuit lending company, but is an independent third party that works through a network of national companies.
http://www.freedomfirstfunding.com/ 360 892 6667 TF: 877 386 3374
1 comment:
A Pre-Settlement Loan is another way of saying lawsuit cash advance; great article none the less. :)
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