For most people when they buy a house it is considered their life's largest deal. In some cases of structured settlements the compensation and financial considerations for a persons life duration and the total present value of the settlement can reach few millions of dollars. Therefore it is strongly advised to use professional services like annuity consultant and a lawyer specialized in this field in order for you to avoid painful costly mistakes. Here are some tips:



- Think twice before you make a decision. Do you really need that money or you want to feel rich, secure, powerful etc?

- Take only part of the money not all of it, in case of an injury claimthe Court needs to approve your request, the judge will want toknow what do you need the money for.

- Some Funds will try to convince you that due to Inflation and risingcost of living your annuity payments have less and less buying power over time. Remember that if the Structured settlement was done properly it has a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) featurebuild into it in order to offset the effects of inflation over time.So the funds claim on this issue is only partially true as the cost ofliving index is an artificial and biased measure of the actual inflationover time. Still even 70% protection is reasonable.

- When you get a large sum of money take into account that eachbank is F.D.I.C. insured for up to $ 100,000 only! That means thatif your sum of money is bigger than that you will need to openadditional Account/s in a different bank/s in order to be covered.In addition take into account that as long as you deposit your moneyin C.D's (e.g. Certificate of Deposit) you are covered, but if youinvest your money In fixed income, stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.These securities are NOT F.D.I.C. insured!

- In case you transform Lottery winnings payments or a large sum ofmoney from structured settlement, keep it as discrete as you can,It is not recommended to go and buy a Rolls-Roys or any other flashycar, that will bring the criminals and the charity people to chase you.That might even cause your children start to ask for money.Try to keep it a secret.

- It is a good Idea to get more than one or two offers from variousprivate funds before making a decision, remember you are a verylucrative customer, the funds should fight over you! Don't be timidto negotiate and manipulate them to maximize your money.One of the best and most reputable Funds I know with excellentfast customer service is Sovreign-Funding, You can find there usefulinformation, Fill out their short form and you will get an offer fromthem with no obligation on your part.

- One last piece of advice, there is a new ebook you can downloadimmediately, It is called ?Annuities: The shocking secrets revealed?written by Tony Bahu CEO of AnnuityMD.com, It is a $97 book but itis a very small investment considering how much money it can saveyou. You can see it here:

The shocking secrets

MBA - International Trade & Finance - Heriot-Watt University. Bsc. Computers and Information Systems - Long Island University - C.W Post Campus. Married with two Children.