If you’ve done your research and know what settlement funding company you’d like to work with, you probably want to understand the process and how it works. Here is a simplified, step-by-step list of what to expect from beginning to end:
Application
Any settlement funding company will first have you submit an application that has the basic details of your case and contact information for your attorney. Don’t worry—your attorney isn’t involved in any way in this process, but it is the company’s way of getting additional information about your case if needed.
Case review
Once the settlement funding company has a good understanding of your case, they can assess its strength and merit of evidence. This information helps the company decide whether to fund your case. One thing to note is that in a civil case, the plaintiff must prove his or her loss by preponderance of evidence. So, the facts from the case must show that the reason for the case is clear and believable. This is the kind of detail you can expect a company to ask you about and review carefully before offering any funding.
Approval (or denial) of funding
Next, the funding company will either approve or reject a funding request. Some of the most common reasons for a case rejection include insufficient available information, too early in a case, or insufficient insurance. The amount of funding is a percentage of the projected settlement. Generally, a funding company reviews the applicant’s funding request for reasonableness. At Resolution Funding, we aim to be conservative with our funding, as we never want to put clients in a bad position where they receive more funding than they actually need to hold them over until their case settles (and as a result, owe significantly more than they would had they accepted less).
Additional fund request
If your case takes a very long time to settle, you might find yourself in need of additional funds. Ask the company you’re working with if they will provide additional funding in such a circumstance. If the settlement is projected to be more than adequate to accommodate such a request, it should be no problem.
Settlement
There is no repayment should you lose your case because pre-settlement funding is not a loan, but a non-recourse cash advance. Funding companies take on all of the risk when providing funds with no recourse or collateral. This is why the due diligence phase (before you receive money) is so important: the company with which you work does detailed research and analysis to determine a possible settlement number. If your case should lose, the money you received does not need to be repaid. However, if you win your case, settlement funds will go toward your attorney fees, any letter of protection items (such as child support or alimony), and then the settlement funding company receives reimbursement of the lawsuit advance you accepted (plus calculated fees and interest) directly from your attorney.
If you want more details on how pre-settlement funding works, contact us. We will happily walk you through the process to ensure it is completely clear. We recognize that this can be a stressful time in your life. Our goal is to make things easier, not harder. Call 855-LAW-ADVANCE today.