California
Insurance Code – INS § 10136
(a) No direct or indirect transfer of structured settlement payment rights by a payee to which this article applies shall be effective, and no structured settlement obligor or annuity issuer shall be required to make any payment directly or indirectly to a transferee, unless all of the provisions of this section are satisfied.
(b) Ten or more days before the payee executes a transfer agreement, the transferee shall provide the payee with a separate written disclosure statement, accurately completed with the information that applies to the transfer agreement, in substantially the following form, in at least 12-point type unless otherwise indicated (bracketed instructions shall not appear in the form):
“Disclosure Notice Required By Law [14-point boldface type]
You are selling (technically called ‘transferring’) your right to receive your payments under a structured settlement. You should get this disclosure notice at least 10 days before you sign any contract.
IMPORTANT TERMS: [14-point boldface type ]
You have agreed to sell to the transferee future payments totaling ___ dollars ($___) in exchange for a purchase price of ___ dollars ($___).
Those future payments have a discounted present value equal to ___ dollars ($___), calculated by applying the discount rate of ___ percent utilized by the Internal Revenue Service to value annuities in probate proceedings.
The purchase price to be paid to you was calculated using a discount rate of ___ percent.
The purchase price payable to you is less than the present value of the future payments stated above because the discount rate of your transaction is greater than the rate utilized by the Internal Revenue Service.
For comparison purposes:
If you did not sell your right to receive structured settlement payments, but instead borrowed the net amount of $___ and paid that loan back in installments with each of the payments you are now selling, the equivalent interest rate you would be paying for that loan would be ___% per year.
[The text and information set forth above under ‘IMPORTANT TERMS’ shall be in 14-point type and circumscribed by a box with a bold border]
To figure the net amount we are paying, we have charged you for the following expenses:
[itemize in a list by type and amount]
for a total of $___ in expenses.
You should get independent professional advice about whether selling your structured settlement payments is a good idea for you and for your dependents.
You are advised to seek independent legal or financial advice regarding the transaction and, under the law, the cost of that advice, up to one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500), will be paid by the transferee, the person or entity to whom you have agreed to transfer and assign the payments in question. The transferee or purchaser’s accountant, counsel, or actuary may not advise you in this transaction.
You also should get independent professional advice from an accountant or lawyer experienced in tax matters about any income tax consequences from selling your structured settlement payments. We cannot give you the name of anyone to advise you.
Court approval is needed [14-point boldface type]. A court must approve any agreement you sign to sell your rights under a structured settlement. You will not receive any money until the court approves the sale. Court approval could take more than 30 days following the day you sign an agreement selling your rights under a structured settlement.
A sale of future structured settlement payments will mean that you will no longer receive the future payments that are sold. You are advised to enter into this transaction only after you have carefully considered the consequences of the transaction.
You may cancel the contract before court approval [14-point boldface type]. You may cancel the agreement selling (or transferring) your rights under a structured settlement without any cost or obligation. You may cancel at any time before the court approves the contract. You will get notice of the date of the court hearing.
If you want to cancel, you do not need any special form. But, you must cancel in writing. Send your cancellation to: [insert transferee’s name and address].
If you believe that you have been treated unfairly or have been misled, you should contact your local district attorney or the state Attorney General.”
(c) The transfer agreement shall be written in at least 12-point type and shall be complete and without blank spaces to be completed after the payee’s signature. The transfer agreement shall set forth clear and conspicuously, and in no less than 12-point type, all of the following:
(1) A statement that the agreement is not effective until the date on which a court enters a final order approving the transfer agreement and that payment to the payee pursuant to the transfer agreement will be delayed up to 30 days or more after the date the payee signed the transfer agreement in order for the court to review and approve the transfer agreement.
(2) The amounts and due dates of the structured settlement payments to be transferred.
(3) The aggregate amount of the structured settlement payments to be transferred. This amount shall be disclosed in the form prescribed in subdivision (b).
(4) The aggregate amount of all expenses, if any, to be deducted from the purchase price to be paid to the payee in exchange for the payments to be transferred, and an itemization of all expenses by type and amount.
(5) The amount payable to the payee, net of all expenses, in exchange for the payments to be transferred. This amount shall be disclosed in the form prescribed in subdivision (b).
(6) The discounted present value of all structured settlement payments to be transferred and a statement that “This is the value of your structured settlement in current dollars.” This amount shall be disclosed in the form prescribed in subdivision (b).
(7) The federal rate, as described in subdivision (c) of Section 10134 , used in determining the discounted present value.
(8) The effective equivalent interest rate, which shall be disclosed in the following statement:
“YOU WILL BE PAYING THE EQUIVALENT OF AN INTEREST RATE OF ___% PER YEAR.
Based on the net amount that you will receive from us and the amounts and timing of the structured settlement payments that you are transferring to us, if the transferred structured settlement payments were installment payments on a loan, with each payment applied first to accrued unpaid interest and then to principal, it would be as if you were paying interest to us of ___% per year, assuming funding on the effective date of transfer.”
This percentage amount shall be disclosed in the form prescribed in subdivision (b) in the space for “the equivalent interest rate you would be paying for this loan would be ___% per year.”
(9) The quotient (expressed as a percentage) obtained by dividing the net payment amount by the discounted present value of the payments.
(10) A statement that the payee should obtain independent professional advice regarding any federal and state income tax consequences arising from the proposed transfer, and that the transferee may not refer the payee to any specific adviser for that purpose.
(11) A statement that the court approving the transfer agreement retains continuing jurisdiction to interpret and monitor implementation of the agreement as justice may require.
(12) The following statement: “If you believe you were treated unfairly or were misled as to the nature of the obligations you assumed upon entering into this agreement, you should report those circumstances to your local district attorney or the office of the Attorney General.”
(13) The following statement printed in 14-point type, circumscribed by a box with a bold border, and set forth immediately above or adjacent to the space reserved for the payee’s signature: “You have the right to cancel this agreement without any cost or obligation until the date the court approves this agreement. You will receive notice of the court hearing date when approval may occur. You must cancel in writing and send your cancellation to [insert transferee’s name and address].”
(d) The contract for transferring the structured settlement payment rights may not violate Section 10138 .
(e) At any time before the date on which a court enters a final order approving the transfer agreement pursuant to Section 10139.5 , the payee may cancel the transfer agreement, without cost or further obligation, by providing written notice of cancellation to the transferee.