Pending Lawsuit Funding Help Guide

As the plaintiff, you need money to file your case, hire an attorney, pay witnesses, and pay for other legal expenses. This means that regardless of your health or financial status, you should be in a position to pay for all these costs. Assuming you are severely injured, have no savings, and can’t resume work any time soon, paying for these costs as well as your other bills can be a daunting task. Furthermore, most attorneys ask for retainer fees followed by monthly payments for services rendered until the case is settled. As such, you need to seek financial help to keep everything moving as you pursue justice. Here are important insights into pending lawsuit funding help.

How To Find Pending Lawsuit Funding Help Online?

While a personal injury lawsuit should provide compensation, it may take anywhere from weeks to years before the defendant finally pays the settlement. During this time, bills such as medical expenses, rent, utilities, and even legal fees can pile up, leaving you with a bigger burden to bear.

Also referred to as pre-settlement funding, pending lawsuit funding help is the loan you receive from a funding company to help you get by before the court settles your case. In return, you will have to repay it using a portion of your settlement in case you win the case and receive the award for damages from the defendant’s insurance company.

Keeping this in mind, you should ask for pending lawsuit funding help if you are a plaintiff in a case involving personal injury caused by medical malpractice, a traffic accident, defective products, and work-related accidents, among others.

Is It Necessary To Ask For Pending Lawsuit Funding Help?

To get a pending lawsuit loan, you will incur expenses such as application fees. Additionally, pre-settlement funding usually accumulates interest that can be compounded daily, weekly, or monthly. Because lawsuit loans are greatly unregulated in the U.S., interest rates on pre-settlement loans are usually exorbitant. Depending on the interest rate charged, you may end up repaying way higher than you borrowed, especially if your case takes years to be resolved.

With this in mind, you should carefully assess your situation and determine if asking for pending lawsuit funding help is necessary for you. You see the commercials on television comparing JG Wentworth & 500 Cash Out to each other but they don’t explain what the terms of a pre-settlement loan are.

For instance, consider asking for financial assistance from family and friends if you just need a small amount of money to get by. Also, if you are healthy enough to work, going back to work and paying for the legal expenses out of your earnings can be a good option.

A home equity loan or a standard personal loan can also work just fine if you own a home and need a low-interest loan respectively. In case none of these options will help you during your case, then a pre-settlement lawsuit loan should be your final option.

Eligibility For Pending Lawsuit Funding Help

Typically, pre-settlement loans pose a high risk to the lending company. More specifically, in case you lose the case, you won’t have to repay the loan and this means that the lending company will lose the amount they loaned you as well as any other costs incurred. To significantly lower this risk, most lenders usually have stringent underwriting measures. That said, the following are the requirements to be eligible for pending lawsuit funding:

• Must be the plaintiff, not the defendant
• Must have a strong case with high chances of winning
• Must have a good credit history, although some lending companies don’t check this
• The defendant should be able to pay the settlement award
• Must have a lawyer working on a contingency basis, meaning, in case you lose the case, the lender won’t pay the lawyer

Benefits Of Pending Lawsuit Loans

Although you may end up repaying a huge amount of money, pre-settlement funding has some benefits that you should probably explore. They include, among others:

• Zero risks — The majority of pending lawsuit loans are non-recourse in nature. In other words, in case the defendant fails to pay the claim as ordered by the court, the lending company will go after the collateral, usually the settlement award. This means that there is no risk for you as the plaintiff. Moreover, some lenders offer recourse options, too.
• Short approval time — While traditional loans can take anywhere from days to weeks depending on the underwriting process, per the U.S. News and World Report, pre-settlement loans can be approved in just 24 hours. Nevertheless, this will also depend on how satisfied the lending company is with your case. This is because the strength of your case is the greatest determinant of whether you will get the loan or not.
• Quick access — Some lenders may approve a loan fast but take time to deposit it in your account. If you have urgent expenses to cover, this can greatly inconvenience you. Fortunately, most lenders disburse the loan in just 24 hours from approval or less.
• Convenient — Considering the quick turnaround time, zero risks, and short disbursement time, pre-settlement loans are generally convenient.
• Financial support — Pre-settlement lawsuit loans are meant to give you the much-needed financial support as your case progresses. For instance, if your injury left you disabled and unable to work again, fending for yourself can prove to be impossible. With time, your bills will pile and cause even further damage. If you build a strong case against the person responsible for the injury, you will most likely win and receive compensation that can enable you to get your life back together. Even so, the case can take anywhere from months to years depending on factors such as availability of witnesses, the willingness of witnesses to testify, investigation complexity, number of cases, procrastination by judges and lawyers, and priority of criminal over civil cases, as per the Notre Dame Law School. Additionally, you may have an even longer period to wait for the settlement award once the court settles the case. This means that the pending lawsuit funding help can be life-saving in such situations.

How To Apply For Pending Lawsuit Funding

Like any other loan, applying for pending lawsuit funding requires you to provide certain documents as well as sign paperwork. Different lending companies may ask for varying documents, and as such, be ready to provide whatever the lender will ask for. That said, the basic documents required include, among others:

• A letter from your attorney indicating the amount of money you wish to borrow
• A document indicating how much settlement you are expecting in case you win
• Documents indicating that the defendant’s insurance company is in a position to pay the claim
• Documents showing details of your lawsuit

For a smooth application process, ask your attorney to guide you through the collection of the necessary documents as well as the filling of the application forms. Take note that you will also incur some expenses in this process, which include, among others, application fees, paperwork costs, and attorney fees.

Where Can I Get Pending Lawsuit Funding Help?

Established in the 1990s, lawsuit financing is a relatively new industry. As such, not many lending institutions offer pre-settlement lawsuit loans. Even so, you can find pending lawsuit funding help from banks, credit unions, and even online lending websites.

Tips To Find The Best Pending Lawsuit Loan Rates

Since lawsuit loans are not adequately regulated, you will most likely be charged a high-interest rate, especially if you are applying for a pre-settlement loan. However, it is prudent to compare interest rates from different lenders and settle for what is suitable and fair for you. That said, here is a look at incredible tips to help you access the best pending lawsuit loan.

• Ask for clarity on interest rates directly — Currently, many predators are posing as lending companies to con unsuspecting victims through exorbitant interest rates on lawsuit loans. With this in mind, make sure you know what interest rate you are signing up for before going ahead with the application process. Illegitimate lenders will try to hide their interest rates and only reveal them during the repayment period. As such, ask them directly and move to another lender in case they are not willing to disclose their rates.
• Don’t work with loan brokers — Since they are also working, brokers will charge you some money to help you find a funding company. Some brokers even collude with the lending company to charge you higher application fees or interest rates to pocket the rest of the money. Therefore, avoid loan brokers at all costs and, instead, search for a lender online. If you’d rather avoid the heavy lifting, you can hire a legitimate broker to do the difficult work for you.
• Consult your lawyer — Considering the legal jargon used in stipulating the terms of a lawsuit loan, it may be difficult for you to understand all of them. As such, ensure you seek advice from your lawyer before agreeing to the terms of the loan.
• Ask for referrals from your attorney — Because he/she is a civil lawyer, your attorney may have dealt with a case similar to yours and even borrowed a post-settlement loan at some point. He/she may know several reputable lenders, and asking for referrals can be a good idea.
• Take your time — Apart from consulting your attorney, you should take your time to analyze the situation and decide whether you still want to go ahead with the loan application or not. Don’t allow anyone to pressure you into signing it. In most cases, those who pressure you are not legitimate lenders, and hence, walk away if they do.
• Don’t take a loan that is too large — While receiving a loan may excite you, do not be tempted to apply for a loan larger than you need since you will repay it. If you borrow more than you need, a bigger portion of your settlement award will be deducted, leaving you with little or no funds.
• Feel free to ask questions — To be sure about what you’re getting yourself into, ask as many questions as needed for clarity. This way, you will not encounter something new or strange along the way. In turn, your loan provider should be willing and ready to respond to all your queries. If they sound bored or reluctant to answer your questions, it may indicate that there is something they’re hiding. Therefore, you should doubt their legitimacy and consider looking for another lending company.

Once you get the pre-settlement loan, spend it wisely so that it can last you through your difficult times.

How To Get Started With A Pre-Settlement Loan

Use the information provided in this article to find the right pending lawsuit funding help from companies like Oasis Capital, Peachtree Settlement, Ally Lawsuit Loans, JG Wentworth 500 Cash Out, and Law Cash. Take note of their online reviews, complaints, and BBB ratings that each company has since lent you is a big risk for the funding company and it’s a risk for you to take a loan from a non-legitimate company, you will most likely pay high-interest rates. Even so, comparing loans from different lending companies can help you find one with a favorable interest rate.