§ 25-3104 — Transfer of payment rights; court order; requirements

Nebraska § 25-3104

• Jurisdiction: Nebraska
• Ch. 25: Courts; Civil Procedure

Text

(1) No direct or indirect transfer of structured settlement payment rights is effective, and no structured settlement obligor or annuity issuer is required to make a payment directly or indirectly to a transferee of structured settlement payment rights, unless the transfer has been authorized in advance in a final order of a court of competent jurisdiction based on the court's written express findings that:
(a) The transfer complies with the requirements of the Structured Settlements Transfers Protection Act;
(b) The transferee has provided to the payee a disclosure statement in no smaller than fourteen-point type specifying:
(i) The amounts and due dates of the structured settlement payments to be transferred;
(ii) The aggregate amount of the payments;
(iii) The discounted present value of the payments, together with the discount rate used in determining the discounted present value;
(iv) The gross amount payable to the payee in exchange for the payments;
(v) An itemized listing of all brokers' commissions, service charges, application fees, processing fees, closing costs, filing fees, referral fees, administrative fees, legal fees, notary fees, and other commissions, fees, costs, expenses, and charges payable by the payee or deductible from the gross amount otherwise payable to the payee;
(vi) The net amount payable to the payee after deduction of all commissions, fees, costs, expenses, and charges described in subdivision (1)(b)(v) of this section;
(vii) The quotient, expressed as a percentage, obtained by dividing the net payment amount by the discounted present value of the payments. Such quotient shall be disclosed in the following statement "The net amount that you will receive from us in exchange for your future structured settlement payments represents ....% of the estimated current value of the payments.";
(viii) The effective annual interest rate. Such rate shall be disclosed in the following statement "Based on the amount that you will receive from us and the amounts and timing of the structured settlement payments that you are turning over to us, you will, in effect, be paying interest to us at a rate of ....% per year."; and
(ix) The amount of any penalty and the aggregate amount of any liquidated damages, including penalties, payable by the payee in the event of a breach of the transfer agreement by the payee;
(c) The transfer is in the best interests of the payee, taking into account the welfare and support of the payee's dependents, and the net amount payable to the payee is not unfair, unjust, or unreasonable under existing circumstances;
(d) The payee has received, or waived his or her right to receive, independent professional advice regarding the legal, tax, and financial implications of the transfer;
(e) The transferee has given written notice of the transferee's name, address, and taxpayer identification number to the annuity issuer and the structured settlement obligor and has filed a copy of the notice with the court;
(f) The transfer agreement provides that any disputes between the parties will be governed by the laws of Nebraska and that Nebraska is the proper place of venue to bring any cause of action arising out of a breach of the agreement; and
(g) The transfer does not contravene any applicable statute or order of any court or other government authority.
(2) The court may not authorize a transfer if the court makes an express written finding that the transfer contravenes the public policy of this state.
(3) The transfer agreement shall also provide that the parties agree to the jurisdiction of any Nebraska court of competent jurisdiction. If the transfer would contravene the terms of the structured settlement or the standards set forth in subsection (1) or (2) of this section, the court may grant, deny, or impose conditions upon the proposed transfer as the court deems just and proper under the facts and circumstances, upon the filing of a written objection by any interested party and after considering the objection and any response to it. Any order approving a transfer must require that the transferee indemnify the annuity issuer and the structured settlement obligor for any liability including reasonable costs and attorney's fees arising from compliance by the issuer or obligor with the order of the court.
(4) A provision in a transfer agreement giving a transferee power to confess judgment against a payee is unenforceable to the extent the amount of the judgment would exceed the amount paid by the transferee to the payee, less any payments received from the structured settlement obligor or the payee.
(5) With respect to a transfer of structured settlement payment rights a transferee may not contract for or receive a discount or finance charge that would result in an effective annual rate in excess of the maximum interest rate per year applicable in Nebraska to a consumer loan as set forth in section 45-101.03 .

Legislative History

Source: Laws 2001, LB 55, § 4.