§ 5046 — Adjustment of payments

§ 5046. Adjustment of payments. (a) If, at any time after entry of\njudgment, a judgment creditor or successor in interest can establish\nthat the continued payment of the judgment in periodic installments will\nimpose a hardship, the court may, in its discretion, order that the\nremaining payments or a portion thereof shall be made to the judgment\ncreditor in a lump sum. The court shall, before entering such an order,\nfind that: (i) unanticipated and substantial medical, dental or other\nhealth needs have arisen that warrant the payment of the remaining\npayments, or a portion thereof, in a lump sum; (ii) ordering such a lump\nsum payment would not impose an unreasonable financial burden on the\njudgment debtor or debtors; (iii) ordering such a lump sum payment will\naccommodate the future medical, dental and other health needs of the\njudgment creditor; and (iv) ordering such a lump sum payment would\nfurther the interests of justice.\n (b) If a lump sum payment is ordered by the court, such lump sum shall\nbe calculated on the basis of the present value of remaining periodic\npayments, or portions thereof, that are converted into a lump sum\npayment. Unless specifically waived by all parties, the annuity contract\nexecuted pursuant to section five thousand forty-two of this article\nshall contain a provision authorizing such a lump sum payment if such\npayment is approved pursuant to this section. The remaining future\nperiodic payments, if any, shall be reduced accordingly. For the\npurposes of this section, present value shall be calculated based on the\ninterest rate and mortality assumptions at the time such a lump sum\npayment is made as determined by the insurer who has provided the\nannuity contract, in accordance with regulations issued by the\nsuperintendent of financial services.\n