Asking for a Hearing | Peachtree Financial

The hard part is done! Now, it is time for our underwriting team to take over. They will double check the contract to make sure they have everything they need to get to the last step in the process: getting a court date so a judge can review the transaction.

Why Do I Need Court Approval to Sell My Structured Settlement?

In order for a sale to take place, a structured settlement owner must gain a judge’s approval under state and federal laws. The regulations outlined in each state’s structured settlement protection statute are meant to protect the recipient by ensuring the transfer process is in their best interests, adheres to state and federal laws, and that funds will be spent responsibly. Generally, the court approval process will take up to 45 days; however, individual state timeframes vary.

Petitioning for a Court Date

Once we are sure everything is ready, we will ask the court to schedule a hearing in the state where you live at which a judge will review the sale. Unfortunately, we cannot choose when the court will set a hearing date. After we request a hearing, the courthouse assigns one based on availability.

Once a court hearing date is set, you will receive a package that includes the Petition for Transfer of Structured Settlement Payments and a Notice of the Hearing. The Notice of the Hearing details information surrounding your hearing like the time, date, and sometimes even the Judge assigned to your case, as well as any additional information you need for your hearing.

We Are Here to Answer Questions While You Wait

Your representative will contact you once your court date has been set and be available to you for updates and to answer any questions.

During this time, you might get contacted by one of our competitors asking you about your transaction with Peachtree. Unfortunately, once we receive a court date, that information is public. How much information is available depends on where you live, but in every state at least some information is available.

How to handle these calls:

You do not have to give out any information that you do not want to.

The person who calls you might try to convince you that you need to give them information about your transaction. This is not true. While you can speak with them if you wish, you do not have to give them any information unless you want to.

Be careful of incomplete information.

If someone contacts you, we recommend letting us know as soon as possible. As one of the largest buyers of structured settlement payments in the country, our competitors might try to mislead you with false information. If you do speak with them and have additional questions, let us know. We will be happy to give you answers and correct any misleading statements they may have made.

No, it is not possible to get a faster court date.

Some customers have told us that other companies claim that they can get you in front of a judge sooner. This is not true. Your court date is decided by the caseload of the judges in your local courthouse, not who is making the request.

We Are Always Here to Help

In most states, you will be required to appear before the judge yourself so that they can ask you questions. If this is the case, your representative will help you prepare by going over questions you might hear.

We will stay in touch with you until the court date, but if you have a question that you want answered sooner, help is just a phone call away.

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