An eight-page opinion out of Atlantic County imploring courts to carefully vet the sale of structured settlements has caught the attention of industry players nationwide—and highlighted a dearth of useful guidance for judges even 15 years after model legislation was crafted to tame a Wild West marketplace.
In it, Superior Court Judge Nelson Johnson said the determination of whether selling an annuity for immediate lump-sum payment is in an applicant’s “best interest” involves “much more than merely inquiring into whether the payee is competent and has voluntarily entered into the agreement with knowledge of its consequences.”
