• When a person enters into a settlement agreement, she can choose to take a lump sum of money or to receive her settlement in payments. These payments come in the form of a structured settlement, where the payouts can be adjusted according to various circumstances, like inflation and the payees anticipated medical needs. In Illinois, a resident cannot receive a structured settlement payment unless it has been approved by the court, under the Illinois State Structured Settlement Protection Act.
  
  

Approval

• Under the Illinois State Structured Settlement Protection Act, the court must decide whether a structured settlement is good for the intended payee. The judge must take into account the status of the payee's dependents when deciding whether or not a transfer of settlement payments is what is best for the payee.
  
  

Second Opinion

• In Illinois, the company who is seeking to give the payee the structured settlement is required under the Illinois State Structured Settlement Protection Act to advise the payee, in writing, to seek an independent professional opinion regarding whether or not receiving the settlement is in his best interest.
  
  

Compliance

• Under the Illinois State Structured Settlement Protection Act, the state must also ensure that the proposed structured settlement is not in breach of any state statues or rulings from other courts or authorities.
  
  

Payee Liability

• Under the Illinois State Structured Settlement Protection Act, once a structured settlement payment has been transferred from the payer to the payee, the payer is no longer responsible for the money. That responsibility transfers to the payee. This means that the payee is responsible for any taxes incurred due to the transfer or for attorney fees incurred by the payer due to the payee's failure to comply with the Illinois State Structured Settlement Protection Act.
  
  

Third-Party Payments

• Under the Illinois State Structured Settlement Protection Act, the payer must get court approval before transferring any of the settlement money to anyone else besides the payee. The payer also cannot be obligated to split the payments between two payees or the payee and a third party.