2014-00162764-CU-PT

In RE: Valerie Specht

Nature of Proceeding:   Petition for Approval for Transfer of Structured Settlement Payment
Nature of Proceeding:   Petition for Approval for Transfer of Structured Settlement Payment

Filed By:  Law, Michelle

The petition for approval of transfer of structured settlement payment rights is
CONTINUED to 6/18/2014 at 9:00 a.m. in this department, to permit the filing of a
supplemental declaration by Ms. Specht.  Based on the present record, the Court is
unable to conclude that the proposed transfer is in Ms. Specht’s best interest as
required by Insurance Code §10139.5.

Ms. Specht, a 48 year old married woman with two minor children, seeks to transfer
structured settlement rights to a lump sum payment of $20,000 due in July 2020 with a
present value of roughly $17,476, in exchange for a lump sum payment of $8,000,
representing an effective interest rate of 14.86%.  It appears that the transfer proposed
here will, if approved, exhaust Ms. Specht’s rights to future structured settlement
payments.

Ms. Specht states that she is disabled with monthly benefits of $1,274 and that her
spouse currently earns $86,000 annually.  Ms. Specht avers she is not experiencing
any financial hardship but she fails to explain what she intends to do with the proceeds
from this transfer as expressly required by Insurance Code §10139.5(b)(2).
Accordingly, the Court is currently unable to determine whether the proposed transfer
is in Ms. Specht’s best interest.

Additionally, although Ms. Specht indicates she previously obtained approval for
transfers in both 2006 and 2011, she provides no details as to how the proceeds from
these earlier transfers were spent or invested.  The Court finds that such information is
relevant and necessary to its assessment under Insurance Code §10139.5.

Before making a final ruling on this petition, the Court will permit Ms. Specht to submit
no later than 6/10/2014 a supplemental declaration addressing all of the above-cited
deficiencies.  Without a supplemental declaration adequately addressing these issues,
the Court anticipates being unable to grant the present petition as being in Ms.
Specht’s best interest as required by Insurance Code §10139.5.

This minute order is effective immediately.  No formal order or other notice is required.
(Code Civ. Proc. §1019.5; CRC Rule 3.1312.)