The holiday season is upon us. It seems to sneak up on us every year. Annuitants who are looking to sell their structured settlement payments need to be aware of the time it takes to complete a settlement factoring transaction. The process will generally take anywhere between 60 - 90 days or longer. Yes, the process can sometimes be shorter but when starting a transaction after Thanksgiving, it is unlikely to be completed before the new year. Be very weary of companies who claim they can fund in time for the new year. Many courts close down for the holidays or they are short staffed, so they are not able to hear as many cases. They are typically overbooked as well, so squeezing in a settlement transfer case is not likely. There could be certain circumstances that could allow the courts to hear a case in time for the new year depending on the state, insurance company and county court, but the chances are so slim that winning the lottery may have better odds. The point is annuitants should take their time when choosing a settlement factoring company. Make sure the company is working in your best interest and is being 100% up-front. Do not take less money because someone claims they will fund sooner. The truth of the matter is structured settlement factoring companies all take the same amount of time to fund a transaction give or take a day or two. Hopefully this helps weed out those companies who are saying they can fund a transaction within a couple of weeks and helps save you from heartache at years end.