Legal Funding FAQ | Knowledge Base

A: Legal funding is a risk-free cash advance to injured plaintiffs. It provides immediate financial relief and is only repaid after the case is won or settled.

A: Legal funding is easy to qualify for. Answer a couple of questions and find out if your case qualifies for funding in less than 30 seconds.

A: According to insurance industry insiders, Forbes, Rand Corporation, and many others, that is exactly what legal funding does.

A: Under ideal conditions, TriMark has funded lawsuit loans in under 2 hours. By doing this one thing, you will eliminate delays and make everything go faster. Follow these steps to ensure your approval and funding happen as quickly as possible.

A: “Expensive” is a relative term, so the short answer is it depends.

If you have a good job, good credit, verifiable employment history, ample financial resources, and unencumbered real estate to use as collateral for a low-interest bank loan then yes, it’s more expensive.

However, if you’re injured, have damaged credit, can’t work, are about to lose your car or home, or can’t pay for utilities, medical care, or food then no, it probably isn’t “expensive”. Especially when you consider the physical, emotional, psychological, and social impact those things would have on you and your family.

You are the only one who can decide if legal funding is the right choice for you and your particular circumstances.

Yes, you can get a lawsuit cash advance on your lawsuit if your case has strong enough liability to prevail against a sufficiently insured defendant.

When you borrow against your lawsuit, you are simply tapping into a small portion of the anticipated future value of your settlement proceeds.

A: If you’re thinking about getting a lawsuit cash advance on your case, it makes sense to be concerned about the cost.

The short answer is “it depends”. Read more

A: Lawsuit funding is available in amounts from $500 up to $750,000+.

The size of the lawsuit advance you are approved for will be determined by case-specific details. Read more

A: The lowest rates TriMark offers are simple interest, non-compounding, and are capped at 2x for your safety.

TriMark Legal Funding prides itself on offering the lowest cost pre-settlement funding in the industry and our “Lowest Rate Guarantee” leaves no room for doubt.

A: No. To qualify for lawsuit funding, you must be represented by a contingent fee attorney.

A: You keep the money we advanced and owe nothing.

A: Lawsuit funding is available on virtually all types of pending and settled contingent fee legal claims.

To see a more comprehensive list of the cases we cover, visit Cases We Fund.

A: It is common for injured plaintiffs to need more than one lawsuit cash advance as their case progresses through the settlement process. Read more

A: To ensure you still have a significant amount of money payable to you after your settlement advance is repaid, TriMark Legal Funding can fund up to the following limits:

_{❇️ Pending Cases: Up to 20% of the anticipated net settlement amount.
❇️ Settled Cases: Up to 50% of the actual net settlement amount.}

A: Traditional loans are “recourse funding” and the obligation to repay is absolute. Read more

A: Almost all states allow lawsuit loans, although a few of them have special requirements. Currently, only 4 states do not allow legal funding at all.

To check availability in your state, visit States We Serve.

A: That is a common scenario and it is not a problem. Read more

A: Absolutely. Although not required, you may pay down or pay off the advance early using a tax refund for example. And if you choose to do so, there is no pre-payment penalty.

A: If you choose the wrong legal funding company? Yes, that is a distinct possibility.

If you choose TriMark Legal Funding? No, thanks to built-in safety features like funding limits, non-compounding interest, and ‘capped rates’ specifically designed to protect you and your settlement.

Funding limits. We will only fund up to 20% of the anticipated net settlement amount (as determined by our underwriters) on pending cases and up to 50% of the anticipated net settlement amount on settled cases.

Capped Rates. Most of our rates are non-compounding and capped at 2X (two times). For riskier cases, they can be compounding and capped at 2X or 3X.

“Capped at 2X” means that as interest periodically accrues, once the balance owed reaches two times the funded amount of your advance (which takes about 2-2.5 years), IT STOPS ACCRUING ADDITIONAL INTEREST. And regardless of how much longer it takes to successfully resolve your case, that is the maximum amount you could ever have to pay back.

For example;
If the funded amount is $5,000, the maximum repayment could not exceed $10,000.
If the funded amount is $10,000, the maximum repayment could not exceed $20,000.
If the funded amount is $25,000, the maximum repayment could not exceed $50,000.

A: Unfortunately not. Legal funding is only available:

– to plaintiffs; never defendants
– to plaintiffs represented by a contingent-fee attorney; never pro bono, pro se, hourly retainer, EEOC representation, or class action claims administrators
– on civil lawsuits and commercial litigation; never on criminal lawsuits or family law cases
– on sufficiently insured pending and settled cases; never default judgments or non-insured judgments or verdicts

A: Approval of a settlement advance is based on the strengths and merits of your lawsuit, not your credit score.

Repayment of the advance comes from your settlement proceeds after the case is resolved successfully. If it isn’t resolved successfully, you are under no obligation to repay the advance.

Settlement loans can give you immediate cash to cover bills and living expenses before a case is settled or a jury verdict is reached.

You can use the money for rent or mortgage, vehicle expenses, medical bills, emergency travel, or even groceries. The money is yours to use as you need. You only repay the advance if you win your case or reach a favorable out-of-court settlement.

A: Unless your case is resolved successfully, either via a negotiated settlement or jury verdict, you are under no obligation to repay the money.

In other words, you get to keep the money and owe nothing.

A: Rates on lawsuit loans are based on risk level and several other factors. Our rates typically run between about 25% and 35% non-compounding per year. That works out to less than 3% monthly, and again, it’s non-compounding.

In higher-risk cases, we may occasionally use a monthly compounding rate.

It also depends on whether the case is settled, still pending, or on appeal.

After you are approved following an underwriting review, you will receive, in writing, a full, clear explanation of the rates and fees so you will know exactly what you will pay before you ever sign anything.

A: Rates on lawsuit loans are based on risk level and several other factors. Our rates typically run between about 25% and 35% non-compounding per year. That works out to less than 3% monthly, and again, it’s non-compounding.

In higher-risk cases, we may occasionally use a monthly compounding rate.

It also depends on whether the case is settled, still pending, or on appeal.

After you are approved following an underwriting review, you will receive, in writing, a full, clear explanation of the rates and fees so you will know exactly what you will pay before you ever sign anything.

A: No. Your attorney or law firm will need to be at least minimally involved in and cooperate with the process.

A: Yes, we have multiple disbursement choices.

One-Time Lump Sum
We will make a single, one-time wire transfer into your checking account or send a check to you via FedEx. This is the most common type of funding we offer.

Additional Funding
It is common for people who got a one-time lump sum to need more money further down the road. for this, we simply send another wire transfer or FedEx another check.

Monthly Recurring Disbursement
This option is reserved for very seriously or catastrophically injured plaintiffs.

We start with a one-time disbursement to get everything caught up and current. Then, around the first day of each month, a pre-determined amount, sufficient to cover all monthly expenditures, is automatically deposited via wire transfer.

A: A lawsuit settlement advance is only repaid after the case is resolved successfully.

When your case settles and your attorney receives the settlement check from the insurance company, she will pay her fees, case costs, any outstanding medical liens, and the lien for the cash advance and you receive the remainder.

A: TriMark Legal Funding currently provides lawsuit loans in 46 of the 50 United States.

You can check individual states for availability and restrictions.

Some types of funding, like Colorado lawsuit loans and North Carolina lawsuit loans, have specific minimum dollar amount requirements.

Some others have restrictions on the types of funding available, such as states where settlement loans for workers comp are not available.

A: Legally? No, not unless you reside in a state that has a law that prohibits it.

Realistically? Yes, they can simply ignore the lawsuit funding company and refuse to engage with them because there is no legal requirement that an attorney MUST cooperate.

The firm may also have a policy that they do not work with legal funding companies.

Generally speaking, most lawyers will cooperate with lawsuit funding companies. We’ve found this to be especially true when the lawyer has spoken to their client and understands that they are in dire financial need.

That being said, we do still occasionally encounter law firms with a policy that they will not work with companies that offer legal funding.

A: We can approve and fund from $500 to $1,000,000+.

The amount you are approved for will be determined by a number of things including:

– how much you request on your application
– the type of case you have
– the state you reside in
– the strength of the liability against the defendant
– the amount of total insurance coverage available
– the degree, severity, and permanence of your injuries
– the amount you will likely receive based on the above
– the amount of any prior funding you may have on the case

A: As long as your case will support multiple fundings, then yes.

We can fund up to about 20% of the anticipated net value (as determined in our underwriting review) on pending cases and up to 50% of the anticipated (or actual) net value on settled cases.

A: Generally speaking, as long as your case has sufficient value to support additional funding, it’s not a problem.

If you received a lawsuit cash advance from another legal funding company, be sure to mention that on your application because we will need to order a payoff.

We would simply arrange to buy out the other legal funding company’s lien, roll it into your new funding agreement and then fund the additional amount you were approved for.

A: We normally quote 1 to 2 business days, however, under ideal conditions, we can process, approve, and fund on the same day we receive an application.

As soon as we receive an application, we reach out to the attorney and request some case information.

Once we receive everything and the underwriter/attorney conversation has taken place, applicants can expect to receive a decision that day or the following morning.

A: In a word, no.

The American Bar Association, in its Rules of Professional Conduct, prohibits attorneys from lending money to their clients because of the potential for creating conflicts of interest.

It states “Lawyers may not subsidize lawsuits or administrative proceedings brought on behalf of their clients, including making or guaranteeing loans to their clients for living expenses”.

Attorneys can, however, advance case-related costs, with repayment contingent upon the outcome of the case.