Meet Derek.

Derek, 66, bought a Universal Life policy when was 30 years old. 36 years later, his grand-kids have just been accepted to a very expensive private college. Derek wants to help fund his grand-kids' education but does not have the financial flexibility to do so.

If you have already decided to sell your life insurance policy to a 3rd party, most people, like Derek, are concerned about the ease and the length of the process. The Life Settlement process could possibly take a while to complete, but because of the nature of the secondary market, it's worth while for Derek to take his time and shop around to receive the best offers available.

To ensure his life settlement process goes as smooth as possible, let's take a look at the steps involved and the approximate time frame. There are 10 basic steps involved and the process could take anywhere from three weeks for the less-complex cases, up to 6 months for the most complicated cases.

The step-by-step transaction process:

As Derek can see, the process could potentially take a while, but if he pays attention to the different stages involved, it becomes a straightforward process. The typical process takes around four to six weeks to complete. If he is working with an experienced broker who specializes in this field of work, it could be a very smooth transaction.