Path 1 · Receive the proceeds now
One moment
The proceeds, the investment decisions, and the tax consequences are concentrated around the closing event.
Learning Experience · An interactive SIS story
One sale.
One sale.
Two futures.
Step inside a real-world sale and follow the story. You will see why a seller might choose future payments, when the structure must be created, how the money moves, and where the trade-offs live.
Choose a highlighted story card to begin. Small contextual prompts will point to the next available interaction as the story unfolds.
Chapter 1 · The human decision
Meet Jordan.
01
🏭
Jordan
Manufacturing founder
The moment before closing
$5.0MAgreed sale price
$4.0MEstimated gain
22Years invested
Chapter 2 · The fork in the road
One closing day. Two experiences.
Both paths transfer the asset to the buyer. What changes is the seller’s right to receive the proceeds—and the financial story that follows.
02
Path 2 · Schedule proceeds for the future
A timeline
The sale becomes a planned series of future payment events rather than one financial event on closing day.
Learning first: no schedule is being designed here. The purpose is to understand what changes when proceeds are received over time.
Chapter 3 · One sale. A new financial chapter.
Understand the payment story.
Explore the purpose, possible shapes, and essential trade-offs of a future payment stream—without designing a personal illustration.
03
Story beat 1
The moment after the sale
Chapter 4 · Transaction theater
Watch the money move.
The sale closes once. The payment obligation then lives on a separate track designed to fund the seller’s schedule.
04
🧭
Advisory TeamDesigns and reviews before closing👤
SellerTransfers the asset; receives cash and payments🤝
BuyerAcquires the asset and funds closing🏛️
Closing AgentRoutes title and transaction funds🔁
Assignment Co.Accepts the future-payment obligation🛡️
Life InsurerIssues the annuity funding the scheduleChapter 5 · The tax-timing story
Follow gain recognition through time.
Move through four moments in the story. The goal is to understand the reporting rhythm—not calculate a result.
05
Moment 1 · Closing
The tax story does not all have to happen on closing day.
Conceptual comparison
One concentrated event—or recognition that follows payments.
Lump-sum saleConcentrated
TAX
Most sale proceeds and eligible gain are received and recognized around closing.
Structured Installment SaleFollows payments
PTPTPTPT
Each scheduled payment may include basis recovery, eligible gain, and interest with different tax treatment.
Important: tax is deferred, not erased. Inventory, depreciation recapture, debt, selling costs, state tax, §453A, and other transaction facts require professional analysis. The Calculator and Analyzer handle the numerical work.
Chapter 6 · Three decision moments
What would you advise?
Choose an answer. The model will explain why the timing, control, and risk answers matter.
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DECISION 01
The seller closes, receives the proceeds, then asks to “put the money into an SIS.” Can the original sale still be structured?
Correct answer: the installment terms and assignment structure must be coordinated before closing. A post-closing attempt can run into actual or constructive receipt.
DECISION 02
After the buyer funds the structured portion and the obligation is assigned, who is intended to fund the seller’s scheduled payments?
Correct answer: the assignment company accepts the obligation and purchases funding from the insurer. The design is intended to isolate the seller from ordinary buyer-credit risk.
DECISION 03
The seller wants the full deferred balance available on demand next year. Is that consistent with the core SIS trade-off?
Correct answer: the seller’s right is to the scheduled payments, not unrestricted control of the funding asset. The loss of current liquidity is part of the substance of the arrangement.
Chapter 7 · Suitability, not salesmanship
What matters most?
Select up to three priorities. The fit meter does not say “good” or “bad”—it shows whether the SIS trade-offs align with this seller’s goals.
07
Choose the seller’s priorities
The final decision also requires carrier review, legal and tax analysis, estate planning, state rules, and comparison with alternatives.
50alignment
Choose priorities
The meter will respond to what the seller values most.
The story in one sentence
The asset changes hands once. The seller’s planned payment story may continue for years.
A Structured Installment Sale is a pre-closing transaction design—not an investment selected after the seller receives the proceeds.
What you now understand
The Founder’s Exit
The central ideaOne sale can create scheduled future payments
The timing ruleThe structure belongs before closing
The economic trade-offScheduled payments are not on-demand cash
The tax principleEligible gain generally follows payments
Seller-goal alignmentNot yet evaluated
Sale
Educational illustration only—not tax, legal, insurance, or investment advice. No payment schedule or tax result is being recommended or calculated in this story. Installment treatment and the character and timing of income depend on the transaction documents and the seller’s complete facts. Consult qualified advisors before implementation.