Annuity settlements are confusing things — and if you find yourself dealing with one of them, then you might not have all the control over your money that you wish you had (or maybe the control you need to have).

The most frustrating part of an annuity is the fact that the money is technically yours, but it’s tied up in an account either for a certain number of years or until you reach a certain age (usually that age it 59.5 years old). For those who choose to receive their lottery payments in the form an annuity rather than receiving a lump sum lottery payout, payments are usually sent out in small increments over a period of 10 to 25 years.

So why is this so frustrating? For starters, if you run into a financial emergency and you don’t have enough savings to cover the cost, you’ll probably wish you could access that money that’s stored away in your settlement account (since it’s yours anyway, to be fair). And if you decide to withdraw your funds before the waiting time period has passed, you’ll end up paying a lot in early withdrawal fees — sometimes anywhere between 7% and 10% of the total amount.

Or maybe you decide that you just need to make a lifestyle change — buy a new house, or maybe a new car, maybe go back to school and earn a degree or just open up a new business. Whatever you decide you want to do, it can be really confusing and annoying knowing that you technically have the money to do it — but just not all at once.

If you’re thinking about selling your annuity, there are plenty of legitimate reasons why you’d be using your money in a better way than what it’s doing sitting in an account for years on end.