As courtrooms slowly begin to reopen, law firms are facing cash flow issues, case bottlenecks, and staffing shortages. Your law firm needs a plan to preserve your time, finances, and staffing resources, especially on complex cases. Fortunately, your settlement consultant can streamline the process—at no added cost to you or your client.
Take these case examples, for instance. Each has a unique set of circumstances that can create a significant delay in disbursement, loss of needs-based government benefits, and a host of additional negative consequences:
Female Client, Age 67
Net Settlement: $275,000
- Settlement from injuries sustained when a car hit her wheelchair in a crosswalk
- Outstanding Medicaid liens
- Mentally incapacitated since birth
- Receives Medicaid and SSI
- 85-year-old mother, her caretaker, is in poor health
Male Client, Age 8
Net Settlement: $650,000
- Settlement from a severe physical injury after a grocery store display fell on him
- Parents are divorced; client lives with his father
- Father is an undocumented immigrant and speaks little English
Female Client, Age 26
Net Settlement: $1.6 million
- Settlement from injuries sustained when faulty seat mounts in her delivery truck tore off during a work-related motor vehicle accident
- Mother of three
- Family receives Medicaid, SSI, SNAP, and subsidized housing benefits
- Husband is currently out of work due to COVID-19 pandemic
- Client is wheelchair-bound; expects to need attendant care when her husband goes back to work
Rather than burdening your law firm’s already taxed resources, engage your settlement consultant as early as possible. In addition to providing tax-advantaged structured settlement and attorney fee deferral options, your settlement consultant is also the nexus of the entire realm of settlement experts, including:
- Lien resolution specialists to negotiate and resolve outstanding liens;
- Government benefit counselors to preserve needs-based government benefits;
- Elder law attorneys to draft wills and estate plans;
- Medicare Set-Aside experts to provide opinion letters, allocation recommendations, funding options, and professional MSA administration;
- Trust companies that provide first-party special needs trusts, pooled trusts, wealth management, and minors’ trusts; and
- Funding options for non-U.S. citizens
