In most personal injury cases, the path to a settlement or verdict can be a very difficult process. Once resolution has been achieved, detailed planning is needed to protect the settlement proceeds. There are many complex planning issues to consider when a personal injury case settles to maximize the recovery. Medicaid, Medicare and ERISA liens have to be litigated or negotiated. Trusts often times have to be created. A Special Needs Trust or Medicare Set Aside trust might be necessary. Tax and estate planning may be necessary. All very difficult issues to deal with for even the most sophisticated trial lawyers.
To make matters more complicated, many injury victims today receive public benefits such as Medicaid and Medicare which can be lost without proper planning. Losing public benefits can cause rapid dissipation of the settlement proceeds. In addition, statistics show ninety percent of injury victims have nothing left of their settlement proceeds within five years. Proper planning is critical to prevent the loss of the money while preserving public benefit eligibility and maximizing the recovery. That is the exclusive focus of our practice.
We help our clients deal with the intersection of settlement planning, settlement taxation, public benefit preservation and lien resolution. This is our practice and it is called Special Needs Settlement Planning. With our help, trial lawyers can navigate more efficiently through these difficult issues. We can create settlement preservation strategies to ensure the recovery is maximized and protected. Don't underestimate the importance of utilizing an expert who can help guide the parties through these complexities and implement a sound plan for a personal injury settlement.
With the effort and resources expended to make sure your client is fairly compensated for their injuries, it is critical to ensure that the settlement is maximized and protected. We at the Settlement Law Firm are proud of our ability to achieve that goal on behalf of you and your client.