Our firm has created a tool specifically for plaintiff attorneys and their settling clients to help determine if any...
Government Benefits Planning
What Are a Plaintiff Attorney’s Obligations to Medicare When Settling a Case?
As a plaintiff attorney, it is important to understand your obligations to Medicare when settling a personal injury...
The Mechanics of Setting Up a Settlement Trust
Here at Amicus Settlement Planners, settlement trust is a topic that we often get asked about. People usually want to...
Estate Planning Considerations for Settling Plaintiffs
It’s common for plaintiff attorneys to consider settlement planning needs for their clients. There may be a need to...
Who Qualifies for a Special Needs Trust?
Personal injury attorneys frequently call our office and ask who qualifies for a special needs trust. There are 3 requirements for an individual to be eligible for a special needs trust: The client must be 64 years old or younger. The client must be deemed disabled by the Social Security Administration. The client should be receiving either...
An Outsourced Solution to Government Benefits Planning
Our firm has created a tool specifically for plaintiff attorneys and their settling clients to help determine if any special planning is needed in order for the clients to maintain their eligibility for their needs-based government benefits after receiving the settlement. This process provides benefits to both the client and the firm: firms...
What Are a Plaintiff Attorney’s Obligations to Medicare When Settling a Case?
As a plaintiff attorney, it is important to understand your obligations to Medicare when settling a personal injury case. There are two parts to consider in Medicare's interests: the Medicare conditional lien and Medicare's future interest. First is the Medicare conditional lien, which is Medicare's right of recovery from the date of injury to...
The Mechanics of Setting Up a Settlement Trust
Here at Amicus Settlement Planners, settlement trust is a topic that we often get asked about. People usually want to know: "What are the mechanics of setting up a settlement trust, and how do we actually go about doing it? Does the defendant have to pay directly to the trust, or can it come through our IOLTA account?” This article explains...
Estate Planning Considerations for Settling Plaintiffs
It’s common for plaintiff attorneys to consider settlement planning needs for their clients. There may be a need to set up a special needs trust to protect their government benefits or establish a structured settlement annuity to stretch out the client’s recovery or reduce taxes. But more often than not, estate planning implications are...
Can a Client Own a Home and Still Receive Medicaid / SSI?
A common question that we get from settlement clients and their attorneys is, “Can a client own a home and still receive Medicaid and SSI? And can a special needs trust own a home, or does the client have to own the home in his or her name?” The answer is generally, yes — a client can own a home and be eligible for Medicaid and SSI because a...
Medicaid: When a Settlement May Jeopardize Ongoing Eligibility
Medicaid is a topic that comes up frequently in personal injury settlements — and for good reason, because dealing with Medicaid presents many unique challenges at the time of settlement. In this article, we will discuss the two main types of Medicaid in order to demystify when exactly a settlement may jeopardize a client’s ongoing...
Setting Up a Special Needs Trust for a Client
If you are in the settlement phase of a case and your client is receiving needs-based government benefits like Medicaid, SSI, or some combination of those, a special needs trust can be used to protect those benefits. This article gives you a quick overview of how to set up a special needs trust for a client. How to Set Up a Special Needs Trust...
How Does a Settlement Impact a Client’s Medicare Benefits?
Attorneys often ask us how a settlement check can impact a client's Medicare benefits. Medicare is an entitlement for people who are 65 years old or for people who have been deemed disabled. The latter group will receive Medicare benefits 2 years after the date they start receiving Social Security Disability Insurance. Since Medicare is an...
What to Do If a Client is Worried About Losing Their Medicaid or SSI Benefits?
If a client is not returning your calls or responding to other communication efforts in pursuing a personal injury case, one reason might be their fear of losing their Medicaid or SSI benefits upon receiving a settlement. We've heard stories from plaintiff attorneys whose clients would rather drop the case than risk losing their Medicaid or...
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Our goal at Amicus Settlement Planners is to be the premier, comprehensive resource for plaintiffs and plaintiff attorneys for all of the financial and legal issues that arise at the time of settlement.
We'd love to explore how we can help you and your clients.