You Settled. Now Protect It.

By Dominic L. Scheer, Esq., Florida Bar No. 1022250 · Reviewed by Dominic L. Scheer, Esq. · Last updated September 28, 2026

The injury firm did its job. It got you a number, worked the medical liens down, and handed you a closing statement. But a firm that takes cases on contingency is built to close files, not to sit with you and ask what the money is for. That is the gap. Most people fill it with a checking account and good intentions. Six months later the money is mixed with everything else, a relative has been helped, a car has been bought, and the part that was supposed to last is smaller than anyone planned.

What should I do first with my settlement money?

Do nothing irreversible for the first thirty days. Read the closing statement line by line and keep it; it shows what was paid to whom and whether any lien is still open. Keep your health insurance. Do not deposit the check into a joint account, do not transfer any of it to family, do not pay off debts you have not looked at, and do not sign anything from a company offering "cash now" for your future payments. Then sit down with a lawyer who does not take injury cases, so the advice has nothing to do with the fee already paid.

Why is my injury lawyer not helping with this?

Because the engagement ended when the recovery was disbursed and the closing statement was delivered. That is how contingency practice works, and it is not a criticism. The injury lawyer's skill is getting the number. Planning what the number does next is estate and asset protection work, with different documents and a different way of thinking. Some injury firms refer their clients to us for exactly this reason (see our page for referring professionals). If yours did not, that is not a problem. You can walk in on your own.

What does Florida protect from creditors automatically?

Florida is unusually protective of a short list of assets, and a settlement is the moment to take advantage of it.

• Your homestead. The home you live in is protected from forced sale by most creditors, subject to acreage limits that differ inside and outside a city. Paying down the mortgage on a Florida homestead, or buying one, turns exposed cash into protected equity. The protection is not unlimited and does not cover the mortgage lender, property taxes, or contractors who worked on the house.
• Retirement accounts. Money in qualified retirement plans and IRAs is protected from creditor claims, and the protection generally carries over to an inherited account. Contribution limits still apply, so this is a lever, not a bucket.
• Life insurance cash value and annuity payments. The cash surrender value of a life insurance policy and the proceeds of an annuity contract are shielded from creditors of the Florida resident who owns them. This is one of the reasons structured settlements exist.
• Life insurance death benefits paid to a named beneficiary go to that person, not to the insured's creditors.

The specifics, with links to the actual statutes, are in our explainer on what Florida protects after a settlement.

What does Florida not protect?

Cash in a checking or savings account. A brokerage account in your name. A rental property in your name. A second car. And, the one that surprises people every week, property held in a revocable living trust. A revocable trust is an estate planning tool: it keeps your family out of probate, it names who manages the money if you cannot, and it can hold a child's share until an age you choose. While you are alive, your creditors can reach what is in it just as if you owned it directly. It is not asset protection, and anyone who sells it to you as asset protection is wrong. Our revocable trust page explains what it does do.

I am on Medicaid or SSI. Will the settlement end my benefits?

If the money is paid to you directly, it usually will, because it counts as a resource the month it arrives. The fix is a special needs trust set up under federal law for a disabled person under a certain age, funded with the settlement before it reaches you. The trustee can pay for things the benefits do not cover: housing modifications, a vehicle, therapy, travel, a computer, a caregiver. When the beneficiary dies, the state is repaid from what is left for the Medicaid it provided. For smaller settlements, or for someone past the age limit, a pooled trust run by a nonprofit does the same job with a lower setup cost. The timing rule is unforgiving: the trust has to exist before the money lands. If a settlement is coming and anyone in the household is on SSI or Medicaid, call before the release is signed, not after.

My child's case settled. What happens now?

Florida treats a minor's money differently from an adult's. Below a threshold set by statute, parents can settle and collect a child's claim on their own. Above it, the court has to approve the settlement, a guardianship of the child's property is usually required, and at a higher threshold the court appoints a guardian ad litem to review the deal for the child before approving it. A guardianship means annual accountings to the court, a restricted account, and a distribution to the child at 18 whether or not 18 is a good age for it. Some of that is unavoidable. Some of it can be planned around, for example with a trust the court approves as the vehicle for the child's share, with distributions at 25 or 30 and a trustee the parents choose. The time to raise that is before the settlement hearing, not after the order is signed. The current thresholds are in the explainer linked above, where you can check them against the statute yourself.

Should I take a structured settlement?

Often, yes, for a large recovery, a young person, a minor, or anyone who knows they are not a natural saver. A structured settlement pays part of the recovery as a stream of guaranteed payments from an annuity, and Florida's protection for annuity proceeds adds creditor protection on top. The decision has to be made before the settlement is finalized; you cannot structure money you have already received. If your injury lawyer has not raised it, ask. If they have and you are not sure, that is a second-opinion conversation we have regularly.

What happens to the money if I become incapacitated?

For an injury client this is not a hypothetical. If you are in the hospital again and nobody is named to act for you, your family cannot pay your mortgage from your account, cannot speak to your bank, and may end up in a court guardianship proceeding to get authority they could have had for the price of two documents. A durable power of attorney names who handles the money. A health care surrogate designation names who talks to the doctors. A revocable trust with a successor trustee does both for whatever is in the trust, without a court. Every plan we build after a settlement includes all three.

Can I give some of the money to my family?

Usually, yes, with planning. If you have creditors or a claim pending against you, a transfer made to keep money away from them, or a transfer to a relative for less than fair value that leaves you unable to pay your debts, can be unwound later. Gifts above a certain size also carry tax reporting. Generosity is fine. Timing and paperwork matter, so do it deliberately and on paper.

Why this is not a do-it-yourself project

A special needs trust drafted wrong, or funded a day late, can cost the benefits it was meant to protect. A minor's settlement handled without the right court process is not final. A revocable trust bought online and never funded protects nothing and avoids nothing. A power of attorney downloaded from a template may not be accepted by the bank when it matters. And the order of operations, what to sign first, what to title where, before or after the release, is invisible until it goes wrong. When we take on a post-settlement plan we handle all of it: the documents, the funding, the beneficiary changes, the coordination with the injury firm and, where needed, the court. You sign, we do the rest.

What is in the plan, and what does it cost?

Usually a revocable trust with a share held for minor children until an age you choose, a will that names a guardian for those children (see naming a guardian), a durable power of attorney, a health care surrogate, a living will, and a review of every beneficiary designation so the plan and the paperwork say the same thing. If part of the settlement is going into a homestead, an annuity or a retirement account, the plan says so and the titles match. Where family or property abroad is part of the picture, we draft for it; many of our estate planning clients have both. Flat fee, quoted in writing after a free consultation. Most post-settlement plans are signed within three to four weeks. Where a special needs trust or a minor's guardianship is involved, we coordinate with the injury lawyer before the settlement is finalized, because the sequence decides everything. See how our fees work.

By case type

Car, truck and motorcycle accidents. The most common settlement we plan around. Usually a lump sum, sometimes with ongoing treatment. Priorities: incapacity documents first, then the homestead and retirement moves, then the trust.

Slip and fall and premises cases. Often older recipients. The conversation shifts toward long-term care exposure and keeping the recovery from being consumed by a future nursing home stay.

Medical negligence. Larger recoveries, frequently with permanent care needs. Special needs trusts and structured settlements matter more here than anywhere else, and the timing with the settling firm is critical.

Nursing home cases. The recipient is often elderly, or the family after a death. This is really a probate and trust conversation, and the recovery may need to pass through an estate before anyone can plan with it.

Boating, jet ski and cruise passenger injuries. Same planning, different source. Dominic also practices maritime law, which matters when the settlement papers themselves need a second read.

Jones Act, aviation, product liability, workers' compensation. The after-work is identical: protect it, plan for incapacity, keep it in the family.

Wrongful death. The recovery belongs to survivors, often including minor children, and trusts for those children are the heart of the plan. Where the injury firm needs an estate opened before the case can proceed, see our page for referring firms.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do with my settlement money first?

Nothing irreversible for thirty days. Keep the closing statement, keep your health insurance, do not move the money into a joint account or a relative's name, and do not sign a structured settlement buyout. Then meet with a lawyer who does not handle injury cases, so the advice is about the money, not the fee.

Does a revocable trust protect my settlement from creditors in Florida?

No. While you are alive, your creditors can reach what is in a revocable trust just as if you owned it directly. A revocable trust avoids probate and manages the money if you become incapacitated. It is not asset protection.

What assets are protected from creditors in Florida after a settlement?

Your homestead (with acreage limits), qualified retirement accounts and IRAs, the cash value of life insurance, annuity proceeds, and life insurance death benefits paid to a named beneficiary. Cash, brokerage accounts and rental property in your own name are not protected.

I am on Medicaid. Will a settlement end my benefits?

It can, if the money is paid to you directly. A special needs trust, or a pooled trust for smaller amounts or older recipients, holds the settlement without counting it as a resource, provided the state is repaid from what remains at death. The trust must exist before the funds are received.

My child's case settled. Do we need a guardianship?

Above a threshold set by Florida statute, yes: the court must approve the settlement and a guardianship of the child's property is usually required, with a guardian ad litem appointed at a higher threshold. A court-approved trust can sometimes replace the restrictions of a guardianship. The current thresholds are in our explainer article with a link to the statute.

Can I give some of the money to my family?

Usually, with planning. Transfers made to keep money away from an existing creditor, or gifts to relatives that leave you unable to pay your debts, can be unwound. Large gifts also have tax reporting. Do it deliberately and on paper.

Should I take a structured settlement?

Often, for a large recovery, a young person or a minor. Guaranteed annuity payments, protected from creditors under Florida law, remove the risk of spending the money in the first two years. The decision must be made before the settlement is finalized. We give second opinions on proposed structures.

What does the post-settlement plan cost?

A flat fee, quoted in writing after a free consultation. The scope depends on whether a special needs trust, a minor's guardianship or a court-approved trust is involved. We do not publish dollar figures because every plan is quoted on its facts.