Stage a Case Where Part of the Settlement Was Paid Directly to a Third Party

Soluno Integration: Was part of your total settlement amount paid directly to a third-party like Medicare? Follow the steps below for best practices on staging the client trust for disbursement.

Steps IF your trust was deposited into CASEpeer based on an accepted settlement offer

1. The settlement amount will stay as the full amount agreed to by the attorney. This will allow you to stage the fee directly off of the full accepted offer.
2. The accountant will mark the check as Deposited with a comment in the notes field detailing the exact amount deposited into the trust.
3. Enter the amount paid directly to the third-party into the final payment box on the line item on the Negotiations section of the Settlement Tab, and accept it. Record the amount for the case and client's records.
4. Click on Stage Payment and enter DO NOT DISTRIBUTE - PAID DIRECT or a similar message, so the accountant knows not to prepare a check for the third-party.
5. Stage all the fees and third-party payments coming out of the trust. You may use the Push to Client Trust button, but only after Step 3 has been completed above.
6. The Push to Client Trust button will prepare the final check for the client for the remainder of the trust. The trust balance should be $0.00 before you transfer the case to your accountant for distribution.

Steps IF your trust balance was IMPORTED into CASEpeer

1. Enter the amount paid directly to the third-party into the final payment box on the line item on the negotiations section of the Settlement Tab, and accept it. You want to record the amount for the case and the client's record, but you will NOT stage a payment in the client's trust for the amount.
2. Stage all the fees using the Stage Fees button on the Negotiations section of the Client Trust Tab. This button is used ONLY for instances where you have an imported trust balance.
3. Stage all third-party payments coming out of the trust individually. Do NOT use the Push to Client Trust button. If you do, it will stage payments for the third-party that was paid separately.
4. When all the fees, costs, and third-party payments have been staged to the client trust, go to the client trust section of the Settlement Tab, and take note of what is remaining in the trust. This should be the final check to the client.
5. Click the Client Advance button and enter that amount. The trust balance should be $0.00 before you transfer the case to your accountant for distribution.

Read more:

How to Distribute a Case Where Part of the Settlement Was Paid Directly to a Third Party

How to Stage a Final Client Check for a Minor or Other Conservatorship