Personal Injury Settlement Consulting

Shalloway & Shalloway, P.A. has the expertise to augment personal injury settlements or awards whether settlement has been reached in the recent past or is imminent in the near future.

We are a law firm that specializes in a unique brand of estate planning. Our firm is proficient in Special Needs, Medical Coverage, Medicare Set-Aside Arrangement (MSA), Settlement Preservation Trusts, Guardianship, Probate, Long Term Care Planning, Qualified Settlement Funds, and Public Benefits, making us the premier partner for personal injury attorneys.

Successful settlement is imperative in the recovery process for your client. Let our 35 years of collective legal experience provide you with confidence in the management of your client’s settlement property, while protecting your practice in the process.

We invite you to read about our services, staff, and fill out one or more of the questionnaires listed below.

You Fight to Protect Others. Who’s Protecting You?

In navigating personal injury cases, there are many considerations that need to be addressed both before and after settlement is reached. All too often, personal injury attorneys discover this caveat by way of lawsuit at the hands of the very clients they worked so hard to protect. Consider the following:

In 2004, a plaintiff’s attorney and the guardian ad litem in the same case paid 4.1 million in a malpractice settlement for failure to establish an appropriate trust. Grillo v. Henry, 96th Dist. Ct., Tarrant Co. (Tex.), Cause No. 96-167943-97, and Grillo V. Pettiette, et al., 96th Dist. Ct., Tarrant Co., Cause No. 96-145090-92.

The attorneys at Shalloway & Shalloway, P.A. can help your firm avoid this disastrous outcome through various services such as preparing trusts, compromising potential claims or liens, and consulting on the victim’s potential need. In making these collaborative arrangements, a personal injury attorney can successfully safeguard themselves while providing a better outcome for their client.

Public Benefits

A special needs trust (SNT) will allow an injured or otherwise disabled person to continue to collect public benefits following a settlement. A Medicare Set-Aside arrangement protects the Medicare eligibility of a disabled or injured person. Retention of public benefits following settlement in a personal injury case is absolutely crucial. When recipients of settlement funds receive their assets, their entitlements to public resources such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, or Medicare may be reduced or lost. Our firm has extensive experience surrounding the rules and regulations imposed on both special needs trusts and MSAs, which will help you achieve ideal results for your clients.

A Partner You Can Trust

The staff at Shalloway & Shalloway, P.A. are versatile and diverse. We are comprised of industry leading attorneys and paralegals who have experience on both sides of the Governmental entities that regulate public benefits. Below, we spotlight two members of our staff as an example of our resources.

As a member of the Special Needs Alliance, G. Mark Shalloway concentrates his practice on Special Needs Trusts. Mr. Shalloway authors the Medicaid and Special Needs Trusts chapters of Planning for the Elderly in Florida published by LexisNexis, and is a Past-President of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. He is a consultant or co-counsel for Plaintiffs’ and Defendants’ lawyers, carriers and third-party administrators regarding tort settlements and recoveries. He also consults and testifies for Estate Planning and Family Law attorneys. These parties have found the use of special needs trusts as a powerful strategic solution to avoid malpractice and to overcome settlement impasse. Curiously, the recognized specialty area of “Elder Law” has always required attorney fluency in the area of Public Benefits (Medicaid, Medicare) including special needs trusts, which persons with disabilities use to ensure Medicaid pays for future catastrophic medical costs and attendant or custodial care costs not covered by Medicare.

For a complete list of staff, awards and accolades, please visit the “Attorneys and Staff” section of our website.

The Shalloway & Shalloway Value Package

Co-Counsel Regarding Settlement:

• Provide assistance with securing medical insurance.
• Advisement as to whether a Settlement Preservation Trust is needed.
• We’ll determine if public benefits are available.
• Recommendations of an appropriate trustee.
• We’ll advise whether a MSA is required.
• We’ll advise as to whether a special needs trust is appropriate.
• Provide assistance with Medicaid applications.
• We’ll determine what items should be paid for directly from settlement and what should be paid from trust.

Drafting of Trusts and Filings:

• We’ll file with all government agencies.
• We’ll draft the “Brief” regarding the Court’s authority to create a special needs trust.
• Assistance drafting the “Pleadings” in order to create a special needs trust.
• Guidance in preparing the “Order” authorizing the establishment of a SNT.

Client Counseling:

• Conference with disabled person, family members, trustee, the beneficiary and their family explaining the mechanics of the trust and the operation thereof.
• Assist with budgeting and fixing payment responsibility.
• Memo to trustee of SNT outlining his or her duties.

For more info, or to speak with an attorney please call (561) 686-6200 or complete one or more of the forms listed below:

• Does my client need a Special Needs Trust?
• Have I taken all of the necessary steps to protect my client and my practice?
• Is a Medicare Set-Aside Arrangement (MSA) required?
• Special Needs Trust Pre-Consult Questionnaire