What is post-settlement funding, and how much can you get?
Post-settlement funding is a cash advance against a case that has already settled but has not paid out yet, between $500 and $500,000, usually a healthy share of your expected net recovery. It is non-recourse funding: repayment comes from the settlement proceeds when they disburse, there is no credit check, and there are no monthly payments. Because the case is already won, it is typically faster to approve and cheaper than pre-settlement funding, and the file review is simpler.
The common surprise is that anyone needs this at all. You settled; where is the money? The answer is that in most injury cases, weeks or months sit between the handshake and the check that actually reaches you, and the bills in your mailbox do not wait for lien resolution.
$500 to $500,000, advanced against a settled but unpaid case.
Cheaper and faster than pre-settlement funding, because the case is already won.
Non-recourse, no credit check, no monthly payments, nothing reported to bureaus.
Decision usually the same business day; funds in 24 to 48 hours.
Your case settled. Why don't you have the money yet?
A settlement is an agreement, not a payment. Between the agreement and your bank account sits a pipeline, and every stage takes time.
- The release. Nothing moves until you sign the settlement release and your attorney tenders it to the defense. Drafting and negotiating release language can itself take weeks.
- The insurer's check. States put real deadlines on this step. New York generally gives a settling defendant 21 days from receiving your signed release under CPLR 5003-a, with interest owed if they miss it. Florida gives insurers 20 days from a written settlement under Fla. Stat. § 627.4265. Most states have some version of a prompt-payment rule; your attorney knows yours.
- The trust account. Settlement proceeds must be disbursed through your attorney's trust account. We cannot fund a case where the recovery would be paid directly to you.
- Liens. This is where most of the waiting actually lives. Health insurers, hospitals, and especially Medicare and Medicaid have a legal right to repayment from your settlement, and a Medicare final demand can take months to arrive. Your attorney cannot responsibly release your share until the lien numbers are final.
- Court approval, in some cases. Settlements involving minors and most wrongful death settlements need a judge's sign-off before disbursement, which adds its own calendar.
Here is the part almost nobody explains: the prompt-payment statutes get the money to your attorney's trust account fast. They do nothing about how long it sits there while liens resolve. That gap, check received but share not releasable, is exactly the wait post-settlement funding was built to bridge.
What makes a settled case fundable?
- A signed settlement. An agreement or release with a number on it. A verbal "we think it will settle" is still a pre-settlement case.
- An attorney on the file. Funding requires an attorney representing you on a full contingency fee basis who signs an acknowledgment of the funding agreement. We cannot fund without both.
- A clear disbursement path. Proceeds flowing through the attorney's trust account, with your share reasonably estimable after fees, costs, and liens.
- The lien picture. Not resolved, just known well enough to estimate what actually reaches you. Waiting on a Medicare final demand does not disqualify you; it is the classic reason to apply.
- No pending appeal. A settlement being appealed or unwound is a different risk conversation. Tell us up front and we will give you a straight answer.
What does it cost?
Typically 3% per month, simple, charged in three-month periods, and capped: less than pre-settlement funding, because the defining risk is gone. The fee accrues over the short life of the advance and is repaid from your share at disbursement, through the trust account. Two protections hold: your agreement identifies the funding company and states your exact repayment terms before you sign, and the advance is non-recourse, so if the disbursement somehow never comes, repayment comes only from the proceeds that do.
The comparison that matters is not the fee against zero. It is the fee against what the wait costs you: late fees, interest on cards, a car repossessed three weeks before your check clears. The advance is usually the smaller number.
Where does the advance fit in the timeline?
- Settlement reached. You can apply the day the number is agreed. The signed agreement is what turns a pending-case review into a settled-case review.
- Release signed, waiting on the check. Fundable, fast. The statutory payment clocks above are running.
- Check in the trust account, waiting on liens. The most common moment to apply, and usually the fastest approval.
- Court approval pending. Reviewed case by case; regularly fundable with the approval timeline priced in.
Whatever the stage, the mechanics are the same: apply, we confirm the settlement details with your attorney's office, you sign, funds move within 24 to 48 hours.
How is post-settlement funding different from selling a structured settlement?
It is not buying your structured settlement. If your settlement pays you a monthly stream and a company offers to buy those payments for a lump sum, that is structured settlement factoring, a separate transaction that requires court approval under state protection statutes. We do not do that, and you should treat any company that blurs the line carefully. What we advance against is a lump-sum disbursement already owed to you that has not arrived yet.
It is not a payday loan against your check. No employment requirement, no bank account debits, no recourse to you personally. The settlement repays it; you do not.
How long does the Medicare lien actually take?
Longer than the insurer's check, almost every time. Medicare's contractor sends a Conditional Payment Letter within 65 days of its first rights letter, listing what Medicare paid that it ties to your case (CMS, Medicare's Recovery Process). That letter is an estimate, and Medicare keeps adding related payments until the settlement date. Only after your attorney reports the settlement date, the amount and the fees does Medicare issue the final demand.
- The 60-day rule. Once you receive the settlement, Medicare must be reimbursed within 60 days (42 CFR 411.24(h)).
- Interest. If the demand is not paid by the deadline in the letter, interest runs from the demand date and is assessed every 30 days. An Intent to Refer letter goes out at day 90 and the debt heads to the Treasury at day 150 (CMS).
- Small settlements. CMS does not pursue recovery on physical-injury liability settlements of $750 or less (2025 thresholds), and settlements of $10,000 or less can use a fixed percentage option if elected before the demand issues (demand calculation options).
Where the advance fits: the stretch between the settlement and the final demand is the single most common moment people apply. Until the demand arrives, the conditional payment figure is what we use to estimate your net, and your attorney pays Medicare out of the trust account when the demand comes.
Where does settled workers' comp fit, and what else gets a say?
First, the scope. First-party workers' comp funding is available through our funding partners in eight states: FL, GA, IA, LA, MO, NM, OH and TN. Everywhere else we serve, the settled claim we fund is the third-party claim from the work injury, such as a negligent driver or a defective machine, not the comp settlement itself. In the eight states, a comp settlement has two more gates than an ordinary injury settlement. The tribunal: in Florida, a represented worker's lump-sum settlement needs the judge of compensation claims to approve the attorney's fees, and the carrier must pay within 14 days after that order is mailed (Fla. Stat. § 440.20(11)(c)). Medicare: if you are a Medicare beneficiary or expect to be, part of the settlement may be set aside for future injury-related care. Those funds must be spent before Medicare pays for related treatment, and CMS reviews the set-aside when a beneficiary settles for more than $25,000, or enrollment is expected within 30 months and the settlement exceeds $250,000 (CMS, Medicare Set-Aside Arrangements).
For funding, a set-aside is not spendable cash. We size the advance to the part of the settlement that will actually reach you, and cases waiting on the tribunal's order are regularly fundable with that timeline priced in.
Are settlements taxed?
For most injury cases, none. The IRS treats a settlement for personal physical injuries or physical sickness as non-taxable, unless you deducted related medical expenses in an earlier year (IRS Publication 4345). Portions allocated to other things, such as interest or lost wages in a non-injury claim, can be taxable, and your attorney or accountant confirms the allocation. The point for the advance is that on a physical-injury settlement the net your attorney projects is usually the net you keep.
What if you already have funding on the case?
A settled case is the one situation where we will still look at a file another company funded while it was pending. The payoff to the first funder comes out of the same disbursement, we confirm that figure with your attorney, and the advance is sized to what is left. Tell us up front; it changes the math, not the answer.
Common questions
How much can I get on a settled case?
Typically a percentage of your expected net share of the settlement, between $500 and $500,000. Because the case is already won, a settled case usually supports a larger share of its value than a pending one, and the review is simpler: the settlement amount, the liens, and the fee structure tell most of the story.
How fast can I get the money?
Often faster than pre-settlement funding. With the settlement agreement and your attorney's confirmation in hand, decisions usually come the same business day and funds move by wire or overnight check within 24 to 48 hours of signing.
Is post-settlement funding a loan?
No. It is a non-recourse advance repaid from your settlement proceeds when they are disbursed. There is no credit check, no monthly payment, and nothing reported to credit bureaus.
Why is it cheaper than pre-settlement funding?
Pricing follows risk. A pending case can be lost; a settled case has a signed number attached to it. With the outcome uncertainty gone, the funding fee is lower and approval is easier. If you were quoted pre-settlement pricing on a settled case, ask why.
My lawyer says the money is in the trust account waiting on liens. Can I still get an advance?
Yes, that is the single most common post-settlement situation we see. Lien resolution, especially a Medicare final demand, can take months after the check arrives. An advance against your expected balance bridges exactly that wait.
The insurance company still hasn't paid. Is that even legal?
States set real deadlines. In New York, a settling defendant generally must pay within 21 days of receiving your signed release under CPLR 5003-a, with interest and an enterable judgment if they miss it. In Florida, insurers must tender payment within 20 days of a written settlement under Fla. Stat. 627.4265. Ask your attorney what applies in your state; the deadline may already be running.
My settlement needs court approval. Can I still get funding?
Settlements for minors and wrongful death cases often require a judge's approval before anything pays out, which adds weeks or months. These are reviewed case by case; the approval timeline becomes part of the math, but approval-stage cases are regularly fundable.
I have a structured settlement paying me monthly. Can you buy my payments?
No, and it is worth understanding the difference. Selling structured settlement payment streams is a separate, court-approved transaction under state structured settlement protection laws, and it is not what we do. We advance against a pending lump-sum disbursement that has not reached you yet.
Will taking an advance delay my payout?
No. Your attorney signs an acknowledgment, disbursement proceeds exactly as it would have, and the advance is repaid out of your share when the money moves. Nothing about the settlement itself changes.
What documents do I need?
Almost nothing from you. The settlement agreement or release, the disbursement picture, and lien status all come from your attorney's office. Apply, and we handle the document requests directly with your legal team.
Is this legal advice?
No. We are a funding company, not a law firm. Payment deadlines, lien rules, and court approval requirements vary by state and case; your attorney is the authority on yours.
How long does a Medicare final demand take after settlement?
Medicare issues the final demand only after your attorney reports the settlement date, amount and fees, and repayment is due within 60 days of receiving the settlement (42 CFR 411.24). If the demand goes unpaid past its deadline, interest runs from the demand date. The wait before the demand arrives is where most post-settlement delay lives, and it is the most common moment to apply.
Can I get post-settlement funding on a settled workers’ comp case?
In FL, GA, IA, LA, MO, NM, OH and TN, yes. Our funding partners advance on settled first-party comp claims there, and any Medicare set-aside is netted out because it is reserved for future care rather than cash you can spend. In every other state we serve, the settled claim we fund is the third-party claim from the work injury, not the comp settlement itself.
I already have pre-settlement funding from another company. Can you help now that the case settled?
Yes. A settled case is the one situation where we will look at a file another company funded while it was pending. The payoff to the first funder comes out of the same disbursement, we confirm that figure with your attorney, and the advance is sized to what is left.
Will Medicare come after a small settlement?
CMS does not seek recovery on physical-injury liability settlements of $750 or less, and settlements of $10,000 or less can resolve Medicare’s claim through a fixed percentage option if it is elected before the demand issues. Above that, Medicare issues a demand for the related conditional payments, and your attorney handles it from the trust account.
Is my settlement taxable?
For personal physical injuries or physical sickness, the IRS treats the settlement as non-taxable unless you deducted related medical expenses in an earlier year (Publication 4345). Other components, such as interest or wages in a non-injury claim, can be taxable. We are not tax advisors; your attorney or accountant confirms your allocation.
What does post-settlement funding cost?
Typically 3% per month, simple, charged in three-month periods, and capped. On a $10,000 advance at that rate the charge is $900 for each three-month period the advance is outstanding, and charges stop at the cap in your agreement. Your agreement identifies the funding company and states your exact repayment terms before you sign.
Where does this leave things?
A settled case is money you have already won moving at the speed of paperwork. The release, the insurer's statutory clock, the trust account, and the lien queue all serve real purposes, and none of them care that your rent is due this Friday. Post-settlement funding converts a slice of the money you are owed into money you can spend, at the lowest cost in the funding world, because the only risk left is time.
If your case settled and the wait is doing damage, send it in. Settled-case reviews are the fastest we do, and you will usually have a straight answer the same business day.
This guide reflects the law as of September 10, 2026. Payment deadlines and lien rules vary by state and change; Diamondback Funding re-verifies statutory citations quarterly. If you're reading this well after the verification date above, check current status with your attorney.