How much does pre-settlement funding cost?
No upfront fees and no monthly payments. Pricing is simple, non-compounding on most options, and most agreements cap the total you can ever owe. Before you sign, you see the exact payoff at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months in writing. One application reaches Diamondback and its funding partners, so you get the strongest terms your case qualifies for. If your case is lost, you owe nothing.
That is the whole answer, and it is deliberately not a single number. Pre-settlement funding is priced case by case, because the funding company is buying a piece of an outcome nobody can guarantee. A rear-end collision with a police report, a treating surgeon and a commercial insurance policy behind the defendant is priced very differently from a disputed-liability fall with a gap in treatment. The stronger and clearer the case, the better the terms it qualifies for. What does not change from case to case is the structure: nothing out of pocket, nothing monthly, a written payoff schedule before you sign, and nothing owed if the case is lost.
No application fee, no upfront charges, no monthly payments while the case is pending.
Simple, non-compounding pricing on most options; most agreements cap the total you can ever owe.
The exact payoff at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months, in writing, before you sign.
Non-recourse: if the case is lost, the advance is yours to keep and nothing is repaid.
Funding is provided by Diamondback Funding or one of its funding partners. Your agreement identifies the funding company and states your exact repayment terms before you sign. Those two sentences are on every page of this site for a reason: the number that matters is the one in your agreement, and you will have it in hand before any money moves.
How much does post-settlement funding cost?
Settled cases are the lowest-cost funding we arrange: typically 3% per month, simple, charged in three-month periods, and capped. The case is already won, so the only risk left is time, and the price reflects that.
Here is what "simple, in three-month periods" means with real numbers. On a $10,000 advance at the typical settled-case rate, the charge is $300 a month, billed as $900 for each three-month period the advance is outstanding. Your agreement's own schedule controls, and charges stop at its cap.
| Advance outstanding for | Charges on a $10,000 advance | Total repaid |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 3 months | $900 | $10,900 |
| Up to 6 months | $1,800 | $11,800 |
| Up to 9 months | $2,700 | $12,700 |
| Up to 12 months | $3,600 | $13,600 |
Illustration at the typical settled-case rate of 3% per month, simple, charged in three-month periods. Your agreement states the exact schedule and the cap that applies to you.
Most settled cases pay out within a few months of the release, so most post-settlement advances live in the first one or two rows of that table. The waits that run longer usually involve a Medicare or Medicaid lien, a court approval, or a probate step, and our post-settlement funding guide walks through each of those clocks. If you have signed a release and are waiting on the check, the post-settlement funding page is where to start.
What does "capped" mean, and why does it matter more than the rate?
A cap is a ceiling written into the agreement: the most you can ever owe, no matter how long the case takes. Once charges reach the cap, they stop, even if the case runs another year. Most of the agreements we arrange carry one, and on settled cases every agreement we arrange does.
The cap matters more than the monthly rate because cases do not resolve on a schedule. A case that looks like a six-month case can turn into a two-year case when a defendant appeals, an insurer changes adjusters, or a court's calendar slips. A low rate with no ceiling can cost more over a long case than a slightly higher rate with a cap. When you compare offers, ask two questions in this order: is there a cap, and what is the payoff at 12 and 24 months? The answers tell you more than the headline rate does.
New York and California now write a ceiling into the law itself. In New York, charges cannot exceed 25% of the gross proceeds of your claim on top of the funded amount. In California, charges cannot accrue for more than 36 months from the funding date. Both are covered below with the statute text.
What will you owe at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months?
Exactly what your agreement says at each of those points, and you will see those figures in writing before you sign. Every agreement we arrange sets out the payoff by time period from the funding date, so the amount repaid depends on when the case resolves, not on how much it resolves for. If your case settles in month nine, you look at the 12-month line and pay no more than that. If it settles in month two, you pay the first period's charge and nothing further.
This is also how the law now requires it to work in the two largest states we fund. California's Consumer Legal Funding Act says the contracted amount must be a predetermined amount based on intervals of time from the funding date, and may not be a percentage of the recovery. New York's litigation funding law requires the contract to carry a payment schedule showing what the consumer will pay in charges under different hypothetical resolutions. A schedule you can read before signing is not a courtesy in those states; it is the statute.
One practical point: the payoff schedule is repaid from your share of the settlement, through your attorney's trust account, at the same time your attorney takes fees and pays medical liens. 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. That is what makes the non-recourse promise enforceable, and it is why the attorney acknowledgment is part of every agreement.
What is simple, non-compounding pricing, and does every option have it?
Simple pricing means the charge is calculated on the funded amount only. It never gets calculated on charges that already accrued. Non-compounding is the same idea from the other direction: the balance does not feed on itself. On a $10,000 advance with a simple monthly charge, month twelve costs the same as month one.
Most of the options we arrange are priced this way, and stronger cases qualify for them. Some funding companies we work with price on a set schedule instead. When that is the option your case qualifies for, that schedule is written into your agreement, so you know which structure applies before any money moves. Either way, the four numbers that matter (the payoff at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months) are on the page in front of you before you sign, and you can compare them line by line against any other offer.
Are there upfront fees, monthly payments or credit checks?
No, no and no. Applying is free, approval is free, and nothing is deducted before your funds are sent. Nothing is owed while your case is pending; repayment happens once, out of settlement proceeds, handled through your attorney. And we never run a credit check, so applying has zero impact on your credit score. The decision is made on the case: liability, documented injuries, insurance coverage, and the attorney handling it.
If a funding company asks for a processing fee, an application fee, or a payment before the case resolves, that is the signal to walk away. Every dollar of cost belongs inside the agreement you review before signing, with the exact repayment disclosed in writing.
What happens to the cost if you lose?
It disappears with the case. Funding is non-recourse: repayment comes only from your settlement or judgment. If there is no recovery, you keep the advance and owe nothing, not the funded amount and not the charges. The one exception, standard across the industry and written into state funding laws, is fraud or material misrepresentation in connection with the application or the claim, which voids the non-recourse protection.
This is the reason funding is priced the way it is. The funding company takes the loss on every case that fails and is repaid only on the ones that succeed. A bank loan carries no such risk, which is why comparing a funding fee to a loan rate misses the point. The honest comparison is the fee against what the wait would cost you: late fees, card interest, a settlement taken early because rent was due. The advance is usually the smaller number.
How does one application get you the strongest terms?
Because one application reaches Diamondback and its funding partners, and your case is matched to the best terms it qualifies for. You do not fill out five forms with five companies and try to compare five different sets of paperwork. You send in one application, your attorney's office sends the case information once, and the funding option that offers the strongest terms for your specific file is the one that comes back.
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. Your attorney's acknowledgment is what lets the case information move, and it is also what protects you: your attorney reviews the agreement with you, confirms the repayment terms, and handles the payoff at disbursement so nothing is owed out of pocket.
Not sure which terms your case qualifies for? Apply or call (917) 267-8368 and we will tell you plainly, usually the same business day.
What do New York and California law now say about funding charges?
Two of the largest states we fund put consumer legal funding on a statutory footing in the past year, and both laws are about the exact things this page covers: written schedules, ceilings on charges, and the right to change your mind.
New York. Financial Services Law article 10, effective June 17, 2026, applies to New York residents whose claims are filed in a New York state or federal court. A litigation funding company may not require a consumer to pay charges that exceed 25% of the gross proceeds of the claim plus the funded amount (FSL 1003(k)). The contract must give you ten business days after the funding date to cancel by returning the funded amount, and no prepayment penalty may be charged (FSL 1002). Charges are payable only when the resolution of the claim is final, appeals are done, and the proceeds have reached your attorney (FSL 1004). Funding companies must register with the Department of Financial Services starting February 2027.
California. The Consumer Legal Funding Act, Business and Professions Code sections 6250 to 6256, took effect January 1, 2026 and applies to California residents with a pending legal claim. Charges cannot accrue for more than 36 months from the funding date (BPC 6250(a)). The contracted amount must be a predetermined figure based on intervals of time, never a percentage of the recovery (BPC 6253). You have five business days after the funding date to cancel by returning the funds, the contract must state the maximum amount you may be obligated to pay, and no prepayment penalty is allowed (BPC 6251).
Elsewhere. Florida, New Jersey, Arizona and Georgia have no statute that sets a price on consumer legal funding as of this writing. Florida's bills died in 2025 and again in March 2026; Arizona's 2025 litigation financing chapter excludes advances made to an injured person for personal and family use; Georgia now registers litigation financiers with its Department of Banking and Finance (effective January 1, 2026) without setting a rate. In those states the agreement is the whole story, which is exactly why the payoff schedule is in writing before you sign, wherever you live.
Verified against the statute text published by the New York State Senate and the California Legislative Information site, and the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, as of September 22, 2026. Laws change; your attorney confirms how they apply to you.
What should you ask any funding company before you sign?
Five questions, and the answers should come back in writing, not on the phone.
- Is there a cap, and what is it? If the answer is no, ask what the payoff looks like at 24 and 36 months and decide whether you can live with it.
- Is the pricing simple and non-compounding? A simple charge is easy to check with a calculator. Anything else needs the full schedule in front of you.
- What is the exact payoff at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months? Four numbers. If a company cannot show you that before you sign, that is the signal to walk away.
- Are there any fees outside the schedule? Origination, processing, wire, "administrative": every one of them belongs on the disclosure page, or it does not exist.
- What happens if I lose? The only acceptable answer is that you owe nothing.
Ask us those five and you will get the same answers this page gives. Ask anyone else the same five and you will know within a minute whether you are talking to the right people.
Common questions
How much does pre-settlement funding cost?
No upfront fees and no monthly payments. Pricing is simple, non-compounding on most options, and most agreements cap the total you can ever owe. Before you sign, you see the exact payoff at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months in writing. One application reaches Diamondback and its funding partners, so you get the strongest terms your case qualifies for. If your case is lost, you owe nothing.
How much does post-settlement funding cost?
Settled cases are the lowest-cost funding we arrange: typically 3% per month, simple, charged in three-month periods, and capped, because the only risk left is time. Your agreement identifies the funding company and states your exact repayment terms before you sign.
Is the cost a percentage of my settlement?
No. The payoff is a predetermined amount that depends on how long the advance is outstanding, set out by time period in your agreement. It does not rise or fall with the size of your settlement. California law requires it to work this way, and every agreement we arrange does.
Does the cost keep growing forever?
On most of the options we arrange, no: charges stop at the cap written into your agreement. In California, charges cannot accrue for more than 36 months from the funding date by statute. In New York, charges cannot exceed 25% of the gross proceeds of your claim on top of the funded amount.
Can I pay it off early?
Yes. You pay the amount shown for the period in which the case resolves, and nothing for periods that never arrive. New York and California both prohibit prepayment penalties on consumer legal funding, and the agreements we arrange do not carry one.
Are there any upfront fees or hidden costs?
No. Applying is free, approval is free, and nothing is deducted before your funds are sent. Every dollar of cost lives in the funding agreement you review before signing, with the exact repayment disclosed in writing. If a funding company can't show you that number up front, that's the signal to walk away.
What happens if I lose my case?
You owe nothing. Our funding is non-recourse: repayment comes only from your settlement or judgment. The one exception, standard across the industry and required by state funding laws, is fraud or material misrepresentation in connection with your application or claim, which voids the non-recourse protection.
Will the exact number be in writing before I sign?
Always. Your agreement identifies the funding company and states your exact repayment terms before you sign, including the payoff at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months. Your attorney reviews it with you, and New York and California law now require that schedule in the contract itself.
Where this leaves things
Cost is the question people are most nervous to ask, so here it is answered without a sales pitch: nothing upfront, nothing monthly, simple pricing on most options, a cap on most agreements, the payoff schedule in writing before you sign, and nothing owed if you lose. Settled cases run at typically 3% per month, simple, in three-month periods, capped. Everything else depends on your case, and the only way to know what your case qualifies for is to let us look at it.
This page reflects the funding options Diamondback arranges and the law as of September 22, 2026. Statutes change; Diamondback Funding re-verifies citations quarterly. If you are reading this well after the date above, check current status with your attorney.