Going to court is never a fun or easy thing for the parties involved. In most cases, you’re there because you’ve been involved in an accident, experienced a hardship, or been through some sort of tragedy. There’s a sense of relief when it’s over and the settlements have been finalized, but believe it or not, that’s just the beginning of your journey. You’ve received your settlement – now what?
There are many things that go into planning for what’s next. At Krilogy, we collaborate with a network of legal and tax professionals to help create that plan, and help to ensure you have an income stream that will last for the long-term. The process involves:
- Examination of Expenses … we start by examining all of the expenses related to the injury or hardship that was at the root of the case, calculating everything from medical and legal bills to special expenses you may not have had prior to the event. We then measure that against the amount of the settlement to determine your net payout.
- Tax Calculations … depending on the nature of the injury or hardship and the type of settlement, your settlement may or may not be subject to a variety of taxes. For example, if your settlement is for a personal injury and you did not take an itemized deduction for medical expenses related to that injury in prior years, the full settlement amount is non-taxable. There are different tax rules, however, if you did take an itemized deduction for those expenses. Regardless, Krilogy will coordinate with a CPA to determine what taxes you may owe and what you’ll actually take home.
- Ongoing Financial Plan … based on the final, after-tax amount of your settlement and what ongoing expenses you’ll have, our goal is to help make your money last. We’ve all seen cases of large settlement winners whose money is gone in a year – we don’t want that to be you. We’ll create a detailed plan that takes all of your expenses into account, as well as a consideration of how your life and expenses may change over time as a result of your injury, then calculate scenarios to show you how to maximize the longevity of your income.
Receiving a large sum of money, as is typically the case with a legal settlement, can seem overwhelming. The good news is you don’t have to manage it alone. Krilogy and our network of partners can help give you the unbiased information you need to make educated decisions and avoid finding yourself in financial distress, and help you live your best possible life.
