Must a guardianship be established for a minor if a lawsuit settlement (car accident) exceeds $4,000?
Question Details:
My daughter was injured in an auto accident in January in OR. Her medical bills reached $6000. We have been offered $4000 for the settlement. The insurance company is claiming that anything over $4000 requires guardianship through a lawyer and they have offered $6000 to if we file for guardianship (and it will take a couple of months). My question is whether or not the facts about guardianship is true. I have been unable to find anything on the internet.
The insurance company is not correct, only settlements in excess of $25,000.00 require guardianship and court approval. The applicable statute is ORS 126.725. You need to follow all of the requirements listed in the statute, but the basic requirement is that you need to set up a federally insured savings account in the sole name of the minor with notice of the deposit to the
minor. The account needs to be locked until the child turns 18 and you need to sign an affidavit attesting that the minor will be fully compensated by the settlement.
