How can we get the money from the lawsuit that we've won?

Who went bankrupt? Funds for a minor's settlement are supposed to put in a blocked account at a Federally insured bank. You can index your name at the court and get a case number and track it down in the court file.

You could sue whoever got the money and hope that they can pay it back. You really need to talk with a local attorney and go over all of the details to see what your remedies might be.

File a complaint with the bar association and they will investigate it for you. You may have to sue the attorney who handled the estate. Most attorneys carry malpractice insurance, so even if he had insurance years ago, his insurance company should be liable under the policy.

If you were to receive money in the future, in other words, upon becoming adults, that is typically called a "structured settlement." What happens is that the insurance company purchases an annuity from a life insurance company. The future payments are not exactly guaranteed, but usually the lawyer would insist that the insurance company be rated A+ or better by Best Company. Find out which insurance company sold the annuity and find out if it was a highly rated company. If it was NOT, then you may want to talk to a lawyer about a legal malpractice case against the lawyers who represented you.

The money should have been deposited in a bank account from which money could only be withdrawn with a court order. If both attorneys placed the money in their own pocket, they are guilty of malpractice, fraud, and theft.? That one filed for bankruptcy is irrelevant since it was not his asset. Ask your parents what happened. Send the attorneys a written demand for your money back and a detailed explanation of how they got in possession of your money. Contact the insurance company involved and see what they are willing to do; that is why they are the ones who often ask for a so called minor's compromise. Then you should report them to the State bar and DA. Do not threaten to do so unless you are paid because that would be extortion.? The problem you are going to have is statute of limitation, but in California I believe it is 6 years.

See an attorney. There are no excuses.

Usually when payments for a minor are deferred until they reach their age of majority an annuity (insurance contract) was purchased which will provide the future benefits. The lawyers bankruptcy should have nothing to do with the payments; however, if the insurer went bankrupt, then that's a different story. You need to get a copy of the Settlement Agreement/Release and any annuity to see who was to pay what and when. Then you need to check with the State Insurance Commissioner and/or the Bankruptcy Court to see if the insurer is in business or bankrupt. Even if bankrupt there can be assets which are available for distribution to claimants and/or State or Federal Funds that step in to pay claimants in the event of an insurers bankruptcy. So you need to have your old lawyers do some homework for you to determine exactly what happened, what can be done and to let you know the situation. If your lawyers won't help, you can file a Grievance against them for not completing your matter and/or hire other counsel to get to the bottom of the matter.

What was supposed to happen was that the settlement proceeds were to have been put into a trust account that reverts to you and your sister upon reaching the age of majority. So, you need to get a copy of the court order approving the settlement. That will recite the name of the bank at which the trust was to be held. You can then take a copy of that order to the bank and that will reveal what happened with that account.

You should get a copy of any order or judgment, or the case number and court where the judgment was entered; then call us or any attorney to determine what the judgment is and then; is the defendant(s) collectible?