We Don’t Structure Settlements. We Architect Them.
SETTLEMENT ARCHITECTURE
Who Architects
What Comes After?
A settlement satisfies a demand. It does not preserve benefits, shelter the money from taxes, or protect the client when the file closes. That takes a legal strategy across three areas — designed before mediation starts.
- $600M FLINT WATER CASE — SPECIAL ASSISTANT AG
- Co-Strategist OF THE CONDITIONAL QSF™
- FELLOW, ACADEMY OF COURT-APPOINTED NEUTRALS
- 50+ MINORS PROTECTED — HAWTHORN MATTER
THE STRATEGY GAP
A settlement check can disqualify your client from Medicaid within 30 days.
That’s not a legal risk. It’s a mathematical certainty — unless the settlement is architected before the check is cut.
Benefits are one area. Taxes are another. Trust administration is a third. Every settlement of meaningful size crosses all three — and the financial product model addresses, at best, one. Your broker handles the structured settlement. These three questions are about everything else:
01
“Who’s protecting my client’s benefits when the check hits?”
02
“Am I getting all the tax protection, or just some of it?”
03
“Who’s watching the money after my broker moves on?”
These are three questions your broker has never been asked.
THE THREE AREAS
Three areas. One strategy. Before the check is cut.
AREA 1
Your client can win the case and lose their benefits the same month.
A settlement check can disqualify your client from Medicaid, SSI, and federal benefits within days. That’snot a legal risk — it’s a mathematical certainty, unless the settlement is architected before the check is cut.
Benefits Preservation
AREA 2
A structured settlement shelters some of the money. A legal strategy protectsit all.
Strategic Structures
AREA 3
The case you closed two years ago can become your problem tomorrow.
Your broker closes the deal and moves on. If nobody architects the trust — who’s watching the money in five years? A settlement without trust architecture isn’t a closed file. It’s a liability with your name on it.
Trust Administration
Miss one and the protection fails.
Let's look at your next case and show you what a strategy across all three areas looks like.
One attorney designed the process that protected 10,000 people in the Flint Water Case. Here’s who she is.
YOUR CO-COUNSEL
Settlement Architecture isn’t a service.
It’s a methodology.
Authority
Michele Fuller is the founder of The Architected Settlement Law Group and the creator of Settlement Architecture — a methodology that designs settlements across benefits, legal tax structures, and trusts before mediation starts.
She served as Special Assistant Attorney General for the $600 million Flint Water Case, where she designed the settlement process for 50+ minors with complex needs. She is the creator of the Conditional QSF™ — a proprietary legal instrument that allows settlement architecture to begin before the deal closes.
Experience
Co-counsel in the $13 million Hawthorn class action matter. Fellow of the Academy of Court-Appointed Neutrals. Recognized by Super Lawyers since 2018. 2018 Unsung Hero Award from the State Bar of Michigan.
“I know what it’s like to be in the room when everything is on the line. I’ve seen what happens when the settlement isn’t architected. That’s why I do this work — not as a consultant, but as co-counsel. Your client’s outcome is my responsibility too.”
Here’s what a Strategy Session looks like.
HOW IT WORKS
How Settlement Architecture Works
01
Preserve Benefits
We analyze your client’s benefits landscape and architect the settlement so their win doesn’t trigger disqualification from Medicaid, SSI, or federal programs.
02
Design the Legal Structure
03
Administer the Trust
We provide ongoing trust administration and oversight so the money is protected, the file stays closed, and the client stays protected for life.
Attorneys who architect settlements report a different outcome.
HOW IT WORKS
Trusted by trial attorneys across the country.
“Michele’s expansive probate law expertise makes it possible for plaintiff’s litigators to strategize for catastrophically incapacitated plaintiffs well before any settlement number is reached, which in fact, is the way it should be done.”
Lead Attorney, Eardley Law
Rockford, MI
“Michele is an amazing attorney, a true expert in her practice area, and she leads a terrific team. She is my go-to attorney for special needs planning, asset preservation, and settlement planning.”
Managing Partner
Kainen Law Group, PLLC
“If you are looking for a top-tier attorney to protect your assets, navigate probate, or assist with a personal injury settlement, I highly recommend Michele Fuller.”
Disability Attorney
St. Petersburg, FL
THE OUTCOME
Two settlements. Same case.
Different architecture.
Without Settlement Architecture
- Benefits lost within days of the settlement check
- Tax exposure that could have been eliminated
- Trust mismanagement with no fiduciary oversight
- The settlement you closed two years ago becomes your problem tomorrow
- Not a closed file — a liability with your name on it
With Settlement Architecture
- Every settlement architected across all three areas
- Clients protected for life
- Files that stay closed
- Never worry about post-settlement backlash
- The attorney who doesn't just win the case — they architect the outcome
Your client’s next settlement deserves a strategy.
FREE RESOURCE
The framework that’s changing how trial attorneys think about settlements.
A big check isn’t a win if the client is broke in one, three,or five years.
Your client’s next settlement deserves a strategy.
Let's look at your next case together.
COMMON QUESTIONS
Questions attorneys ask.
How is Settlement Architecture different from what my structured settlement broker does?
A structured settlement broker sells one financial product — a structured settlement annuity — and is compensated by insurance company commissions. Settlement Architecture is a legal strategy across three practice areas: benefits preservation, strategic structures, and trust administration. Michele operates as co-counsel with a fiduciary duty to your client. The broker handles one piece. Michele architects all three.
When should I bring Michele into a case?
Before mediation. Settlement Architecture is designed before the first dollar moves. The earlier Michele is involved, the more instruments are available and the stronger the protection. The Conditional QSF™ allows the settlement strategy to be established during negotiations.
What happens to my client's government benefits after a settlement?
Without proper architecture, a settlement check can disqualify your client from Medicaid, SSI, and federal benefits within days. Benefits Preservation is the first of three areas Michele addresses to ensure the client’s win doesn’t become a loss.
Does Michele replace my structured settlement broker?
Michele provides the legal strategy that determines which instruments are deployed and how they work together. If a structured settlement annuity is part of the strategy, a broker may still be involved — but the architecture comes first. Legal instruments deployed as fiduciary strategy, not products to sell.
What is the Conditional QSF™?
A Qualified Settlement Fund (QSF), or 468B trust, is a court-approved, tax-qualified account used to hold litigation proceeds. It allows defendants to pay funds immediately to get a full release of liability while giving plaintiffs time to resolve liens, calculate taxes, and structure payments. QSFs are commonly used in class actions, personal injury, and environmental cases.
Key Aspects of Qualified Settlement Funds
Definition & Purpose: Regulated by IRC §1.468(b), a QSF is a trust or account designed to manage settlement proceeds from legal disputes. It acts as an intermediary, holding money between the defendant’s payment and the final distribution to plaintiffs.
- Mass tort litigation
- Class-action lawsuits
- Product liability or pharmaceutical cases
- Environmental or personal injury cases
They are generally not used for worker’s compensation, debt, or bankruptcy, according to the Eastern Point Trust Company.
45200 Card Road Suite 108
Macomb, MI 48044
586-331-3175
strategy@architectedsettlement.com
- The Three Areas
- About Michele Fuller
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- Settlement Intelligence
- FAQ
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