A settlement offer and the amount you may receive are different numbers. Before deciding what an offer means for you, ask for a written calculation showing the proposed payment, fees, expenses, amounts that may need to be repaid and any unresolved items.

The worksheet should make the calculation understandable. It should also make uncertainty visible: an estimated balance should not look like a confirmed deduction, and the same expense should not be counted twice.

Start with what the offer actually covers

Record the offer date, payer, amount and any stated response date. Identify whether it concerns vehicle damage, an injury claim, one insurance policy or several claims. Keep the proposed release with the worksheet so you can review what would end and what would remain open.

A property-damage payment should not silently become part of an injury-settlement calculation. Likewise, a previous payment needs an explanation of how it affects the current offer, rather than an unexplained addition or subtraction.

Use the fee agreement for the calculation

North Carolina State Bar Rule 1.5 requires a signed written contingent-fee agreement that explains the calculation, including whether expenses are deducted before or after the fee. It also addresses a written closing statement showing the client’s recovery and how it was determined.

Use your actual agreement. Check the applicable stage of the case, any different percentage for trial or appeal, and which expenses you are responsible for. Ask for the arithmetic if a fee or expense entry is unclear.

Give every proposed deduction a source and a status

  • Legal fee: agreement provision and calculation.
  • Case expenses: itemized charges, invoices or other support, including credits and refunds.
  • Medical balances: current provider statements showing payments and adjustments.
  • Repayment or lien claims: who asserts the claim, its basis, the amount and whether it is confirmed, disputed or still being reviewed.
  • Other adjustments: any applicable allocation, previous payment or other item, with an explanation.

These categories help organize questions; they do not establish that every claimed amount is legally payable from the settlement. A provider balance, a health-plan reimbursement claim and a workers’ compensation interest can involve different rules. Ask which amounts actually apply before treating them as final.

A simple arithmetic example

Suppose a purely hypothetical worksheet lists a $10,000 payment, a $3,000 legal fee calculated under the agreement, $500 in verified case expenses and $1,500 in confirmed amounts to be paid from the proceeds. With no other adjustments, the estimated distribution would be $5,000.

Those figures illustrate subtraction only. They are not a standard fee, a prediction of case value or an assumption about which debts must be paid. If the $1,500 remains disputed, label the distribution provisional and show how it would change when that issue is resolved.

Give the worksheet a date and retain earlier versions. That makes it easier to understand why a later calculation differs.

Check for duplicate deductions

The same treatment may appear on a bill, an insurance explanation and a repayment notice. Compare the service dates, account numbers, payments and adjustments before listing separate deductions. Ask about an entry that seems to cover an amount already included elsewhere.

Also distinguish amounts already paid, amounts that would be paid from this settlement and expenses that remain unresolved. A large original bill is not necessarily the current balance.

Review the decision as well as the number

North Carolina State Bar Rule 1.4 addresses communication needed for informed decisions. Ask about the offer’s conditions, release, alternatives and remaining uncertainties alongside the estimated distribution.

The related settlement-readiness guide covers the broader information to review before resolving a claim. Rosensteel Fleishman Car Accident & Injury Lawyers provides information about evaluating a Charlotte car-accident settlement. A clear worksheet should help you ask informed questions, without promising a final payment before the relevant amounts and terms are confirmed.