when a case is settled the lawyer has to resolve any medical/insurance/medicare liens. typically that is done before the paying insurance company releases the check or sometimes it will put the lienholders as payees on the check. medicare liens are a major source of delay between settlement and actual payment. when the check arrives it is necessary for you to sign it. usually the lawyer will have a settlement statement prepared for you to review - it will show what is being paid and to who. the settlement check then gets deposited into the trust account. we wait 5 days for that check to clear before issuing the checks out of the trust account to the client, lienholders and us. most lawyers are very conscious of properly handling a client's money. hope this helps.