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A California Judge Must Approve Any Settlement of a Child's Injury Claim
In California, a settlement of a child's injury claim is not final until a superior court judge approves it.
The approval is called a minor's compromise, and it runs through Code of Civil Procedure § 372 when a lawsuit is pending, or Probate Code § 3500 when it is not.
The petition, usually on Judicial Council form MC-350, tells the judge how the injury happened, what treatment it took, and how the money will be divided.
The judge sets the lawyer's fee under a reasonable-fee standard and does not have to award the percentage in the agreement.
Most of the money then stays protected until your child turns 18, in a blocked account, an annuity, or a trust.
If an insurer has offered to settle your child's claim, call (888) 713-6653 with questions before anything is signed.
Who Files the Petition Under CCP § 372 or Probate Code § 3500
If a lawsuit has been filed, a guardian ad litem appointed by the court, usually a parent, represents the child and can settle only "with the approval of the court in which the action or proceeding is pending."[1]
If no lawsuit has been filed, Probate Code § 3500 lets a parent settle the child's claim, either parent if they live together or the parent with custody if they live apart. The settlement is "valid only after it has been approved" on a petition to the superior court in the county where the child lives or where a lawsuit could have been brought.[2] When the court orders the money into a blocked account or annuity, the release does not take effect until the money is deposited.
An insurer will not pay a child's claim on a parent's signature alone, because without the court's approval the release does not bind the child. Children's claims come from every kind of injury, from car crashes to dog attacks on young children, and each one that settles ends in the same courtroom step.
The approval protects your child, and it also gives the family a judge's review of whether the number is fair before the claim is closed for good.
What the MC-350 Petition and Rule 7.951 Disclose to the Judge
California Rule of Court 7.950 requires a verified petition with "a full disclosure of all information that has any bearing upon the reasonableness of the compromise."[3] In practice that means:
- How the injury happened and who is responsible
- The treatment and prognosis, supported by medical records or a doctor's report, including whether your child has fully recovered
- The settlement and every source of payment, with the insurance limits involved
- Medical bills and liens, including notice to Medi-Cal within 30 days of filing when Medi-Cal paid for care, under Welfare and Institutions Code § 14124.73
- The attorney's fee and costs requested
- Where the remaining money will go until your child turns 18
Rule 7.951 adds disclosures about the lawyer: the attorney's name and bar number, whether the attorney became involved at the request of a defendant or an insurer, whether the attorney represents anyone else in the case, and the terms of the fee agreement.
A petition that leaves something out can be continued to another date, and the payment waits with it.
Where Your Child's Money Goes Under Probate Code § 3611
After the court-approved expenses, medical costs, and attorney's fees are paid under Probate Code § 3601, the balance is handled through one or more of nine options the court can order.[4]
| Option | How it works |
|---|---|
| Blocked account or annuity (§ 3611(b)) | An insured account at a California financial institution, or a single-premium deferred annuity, with withdrawals "only upon the authorization of the court" |
| Guardianship of the estate (§ 3611(a)) | A court-supervised guardian receives and manages the money |
| Special needs trust (§ 3611(c)) | For a child who will rely on public benefits; ordered after a hearing with notice to the state health and developmental services agencies |
| Court-approved trust (§ 3611(g)) | A trust created or approved in the order, which the child can revoke at 18 |
| Uniform Transfers to Minors Act custodian (§ 3611(f)) | A custodian holds the money for the child under the California UTMA |
| Other court-set conditions (§ 3611(d)) | For a balance of $20,000 or less, held on conditions the court finds best for the child |
| Payment to a parent (§ 3611(e)) | For a balance of $5,000 or less, paid to a parent without bond to hold for the child |
| County treasurer deposit (§ 3611(h)) | Where the county's board of supervisors has authorized it |
| Payment to the person (§ 3611(i)) | Used for an adult with a disability rather than a child |
For a child whose injury will require lifelong care, the choice between a blocked account, a structured settlement, and a special needs trust shapes the next fifty years. Our page comparing structured settlements and lump sums covers the annuity side of that decision. A special needs trust order must also provide that the state's medical liens are paid first.
Families focus on the number, which makes sense. The choice of account deserves the same attention, because it controls whether the money is still there, and still useful, when the child needs it.
How Rule 7.955 Sets the Lawyer's Fee on a California Child's Settlement
On a child's case, the court decides the fee. Rule of Court 7.955 requires the judge to "use a reasonable fee standard" and to evaluate the fee agreement "based on the facts and circumstances existing at the time the agreement was made," weighing 14 factors that include the amount and result, the difficulty of the case, the time and skill it took, the risk the lawyer took on a contingency, and the costs the lawyer advanced.[5]
The rule also wiped out the local court rules that once set 25 percent as a default, and its official comment says it "permits, but does not require" an award of the full contingency percentage. In Schulz v. Jeppesen Sanderson (2018), a trial court cut a requested fee on four children's wrongful death settlements to 10 percent without weighing those factors, and the Court of Appeal reversed, holding that the rule "does not dictate a presumptively reasonable percentage."[6]
In a malpractice case, the fee limits of Business and Professions Code § 6146 apply to children too, as our page on California contingency fee rules explains. Because the judge reviews the fee against the work, the amount in the order can be lower than the percentage in the retainer.
The Expedited MC-350EX Petition for Smaller Settlements
Some settlements qualify for a faster track under Rule of Court 7.950.5, using form MC-350EX. The court must decide an expedited petition within 35 days, without a hearing unless the petitioner asks for one, someone objects, or the court sets one.[7]
The expedited route is available only when every condition in the rule is met. Among them:
- The child is represented by a California attorney who did not come into the case at the request of a defendant or insurer
- The claim is not for wrongful death
- None of the money goes into a trust
- There are no unresolved disputes over liens
- The total is $50,000 or less, or it is the full per-person policy limits of every party paying and they could not otherwise pay a judgment
A settlement that is small because the insurance is small, rather than because the injury is minor, is the one to look at twice before taking the faster route.
What Happens at a California Minor's Compromise Hearing Under Rule 7.952
Under Rule of Court 7.952, the parent who filed the petition and the child attend the hearing unless the court excuses them for good cause, and the judge can ask for testimony from a treating or examining doctor.[8] Practice varies by county. Some courts post a tentative ruling the day before and approve a complete petition without anyone appearing.
The judge may ask how the injury affects your child now, whether more treatment is expected, and why the amount is fair. Questions about a scar, a lingering limp, or a future surgery are where the medical records matter most.
Once the petition is granted, the court signs an order approving the compromise, and if the money is going into a blocked account, an order to deposit it. The bank's receipt is then filed with the court to show the money arrived.
Preparation before the hearing, from the medical summary to the account paperwork, is what lets a family leave the courthouse with a signed order instead of a new date.
How Long a California Child Has to Bring an Injury Claim
For most injuries, Code of Civil Procedure § 352 pauses a child's two-year deadline until the child turns 18. Medical malpractice follows a different rule. A child's claim runs three years from the date of the wrongful act, and a child injured before age six has until the eighth birthday if that is later, under § 340.5.
The pause does not apply to a claim against a public entity. A child hurt at a public school, on a city sidewalk, or by a transit bus has the same six-month government claim deadline as an adult, as our page on the six-month claim against a California public entity explains.
A longer clock helps only if the evidence survives it, and witnesses, photographs, and video rarely last until a child's 18th birthday.