Shortcutting Settlements with Qualified Settlement Funds (2025 Edition)

Rachel McCrocklin | Eastern Point Trust Company

Rachel is Chief Trust Officer at Eastern Point Trust Company, a highly respected trustee that offers all manners of settlement-related trusts. She regularly coordinates qualified settlement funds, plaintiff recovery trusts, and settlement escrow trust solutions. She consults on efficiencies and workarounds to make sure cases close quickly while preserving flexibility of settlement options, including structured settlements, attorney fee deferral, and lien resolution.

Jeremy Babener | Structured Consulting

Jeremy is a nationally recognized tax expert. He counsels plaintiffs and plaintiff-side law firms on settlement planning, helping to maximize recovery outcomes. He also reviews and structures settlement transactions for trust companies, insurance companies, and other financial institutions.

Jeremy has worked across a broad spectrum of cases and settlement sizes, including individual claims, mass torts, and class actions. His role often includes drafting and refining settlement terms, proposing tax-efficient and financial strategies, and negotiating their adoption with defense teams.

He has developed and evaluated financial vehicles, trust arrangements, and income deferral solutions. Among these is the Plaintiff Fund Charity, a no-cost program that protects plaintiffs’ Medicaid eligibility when they fundraise for medical needs.

Jeremy is an active member of the ABA TIPS Plaintiffs’ Practice Committee and leads the Legal Committee of the Society of Settlement Planners. Earlier in his career, he served as a Fellow in the Office of Tax Policy at the U.S. Treasury Department.

He frequently speaks on settlement taxation and ethics at law schools such as NYU School of Law and the University of Chicago, contributes articles to Forbes, Bloomberg, and the ABA, and shares his insights on CNN, Fox News, and CNBC.

I. QSF uses by plaintiffs and defense | 2:00pm – 2:12pm

II. Tax treatment and benefits | 2:12pm – 2:24pm

III. Preserving eligibility and discretion | 2:24pm – 2:36pm

IV. Incorporating QSFs at settlement | 2:36pm – 2:48pm

V. Selecting a QSF administrator | 2:48pm – 3:00pm