‘Me and ChatGPT Have Become Attorneys, But That’s Scary’: Texas Mom Settling Her 6-Year-Old’s $53,000 Injury Claim Alone

A Dallas mother named Kelsey called The Ramsey Show and said something most parents would keep to themselves: “Me and ChatGPT have become attorneys, but that’s scary.” Her six-year-old daughter was injured at a play area. The few attorneys she consulted “weren’t super willing to take it on,” so she negotiated with the company on her own.

The settlement is $60,000. After an insurance discount, it comes to about $53,000. A judge settles it at a court date in November. She has two options: an annuity presented by a court-appointed person, or a Texas Chapter 142 trust. If she picks the wrong one, her daughter could end up with tens of thousands of dollars less by age 18.

Verdict: The Trust Wins, but Only if the Money Gets Invested

Co-host Jade Warshaw is right to be wary of the annuity. Her first objection: “the rate of return is going to be poor.” Her second: she wants Kelsey to control the payout schedule so her daughter does not get a lump sum at 18. The math supports both points.

Texas law also limits what a parent can do here. Under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 44, a parent acting as “next friend” can settle a child’s claim only with court approval. The judge has to find that the deal serves the child’s best interests.

Chapter 142 of the Texas Property Code lets the trustee pay out principal or income for the child’s health, education, support, or maintenance. The trust ends at the age written into it or at the beneficiary’s 25th birthday, whichever comes first. It can also release designated percentages of the principal at designated ages. That answers the question Kelsey asked on the air: yes, she can set the payout ages.

George Kamel said that $53,000 invested for 12 years at an assumed 10% return becomes about $175,000 “if it’s invested well.”

That figure assumes monthly compounding. If the 10% compounds once a year instead, she ends up with about $166,000.

On Kamel’s numbers, the money makes about $122,000. Keep in mind that 10% is his assumption. He said so himself: “I don’t know what you can invest in.” Returns over any 12-year stretch can come in well below that.

Your Return Decides Whether She Gets $85,000 or $175,000

What matters most is the return the money makes after fees. A settlement annuity locks in a guaranteed rate, and that rate is usually modest. A trust invested in stock index funds rises and falls with the market. Over long periods, though, it has a better chance of growing faster.

Every row starts with the same $53,000 and runs the same 12 years. The only thing that changes is the rate, and it moves the result by tens of thousands of dollars.

Fees chip away at that difference. Chapter 142 lets the trustee take reasonable compensation out of the trust with court approval. Every point the trustee charges comes straight off the return. Annuities have their own built-in cost, which is the commission. That’s why Kamel told her to check it.

The annuity’s real advantage is certainty. If her daughter needs ongoing medical care with steady bills, guaranteed payments may be worth the lower return. If the goal is to grow the money and protect it until maturity, the trust is the better fit.

Chatbot Filling In for Her Lawyer Faces Eight State Lawsuits

On October 14, attorneys general in Iowa, Kansas, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska and West Virginia sued OpenAI. The cases claim ChatGPT was designed to be so agreeable that it reinforced users’ delusions instead of challenging them. Kelsey is relying on that same tool, and it may simply tell her that her instincts are right. A lawyer’s job is to look for problems in the deal.

Five Moves to Make Before the November Hearing

1. Get the annuity’s details in writing. Ask for the present value, payment dates, carrier rating, guarantees and commissions. That’s the checklist Kamel gave on air. Then find where the guaranteed rate lands in the table above.
2. Ask for the trust’s fee schedule and investment policy. Find out who the trustee is, what it charges each year and what it plans to hold. Money sitting in cash at 4% gives you annuity-level results along with trustee fees.
3. Write out a payout schedule. Chapter 142 allows age-based payouts before age 25. For example, part of the money could go out at 18 for college and the rest at 25. That keeps her from getting the whole balance at 18, which is the result Warshaw warned about.
4. Pay for a one-time attorney review of the proposed order. Some lawyers who won’t take a small case on contingency will still review documents for a flat fee. Warshaw said she’d “hate for you to leave anything undone” on a sum this size.
5. Make ChatGPT argue against you. Ask it to list the risks of the option you prefer and make the case for the other one. Then check every legal claim it makes against the actual Texas Property Code text.

The settlement amount is already set, so the biggest decision left is how the money is invested and what it costs over the next 12 years. A decision that size deserves a second opinion from a person.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.