Minor’s Compromise in California: Who Approves a Child’s Injury Settlement? (2026)
- Tom Feher, Esq.
From Tom Feher, Esq. “When a child is the injured client, the court becomes part of the case. That is a good thing. Judicial approval exists so that every dollar a child recovers is protected until they are old enough to use it, and so no adult, including the lawyers, takes more than their fair share.”
Short answer: a settlement of a child’s injury claim in California is not final until a superior court judge approves it in a proceeding called a minor’s compromise. Parents cannot sign it away on their own. A parent or guardian is appointed guardian ad litem under Code of Civil Procedure 372, a petition is filed in the county where the child lives or where the suit could be brought, and the judge approves the settlement amount, the attorney fees, and where the money is held until the child turns 18. Only a settlement worth $5,000 or less can skip most of that.
Key Takeaways
- A judge must approve it: under Probate Code 3500 a parent’s compromise of a child’s claim is valid only after a court approves it on a filed petition.
- Guardian ad litem: a parent or guardian is appointed under Code of Civil Procedure 372 to act for the child in the case.
- The $5,000 line: if the child’s total estate is $5,000 or less, Probate Code 3401 lets the money go to a parent to hold in trust on a verified written assurance.
- Above that, the money is locked: Probate Code 3611 sends the net into a blocked account, annuity, or trust the child receives at 18, and the court keeps jurisdiction until then under Probate Code 3612.
- Fees are reviewed: Probate Code 3601 requires the judge to approve the attorney fees and costs as reasonable before anyone is paid.
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| Step | What Happens | Typical Timing |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Guardian ad litem appointed | A parent or guardian is appointed under CCP 372 to act for the child | Start of the case |
| 2. Settlement reached | The insurer agrees to an amount, contingent on court approval | – |
| 3. Petition filed | The minor’s compromise petition details injuries, treatment, fees, and the plan for the funds | 1-2 weeks after agreement |
| 4. Hearing | The judge reviews the settlement, may ask questions, and signs the approval order | A few weeks after filing |
| 5. Funding and deposit | The insurer pays, approved fees and liens are satisfied, and the child’s net goes into the blocked account or annuity | Usually within 30 days of the order |
How a Minor's Compromise Works in California
A minor’s compromise is the court procedure California uses whenever someone under 18 settles an injury claim. It starts with Probate Code 3500, which gives a parent the right to compromise a child’s disputed claim but makes that compromise valid only after a superior court approves it on a filed petition, in the county where the child lives or any county where the suit could properly be brought. The machinery for the money then lives in Probate Code sections 3600 and following: the guardian ad litem files the petition, the judge reads the medical records, confirms the recovery is reasonable for the injuries, and signs an order before a single dollar moves. Section 3610 governs the remaining balance once approved fees and costs come out. Insurance companies will not issue payment on a minor’s claim without that signed order, which is why a family that reaches a handshake deal with an adjuster still has weeks of process ahead of them.
The Minor's Compromise Process Step by Step
The petition and hearing follow a predictable path. Here is the sequence and what each step involves:
The petition itself is a Judicial Council form, MC-350, Petition to Approve Compromise of Disputed Claim, and it is more detailed than most families expect. It must describe how the injury happened, the child’s injuries and the full course of treatment, whether the recovery is complete or permanent, the total settlement and each deduction from it, every medical lien and who holds it, the fees and costs being requested, and exactly where the child’s net money will go. Medical records and bills are attached. The court is reading it to answer one question: is this amount fair to the child, given what actually happened to them. A petition that understates future care is the most common reason a judge sends one back.
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Where the Child's Money Goes: Blocked Accounts, Trusts, and the $5,000 Rule
The court’s central concern is protecting the net recovery, and Probate Code 3611 gives the judge a menu. The most common order is a blocked account: a federally insured account that no one, including the parents, can touch without a court order, which releases to the child automatically at 18. A structured settlement converts the recovery into scheduled payments, often timed for college or early adulthood, and is worth considering on larger recoveries because growth is built in. The court can also order the money into a trust that the child may revoke at 18, or to a custodian under the California Uniform Transfers to Minors Act.
Two dollar figures decide how much of this applies. If the remaining balance is $5,000 or less, section 3611 lets the court order it paid to a parent without bond, on the terms in Probate Code 3401, which allows a parent to hold a child’s money in trust until majority when the child’s total estate does not exceed $5,000 and the parent gives a verified written assurance to that effect. If the balance is $20,000 or less, the court has discretion to hold it on whatever conditions it decides are in the child’s best interest. Above those figures the money is locked down, and under Probate Code 3612 the court keeps continuing jurisdiction over it until the child turns 18. What the court will not do at any level is hand a large check to the adults with no strings attached.
Does the Court Review Attorney Fees on a Child's Case?
Yes, always. Attorney fees on a minor’s case are not set by the retainer alone. Probate Code 3601 requires the court, as part of the same order approving the settlement, to authorize and direct payment of reasonable expenses, costs, and attorney fees as the court shall approve and allow. There is no statutory percentage: a contingency rate that would be routine on an adult’s file is not automatically approved on a child’s, and judges scale the fee to the work actually performed, the risk taken, and the result. That review is a feature for families rather than a hurdle, because an independent judge confirms the child’s share before the file closes. Feher Law handles the minor’s compromise petition as part of the representation, and our fee is always subject to that court review.
How Long Does Court Approval Take?
Most uncontested minor’s compromise petitions are heard within a few weeks of filing, depending on the county’s calendar. Once the judge signs the order, the insurer typically funds the settlement within 30 days, the approved fees and liens are paid, and the child’s net recovery is deposited exactly as the order directs. If you are wondering what the underlying claim may be worth before any of this starts, our free personal injury settlement calculator models medical bills, future care, and pain and suffering, and our guide to how long settlement money takes in California covers the timeline after approval.
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Our California personal injury attorneys work on contingency – no upfront fees, and the fee terms are in writing before we start. Call (310) 340-1112 – Free, confidential case review.
What to Expect When You Work With Feher Law
- Free Case Evaluation: You speak with our team, we review the crash or incident facts, your treatment, and any offers on the table, and we give you a straight read on the claim’s value. No fee, no obligation.
- Case Investigation: We gather the evidence that drives gross value: scene evidence, vehicle data, medical records, wage documentation, and where needed, accident reconstruction and medical experts. We also start a running ledger of every lien against your recovery.
- Demand and Filing: We present a documented demand to the insurer, and if they will not pay full value we file suit within the two-year deadline under CCP 335.1 so you never lose leverage to the calendar.
- Negotiation and Lien Reduction: While we push the gross number up through discovery and mediation, we simultaneously negotiate every hospital lien (capped at 50 percent of the recovery under Civil Code 3045.4), provider lien, and government lien down. Both moves raise your net.
- Resolution and Your Settlement Statement: Before anything is final you receive a line-item settlement statement showing the fee, each cost, each lien payoff, and your exact net. Our fee comes only out of the recovery – you pay nothing unless we win.
Why California Settlement Clients Choose Feher Law
Thomas Feher, Esq. has taken more than 50 jury trials to verdict, and that trial record is what moves settlement math, because insurers pay real value to firms they know will pick a jury. The results are public: a $20.7 million brain injury verdict against a hotel defendant in July 2026, a $14.6 million verdict in Simone v. Estate of Bruce Jameson for a catastrophic spine injury, an $8.5 million recovery for a T-boned worker, and more than $170 million recovered for California clients overall. Feher Law also treats the back end of the case, lien negotiation and the settlement statement, as part of the representation, not an afterthought, because the firm’s job is your net recovery, not just the headline number. From offices in Torrance and Huntington Beach, the firm serves clients throughout Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Bernardino County, and Riverside County, in English and Spanish. Every case is handled on contingency – you pay nothing unless Feher Law wins for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Last reviewed by Thomas Feher, Esq. – September 2026
