At our office we settle many personal injury cases each and year. Every once in a while we deal with child support and/or tax liens for a client at the conclusion of a case.

The reason this happens is because all insurance companies in Massachusetts are required to conduct a Department of Revenue (DOR) check before the settlement check can be issued.

If there is a hit, then the Massachusetts DOR intercepts the amount due and owing for either state taxes or past due child support. Per Massachusetts law, if a client owes taxes to the State, those taxes must be paid out of the settlement amount to the State. Massachusetts law also requires any child support liens to be paid directly to the State out of any settlement proceeds.

Your lawyer will still be paid his agreed-upon contingency fee out of the settlement. As well, your lawyer will be paid back any case expenses he advances during the case.

In other words, regardless of the amount of either the tax or child support lien, your lawyer will still collect his fee and expenses, even if the lien is greater than the settlement.

This will be the case even if the lien exceeds the amount of the settlement. Thus the attorney takes priority over the state should there be tax or child support liens due and owing.

These liens are addressed whenever a workers compensation, car accident, or any other kind of personal case is settled.