QSFs decouple the defendant's payment from your check: the defendant funds the QSF and takes its tax deduction; the fund administrator then resolves each claimant's allocation, medical liens, attorney fees, and any structured-settlement elections before distribution.
For claimants the practical meaning is timeline: 'the defendant paid' and 'you got paid' can be many months apart, with the QSF stage in between. It is also where structured-settlement decisions get made — see structured settlement.
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