(A) An application for settlement of a minor’s claim shall be brought by the guardian of the estate. If there is no guardian appointed and the court dispenses with the need for a guardian, the application shall be brought by the parents of the child or the parent or other individual having custody of the child. The noncustodial parent or parents shall be entitled to seven days notice of the application to settle the minor’s claim which notice may be waived. The application shall be captioned in the name of the minor.
(B) The application shall be accompanied by a current statement of an examining physician in respect to the injuries sustained, the extent of recovery, and the permanency of any injuries. The application shall state what additional consideration, if any, is being paid to persons other than the minor as a result of the incident causing the injury to the minor. The application shall state what arrangement, if any, has been made with respect to counsel fees. Counsel fees shall be subject to approval by the court.
(C) The injured minor and the applicant shall be present at the hearing.
B.C.L.R. 68.1 SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS FOR INJURIES TO MINORS
(A) An application for settlement of a minor’s claim that exceeds Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000) shall be brought by the guardian of the estate. If the gross amount of the claim for injuries does not exceed Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000) , the application shall be brought by the parent(s) of the child, the guardian of the child, or the person having custody of the child.
B.CL.R. 68.2 STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS
In the event that parties involved in claims for injuries to minors desire to enter into a structured settlement, defined as a settlement wherein payments are made on a periodic basis, the following rules shall also apply:
(A) The application shall include an affidavit from an independent certified public accountant or equivalent professional, specifying the present value of the settlement and the method by which that value was calculated.
(B) If the settlement is to be funded by an annuity, the annuity shall be provided by an annuity carrier which meets or exceeds the following criteria:
(1) The annuity carrier must be licensed to write annuities in Ohio and, if affiliated with the liability carrier or the person or entity paying the settlement, must be separately capitalized, licensed and regulated and must have a separate financial rating.
(2) The annuity carrier must have a minimum of $100,000,000.00 of capital and surplus, exclusive of any mandatory security valuation reserve.
(3) The annuity carrier must have one of the following ratings from at least two of the following rating organizations:
(a) A.M. Best Company: A++, A+, or A;
(b) Moody’s Investors Service (Financial Strength): Aaa, Aa1, or Aa2;
(c) Standard & Poor’s Corporation (Claims Paying/Solvency): AAA or AA;
(d) Duff & Phelps Credit Rating Company (Claims Paying Ability Rating): AAA, AA+, or AA.
(4) In addition to the requirement of subsection (3) immediately above, an annuity insurer must meet any other requirement the Court considers reasonably necessary to assure that funding to satisfy periodic-payment settlements will be provided and maintained.
(5) A qualified insurer issuing an annuity contract pursuant to a qualified funding plan under these rules may not enter into an assumption reinsurance agreement for the annuity contract without the prior approval of the Court, the owner of the annuity contract, and the claimant having the beneficial interest in the annuity contract. The Court shall not approve assumption reinsurance unless the re-insurer is also qualified under these rules.
(6) The annuity insurance carrier and the broker procuring the policy shall each furnish the court with an affidavit certifying that the carrier meets the criteria set forth in subsection 3 above, as of the date of the settlement, and that the qualification is not likely to change in the immediate future. The broker’s affidavit shall state that the determination was made with due diligence based on rating information which was available, or should have been available, to an insurance broker in the structured settlement trade.
(7) In the event the parties desire to place the annuity with a licensed insurer in Ohio that does not meet the above criteria, the Court may consider approving the same, but only if the annuity obligation is bonded by an independent insurance or bonding company, licensed in Ohio, in the full amount of the annuity obligation.
(C) After the filing of the Report of Distribution and Entry Minor’s Claim (Standard Probate Form 22.4), and provided that no monies remain as assets of the guardianship and no payments will be made to the minor under the terms of the structured settlement prior to the minor reaching eighteen years of age, the guardianship may be terminated with the approval of the Court.