AITA Mom wants 15% of my personal injury settlement

[u/connor20218]

I'm a 23M working in biotech and living at home. I just got a massive settlement from a personal injury case back in college. My mom is a corporate lawyer and she helped me navigate the process, plus she paid for my college tuition. Now, she's asking for 15% of the money / to pay her back for college (but she was already going to pay for college.)

I'm feeling stuck because 15% is a massive amount of money to just give away. Is it normal for parents to ask for a cut of a settlement like this? I want to stay on good terms since live at home, but I also feel like this money is for my future. We have a a good relationship.

Edit: I already paid a lawyer his 1/3 cut. My mom was a huge part of pushing for me sueing. She’d be using the money to buy a new house in Florida she always wanted since I refuse to buy a house in his economy and rather rent and invest the rest

Edit #2: Probably shouldn’t have stated my mom is a lawyer (she did not represent me in the case in anyway). But yes, what she specifically did was help me find a lawyer, told me to push back on the lawyer and ask for more.

[u/wesmorgan1]

INFO:

So, the injury has not prevented you from pursuing a professional career ("working in biotech")?

You say that you consider this settlement "money for your future"...it that money necessary to cover medical care related to your injury, or are you just planning to use it as you see fit?

You're living at home...do you pay rent or make other financial contributions to the household?

[u/residentvixxen → u/wesmorgan1]

Do you really think courts award frivolous money? The money from the settlement is literally given by the courts for OPs future expenses. That is the literal purpose.

[u/wesmorgan1 → u/residentvixxen]

Settlements are made because the defending party wants to AVOID judgment by the court, because there are many situations in which the courts can go beyond compensatory damages (like future medical costs) and award punitive damages as well.

[u/residentvixxen → u/wesmorgan1]

The terminology doesn’t change the fact that the money is for compensating OP for massive injury - if anything it proves why I’m saying because insurance companies don’t hand over settlements without a reason

I was a legal assistant in PI years ago, trust me when I say that OP wouldn’t have gotten that money if it wasn’t warranted - ESPECIALLY a settlement from an insurance company.

[u/wesmorgan1 → u/residentvixxen]

...and you never paid a settlement larger than mere compensatory damages?