[Gus Berges]

As expected, tons of great advice. My friend asked me about the settlement and what to do about it and that is all I'm going to respond to. He asked for my opinion because he knows I'm very responsible when it comes to finances, but I will have to yield to the legal situation at hand: the money belongs to the kid, not dad. It was never in my plans to let my bud know "hey, you should have asked more of your kid so he didn't turn out this way"! (I know see how my original message seems that way, my bad). I believe that there is no one way that all children should be raised as each family is unique. That said, I was brought up in a very strict environment, something that seems to be lacking (overall) these days, myself a tad guilty of this...

Knowing the relationship between them, I can see how there may be a chance that the kid may get some "mad money" as Seahawk describes it and then be convinced to use the rest for investment and use it when needed for more important matters (purchasing a home). In any case, all I feel is a bit of sadness with the whole situation as the kid used to be an extrovert happy guy and now he is the shadow of that person: introverted, silent, "scared all of the time", etc. Like I said, a lot of trauma... For