My 3 year old daughter has won an $85,000 structured settlement. I do not know what to do.

That is honestly a huge responsibility to be dealing with at your age, but try not to panic. An 85000 dollar settlement is a significant amount of money for a child, and the most important thing right now is making sure it stays protected until she is actually old enough to manage it herself. You definitely shouldn't just keep this sitting in a regular savings account where inflation will just eat away at the value over the next fifteen years.

Most of the time, these settlements are set up through a structured annuity, which is honestly the safest route. It means the money is paid out in chunks later on, usually when she hits college age or enters adulthood. Since you are the guardian, you should look into a custodial account or a trust if the court hasn't already mandated one. Don't touch that money for anything personal, because the legal headache you could get into isn't worth it. Just keep it locked away and let it grow quietly.

If you have any extra cash laying around, maybe look into setting up a separate small fund for her future education just to supplement what she already has. You could put away like 100 or 200 dollars a month if you can afford it, and that little bit of extra cash really adds up with compound interest over a decade or two. Just take a deep breath and maybe talk to a professional who deals with these settlements specifically so you don't make a wrong move with the legal side of things.