Disbursing a settled case in Litify
How the disbursement runs in Litify today, and what changes when Disbo is connected · October 2026 · Disbo connects to Litify (Live)
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How it runs in Litify today
The case is in Litify. The money is not. Once the client signs the settlement statement, the amounts leave the case system and are re-typed somewhere else: a spreadsheet, the accounting system, check stock. Six hand-offs, each one a place where a number can change.
| Step | By hand | With Disbo connected to Litify |
|---|---|---|
| The statement is signed | The client signs the settlement statement; the signed copy goes in the case before anything else happens. | Same. Disbo reads the signed statement from the matter; it never generates one. |
| Amounts move to accounting | Someone re-types payees and amounts from the statement into the accounting system or a spreadsheet, and checks the trust balance for the case. | Nothing is retyped. Payees and amounts come from the matter; the case's trust balance is on the screen. |
| Checks are written | Each check is printed or handwritten, signed by a partner, and matched to its enclosure (lien release, settlement letter). | Staff prepare the payouts in one list; the signer approves once; checks print on the firm's own account. |
| Envelopes are stuffed and mailed | Documents are copied, folded and mailed; ACH payees are called for bank details. | Printed and mailed with the documents attached per recipient; ACH payees link a bank once. |
| Tracking | Staff answer "did the doctor get paid?" by checking the bank, the mail log and the case. | Status per recipient on the Disbo Payments tab on the matter: queued, sent, delivered, cashed. |
| Posting and reconciliation | Each payment is posted to the client ledger and the books; the trust account is reconciled at month end. | Posted to the case and the books as each payment is issued; reconciliation export in beta. |
Anonymized client results: a seven-payee disbursement took a firm about 2 hours by hand and about 30 minutes in Disbo; a firm found $200,000 sitting in trust once balances were shown by case.
With Disbo connected: what moves, and which way
Litify stays the case system. Disbo is the payment record. Each item below is stated for Litify specifically; the connection is live today.
Litify → Disbo · what comes in · Live
- The matter: name, matter number, record type, date of loss
- The client and every contact on the matter
- Settlement amount, attorney fee, referral fee
- Case costs
- Providers and lienholders with final amounts
- Settlement documents: statement, liens, enclosure letters
Disbo → Litify · what goes back · Live
- Payment status per recipient on the Disbo Payments tab: queued, sent, delivered, cashed
- Check number, cleared date and check image into the matter's files
- Documents mailed with each check
- Case costs paid
- Undisbursed funds
- An activity-feed entry per payment (set up with our team)
Write-back scope is per system. This list is Litify's; the key between Litify, Disbo and your books is the matter ID.
The field map
| In Litify | In Disbo | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Matter name and number | Case | Links every payment, document and status; the key into your books |
| Client / plaintiff | Payee (client) | Net proceeds by check or ACH |
| Settlement amount | Deposit to balance | Pay stays off until the statement and the payments match to $0.00 |
| Attorney fee | Payee (firm, operating) | The fee payment from trust to operating |
| Referral / co-counsel fee | Payee | Paid from the fee with the client's consent on file |
| Case costs | Reimbursement to operating | Costs advanced come back to operating; never paid from trust directly |
| Providers and lienholders | Payees with amounts | Checks with the release enclosed, or ACH after a one-time bank link |
| Documents | Enclosures per recipient | Lien release, settlement letter, mailed in the envelope |
Connected in four steps, on one call
Our implementation team does this with your Litify admin on the implementation call. An hour or two; most firms send their first payment within two weeks.
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Connect the API A Litify integration user and credentials; our team configures the connection.
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Map the fields per record type Plaintiff, settlement, fee, referral, costs, providers. Litify lets us map almost anything, so bring your record types.
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Install the Disbo Payments tab A custom tab our team installs on the matter layout; nothing else in Litify changes.
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Pull one matter and send $1 Check every field landed, then send yourself a one-dollar check from operating. Then the first real disbursement, with our team on the call.
Bring to the call
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A Litify admin
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A matter number that also lives in your accounting system
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Amounts in standard fields
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An email per payee
What stays where
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Litify is the most customizable connection: field mapping per record type, custom write-back targets and activity-feed entries.
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Your own Salesforce objects are mapped the same way, on the implementation call.
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Built for volume: firms sending hundreds of checks a day run on this connection; bulk requests queue as one list for one approval.
Ask on the call
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Which record types carry settlement, fee, referral and provider amounts, and where?
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Do we have an integration user, or does our Litify admin need to create one?
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Which activity-feed entries do we want per payment?
Before you disburse: the checklist
Works with or without Disbo. Run it after the client signs and before the first payment leaves trust.
- The settlement funds have cleared in the trust account (deposited is not cleared).
- The client has signed the settlement statement and the signed copy is saved to the case.
- Every lien amount on the statement is confirmed in writing; the letters are in the file.
- Medicare uses the final demand, not the conditional payment estimate.
- The attorney fee follows the basis in the signed fee agreement; any referral fee is disclosed and paid from the fee.
- Case costs are itemized from the ledger; none are estimates.
- The statement foots: gross − fee − costs − liens − government and subrogation − other − holdback = net to client, to the penny.
- Each payee has a legal name, a mailing address or a verified bank account, and the documents to enclose.
- Any holdback has a written release condition and a date to re-check it.
- The signer who will approve the disbursement is available, with two-factor set up.
- Every payment will be posted to the case ledger and the books on the day it is issued.
What Disbo does not do
- Generate the settlement statement. The firm prepares it in Litify or from our template; Disbo reads the signed one.
- Negotiate liens or track bills. Amounts come from the statement as signed.
- Hold the money. Checks are drawn on the firm's own account; electronic payments pass through a bank partner for seconds.
- Take fees from trust. Disbo bills the firm's operating account.
Disbo connects to Litify today. See the connection in a 30-minute demo: disbo.com/book-demo · Integration page: disbo.com/integrations/litify · Three-way reconciliation is in beta with a small group of firms.
Disbo (disbo.com). Educational material, not legal advice. Sample firm Westbrook & Vale and all figures are illustrative.
FAQ
How customizable is the Litify connection?
More than any other: field mapping per record type, custom write-back targets and activity-feed entries. Bring your admin.
We also have Salesforce objects of our own.
Mapped the same way, on the implementation call.
Is the Payments tab a managed package?
A custom tab our team installs on your matter layout; nothing else in Litify changes.
Case numbers?
The Filevine case number is the key in Disbo and, through Disbo, in your accounting system. No case number, no sync.