Auto Insurance Claims: fender-bender, cracked paint, fender bender

Question
My 16-year-old son rear-ended another student's car in the high school parking lot(I own the car).  Damage was very minor--cracked paint on our front bumper, and some rear bumper damage on the other car.  In fact, the other car's rear bumper was cracked top-to-bottom from a previous accident, so it needed to be replaced anyway.  I intend to offer the other party a portion of the cost to replace the bumper, rather than file an insurance claim.  I read on this site that it's advisable to get the other party to sign a release for both damage and personal injury before handing over a check.  Does this release need to be executed by me or by my 16-year-old son?  Should it be signed by the other driver, or by his parent?  Do we need a separate injury release for the other driver's passenger?  If so, how do we get that person--or their parent--to sign, given there's no settlement for them?

Thanks, in advance,gnxh4 for your advice.

Answer
I agree that if settling out of pocket, there needs to be some release paperwork.  

In your case, a full and final release from the driver, and a full and final release from the passenger need to be obtained.  Of course you could take the risk, but if you pay and then the other party files a claim or decides to change their mind, you have no way of proving you paid for the damages already (that check could have been for anything, you know?).

If you would like, I have some release forms that have been used in the past, you would just have to contact me outside of this forum so I can e-mail them to you.  

The release wording covers both the owner and the driver of the "at fault vehicle".  So just a release from each potentially injured / damaged party will suffice.

I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY AND THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE, IT IS BASED UPON MY EXPERIENCE AS A CLAIMS SPECIALIST AND AS A CEO.