I would rather choose the monthly checks in your situation.

How many months would the lump sum be equivalent to?

Lump sum. If you die tomorrow, it also becomes void, so any living family will get nothing.

Use that money to help you get by until you have a job, or a skill that someone will pay you for (like Etsy).

The longer you go without work experience, the less hire-able you will be, so what will you do when you run out of money again?

For your situation maybe monthly is better since you’re concerned about managing money, but for me I’d 100% go for the lump sum and then invest whatever portion of it I don’t immediately need in a safe investment like a CD or something where there isn’t any chance of losing anything. You already have the money why not have it grow while you’re not using it.

IMO the lump sum is the better option for these reasons; a lump sum could be invested in a way that could give you a source of passive income, or grow into a sizeable nest egg. Monthly payments will by and large go to living expenses, and yeah, that will make things easier, but when the payments run out, you may be SOL.

Also, a dollar right now is always worth more\has more purchasing than a dollar in the future due to inflation. By taking monthly payments, you will ultimately get ‘less’ overall. What seems like a nice monthly alimony check today, may not even be able to cover rent 10 years from now.

Reading other comments, I see this amount would equal to 17 years of payments. There is no right answer. If it were me, I’d go for the lump, but I’m well aware that I am good at managing my own money in the sense that I don’t overspend, no matter what the bank account says. I’m naturally frugal.

I think the main considerations you need to take are: your personality, which you suggest you can’t trust yourself with that much money; on the other hand, the payee’s personality and the unexpected, ie., are they reliable enough to pay monthly or will they owe you? What if they die in a couple years? What if they go bankrupt? Etc. (not sure if there are system failsafes for these scenarios where you live).

I would suggest get the lump, deposit 80% of if or so in a fixed account with a high rate that won’t let you withdraw in a couple years, use the remaining 20% to keep yourself alive until you find a job. Once you get a bit more used to managing your own money you can decide what to do with the rest.

There are a lot of questions that would influence my answer.

For example: Who did the calculation? Do you trust them to have calculated the lumpsum as a fair representation of the payments?

Who is carrying the death, disability and unemployment risk? In particular, if your ex-husband dies or becomes unable to work, who will continue to make the payments? What if he married in the meantime and his new wife fights the settlement due from his estate? (Happened to someone I know. She won eventually but had a very hard time for years until the money was released.)

How large an amount are we talking about? Can you survive on 1% of the amount per year? For example, if the lumpsum is USD 10m, then hire a wealth manager to invest it and have yourself paid 1% a year, in this case USD 100k a year, or USD 8.3k a month. The invested lumpsum will increase with inflation and so your 1% will also increase each year. This setup will allow you to live off the lumpsum indefinitely.

Based on the limited information you provided I assume the amount isn't that big, in which case I would advise that the monthly amounts are paid via an annuity purchased in your name from a life insurance company.

This solution has a number of advantages:
1) The insurance company will calculate the lumpsum (which would be the price of the annuity)
2) You aren't subject to any risk from your ex-husband's life
3) If this is payable for life, the life insurance company takes on the risk that you become very old and run out of money.

You will have the risk that the insurer goes bankrupt but provided you select a reputable, well-funded company that's been around a long time, the risk is relatively low - life insurance companies are heavily regulated. Also, you would get some money back from a bankruptcy. Many annuity products also pay back part of the annuity price if you die within the first few years, so in that case there should be something to inherit for anyone you leave behind.

Take the lump sum. Speak with a financial expert. Manage your budget.

Most of humanity isn’t going to last more than a few more years. Take the $$ and run.