Does severance delay my unemployment claim? - what worked for you?

I was offered severance of 13 weeks after being let go as a nurse's aide and I am unsure how it affects benefits. It has been a long 20 weeks. The agreement mentions a release and a payment schedule. Who should I ask before signing?

Some states only count certain kinds of severance. A local workforce centre could tell me which.

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 5 months ago, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.