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Today's world is an atmosphere filled with lawsuits, taxes, accidents and financial risks that can easily wipe out your assets in one courtroom drama. No matter how safe you feel, you can never be certain that the wealth you have built up over a lifetime won't suddenly be taken from you tomorrow. Whatever your occupation or lifestyle, you may be on the brink of a financial disaster and potential liability.
If you are "wealthy", "comfortable" or even if you just have some positive net worth, most likely you are concerned about keeping what you have, and preventing others from taking it. This concern is real, as there are people who will take advantage of any opportunity to take what you have.
If you are a physician you’ve already experienced or have heard the horror stories about colleagues who lost everything after being held liable for medical malpractice in amounts far beyond their malpractice insurance.
Insurance is the most common asset protection technique. By "transferring" the risk to an insurance company, you can usually protect your assets. But even if you buy insurance, it might not cover all possible risks that you face, or the amount you buy might not be enough, or the insurance company may be able to deny the claim (perhaps it could claim there were misstatements made in your application), or the insurance company may become insolvent. Asset protection planning helps you prepare for these "wild-card risks".
COULD YOU FALL INTO ONE OF THESE UNFORESEEN LIABILITIES?
- Errors and omissions limits
- Accidents and personal injuries
- Contractual disputes
- Wrongful discharge of employees
- Sexual harassment
- Product liability
- Spouses, live-ins, or children on drugs
- Employees and agents
- Gender, racial and age discrimination
- Personal guarantees
- Business combinations and relationships
- Neighbors
- Environmental and toxic waste liability
- Unpaid property, income, estate and gift taxes
- Alimony
- Child support
- Marriage and living-together arrangements
- Misrepresentations
Most of us live our lives by trying not to offend others. Nevertheless, these types of situations happen everyday. If you are a professional, a business owner, a land owner, or anyone else who holds significant assets and could be involved in an auto or other type of accident you should consider an asset protection plan.
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