In 1993, actress Kim Bassinger was forced to file bankruptcy, after being on the losing end of an $8 million dollar judgment, arising out of a Breach of Contract action, over the movie “Boxing Helena.” In 1997, O.J. Simpson was on the losing end of a $35 million dollar judgment arising out of the Ron Goldman / Nicole Simpson case. Today O.J. Simpson receives $25,000.00 a month (Tax-Free) from a $4 million dollar annuity. The difference between the two results is that O.J. Simpson had a Plan to Protect his Assets, far in advance of what would otherwise have been a significant financial debacle. Had Kim Bassinger been a client of J.E. Holdings, LLC, she would have had an Asset Protection Plan in place; and, most probably, would not have been sued in the first place.
Any person, family, or business, that has accumulated wealth to any significant degree, needs to protect that wealth. Doctors, Lawyers, Athletes, Entertainers, Business Owners, and other professionals, face constant exposure to lawsuits and jury awards of staggering proportions. Your liability insurance policy may be insufficient to cover a catastrophic judgment. You may find yourself, quite literally, betting the house on a favorable outcome from the litigation facing you. Business owners, as well as their officers and directors, are common targets of litigation. In addition to negligence and product liability lawsuits, claims by customers, suppliers, employees, lenders, and competitors can lead to financial devastation. Lawsuits brought by government agencies such as the IRS or the EPA can tie up a business or its assets for years. Win or lose, these kinds of cases will inevitably drain a company and its owners of their financial resources.
If you own a Home, Rental Property, or are a Real Estate Developer or Builder, any significant tragedy that results in serious injuries or death to tenants or occupants of your buildings, can lead to judgments far in excess of your liability coverage.
Even if you work for someone else or are a retired person, you will find that an Asset Protection Plan is an essential tool in your overall Financial Strategy. Significant illnesses or injuries may create large uninsured liabilities to doctors and hospitals.
An auto accident that severely injures or kills someone (Think Singer/ Actress “BRANDY” Norwood) can involve damages that substantially exceed your insurance coverage. With the recent phenomenal rise in popularity of Athletes and Entertainers, has come an equally phenomenal increase in unwelcome exposure to lawsuits; charging these high profiles, high-incomed individuals, with various forms of civil wrongs – -including sexual assault — and, the even more devastating: Paternity Action. Wherever you fit in the above scenarios, a properly constructed Asset Protection Plan will protect you from the hazards of an out-of-control, litigation mad, legal system.
WHY
The increased use of a powerful and relatively new (about 25 years) legal procedure called a Pre Judgment Writ of Attachment, allows a plaintiff to effectively “freeze” your assets, while the lawsuit is pending. Without access to funds to meet business, personal and legal expenses, you may not be able to survive financially, during the lawsuit. This Legal Procedure may very well force you to settle a case, where you might have prevailed, had you had an opportunity to have your day in court.
A properly planned and constructed Asset Protection Plan does not involve concealing assets or attempting to defraud creditors. It should allow you to achieve your goals while fully and truthfully disclosing all of your financial circumstances. A good plan will discourage litigation, because any asset search conducted by plaintiffs’ counsel prior to the filing of a lawsuit, will reveal that your assets are not in a form that can be seized to satisfy a judgment. Your goal is to “OWN NOTHING, CONTROL EVERYTHING”.
DESIRABLE FEATURES
A properly structured Asset Protection plan will discourage litigation, allow unfettered access to control of your resources, be easy to understand and convenient to use, and will mesh well with any existing or new estate plan.