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Please Fix Me Asset Protection

By Rob Lambert - Email Editor

Date : 29-March-2007

Dear Subscriber:

Many potential clients come to me with the idea that they can purchase some sort of fancy “Plan,” and that they will be safe from the many predators which surround them. Nothing could be further from the truth.

There is no “Fix Me Please Plan” which allows a client to drop his guard.

Remember: Asset Protection Planning gives you the tools to force a predator to spend a dollar to collect a dime. It is all game theory. The “game” is simply to make it hard and expensive to get to your assets. Fortunately, most predators are simple mercenaries. They litigate for money and not principal. Woe be it to even the most carefully protected person if his or her opponent is a true believer unmotivated by the financial cost of a case. That is a truly dangerous opponent because they are like the Energizer Bunny: They keep going and going and going regardless of cost.

People with solid plans in place still have to protect themselves, unfortunately.

What does this mean to the average client who has just purchased a shiny new Plan?”

Well, the first bit of bad news is that this proud owner of the shiny new plan still needs to pay lawyers if he is sued. Yes, he has lots of very powerful tools. He can pull the trump card that it will be difficult or impossible to collect a material judgment. That is all well and good; however, people often think these threats are enough. That is not normally true. Why? Simple: Your opponent needs to hurt also. If you aren’t defending yourself, it isn’t costing the plaintiff to hold your feet to the fire by continuing a lawsuit. Just because you are smart enough to purchase a brand new Plan and finally have meaningful protection you still need to defend yourself. So, the first bit of bad news is that you still gotta pay the defense lawyers. Yes, you will pay them a lot less. Yes, you will sleep much better even with pending attack; however, you still gotta throw your hard earned dollars down the litigation crapper and defend yourself if you are sued.

The second bit of bad news is that you still gotta keep your insurance in place. Asset Protection Planning is not normally an alternative to good insurance. Sure, there are cases where clients like doctors lose their insurance, and Asset Protection is the best and sometimes only back-up; but that is not the norm. Keep good insurance in place. It will help you sleep better, and even more important often provide you a good (or moderately good) defense. It is nice to have somebody else paying the defense lawyers.

So, don’t forget that an Asset Protection Plan is a tool. It is like a high powered handgun or a fast car. They can be very helpful because they make your life both easier and safer. They can also kill you if you don’t take care to use them correctly. A Plan is only as good as your ability to “drive” it… so get good training as part of the process.

I hope this has been helpful

I wish you a happy and protected week.

Rob Lambert

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