Not Judgment-Proof May Equal Checkmate
By: Barry E. Haimo, Esq.
July 3, 2014
Do you know anyone who’s been sued? Someone who’s had a judgment entered against them? Specifically, do you know anyone who has had their car, boat, bank account, brokerage account or other asset taken away from them by a judgment creditor to satisfy a judgment? To satisfy their legal fees? To settle a claim? Was it a legitimate claim or was the judgment creditor taking advantage of our imperfect justice system? Your friend probably had an umbrella insurance policy just like you do. Regardless, if you know someone who has experienced litigation, you probably vividly remember seeing their face when they shared it with you. You could see it in their defeated eyes, their expressionless face and the monotone voice.
It’s the feeling of knowing you lost; knowing that your enemy has outplayed you by better positioning itself to attack that which you’ve worked hard to acquire but failed to adequately protect. It’s the epitome of the feeling of “checkmate;” except it’s not a game — it’s life. You don’ get to turn it off and restart or get a rematch. Did you know that you can protect yourself, your family’s and your business’s assets from judgment creditors? Did you know that you can take some assets off the table from judgment creditors entirely? For other assets, you can’t take them off the table, but you can reposition them to make it extremely challenging and expensive to levy and nearly impossible to take possession of them from you. That involves utilizing various trusts and business entities.
Whether it’s the resulting devastation of divorce or another judgment creditor, you should see the face of someone described above who learns this untimely lesson.
We derive great satisfaction from helping families and businesses protect themselves. There’s no reason to experience the above-described feeling of checkmate. With the right representation and guidance, it’s just too easy and affordable to avoid.
Author:
Barry E. Haimo, Esq.
Haimo Law
Strategic Planning With Purpose
Email: barry@haimolaw.com
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