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Asset Protection
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WHAT IS ASSET PROTECTION?
By: Steven Rich, MBA Marketing Manager for www.panama-offshore-services.com
Everyone should be afraid of being sued with so many lawsuits being filed now days around the world.
You might think that you may never be sued. How wrong you are!
Let's first take a look at how easy it is to be sued now days. One of the first dangers is being indirectly involved with a lawsuit.
THE DANGERS OF JOINT & SEVERAL LIABILITY
This is a legal concept whereby an individual could be sued as a second or third defendant without having been directly involved with the original injury to the plaintiff.
Here are some examples of how you can be sued for Joint and Several Liability:
1. Your business partner commits theft, fraud, or a personal injury in the course of conducting business.
2. Your spouse is accused of theft, fraud, or a personal injury and the plaintiff sues the entire marital community (including you).
3. You render assistance to someone who was injured by another person and the plaintiff sues you along with the person who actually committed the injury.
4. A friend or relative borrows your car and gets into an accident. As the car's owner you get sued along with the driver.
5. Your company gets sued for sex discrimination committed by one of your employees and you get named as a defendant because it's your company.
6. Your real estate investment partnership, joint venture, or company gets sued by the federal or a state government because toxic waste is discovered on the property.
7. The IRS, or Revenue agency sues your partnership, joint venture, or company for tax evasion.
There are many more examples I could provide. The main thing is that you can be sued and become jointly and severally liable for an injury to someone without having been personally negligent. All that is necessary is that you were connected in some way. If you are dragged into a lawsuit and the other defendants are without assets or insurance, you may end up being held liable for the full amount of the judgment!
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