Asset protection for physicians and medical professionals should be taught in medical school. So many lawsuits are filed against physicians and the payouts are so high that name “medical malpractice” is synonymous big paydays and there are attorneys that only take these cases.
In fact, every year, physicians run about a 5% chance of being sued every year – so in a 20 year career you are guaranteed, on average, to be sued at least once (Medical Liability Claim Frequency: A 2007-2008 Snapshot of Physicians, Kane, 2010). That’s not even the scary part. These statistics only cover medical malpractice, but personal lawsuits also are ten times more likely for doctors because most people assume doctors are wealthy.
If you are physician reading this, chances are that you are being sued, expecting to get sued, and/or afraid of being sued. The medical profession has become almost more focused on litigation than medicine resulting in the birth of what people call “defensive medicine.” Some physicians reading this may believe that they won’t make a mistake or that their patients like them and would never sue them. These physicians would be wrong. Physicians make mistakes like everyone else. Here is the chilling part though… a physician need not make a mistake to be sued. People generally have the perception that physicians have deep pockets and that most cases are settled and everyone gets paid. In fact, 65% of cases are dropped, dismissed or withdrawn (Kane, 2010). That means that in 65% of the cases, there was probably not enough evidence of wrongdoing to move forward. 65% of cases may be frivolous lawsuits against unsuspecting physicians.
How about the cost? Well, even if the claims were dropped, physicians were subject to $22,000-100,000 in legal fees on average. That’s only if claims that were dropped!! The cost to a physician could go as high as $500,000 if a case goes to trial and the patient prevails. That number can go even higher in states that don’t have caps on the medical malpractice lawsuits. One can see why asset protection for physicians is a must!
Like any other business owner, the secret to protecting a physician’s assets is simply to not own them directly at all. Sure, carrying insurance is a must, but when insurance ends, no physician wants his or her personal assets at risk. So the best way for a physician to protect his or her personal assets is to not own them. A properly drafted, implemented, and funded irrevocable trust like the Ultra Trust can be a physician’s family’s best protection. The Ultra Trust can act as a safe deposit box for the physician’s personal property and assets. The protection stems from the fact that items in the trust are not owned by the physician, therefore someone suing the physician cannot attach these assets just like they couldn’t touch the assets of the physician’s friends.
A properly drafted, implemented, and funded irrevocable trust is specifically designed for all the protection to start immediately, assets can be placed out of harms way, but still benefit the people the physician wants them to benefit. Not only can the it move these assets out of harms way now, the trust will protect them for years to come, from such notorious asset reducers such as the children’s wild teens and 20’s, the children’s ex-spouses, bankruptcy, and finally frivolous and non-frivolous lawsuits.
The Ultra Trust includes language that protects against anyone that is not a beneficiary taking possession of the assets. It includes language that allows the physician to specify when, how, and why funds can be dispersed to children, long after they have passed. The Ultra Trust uses a trust protector who keeps a watchful eye on the manager of the trust to make sure the trust is administered the way the physician wants it administered. Lastly, and most importantly, the Ultra Trust gets the physicians personal savings, real estate, possessions and investments away from the hands of potential court orders. Don’t take our word for it, see what others have said: