Asset Protection Attorney Douglass Lodmell explains how Fraudulent Conveyance works and why it is so important to understand in Asset Protection.

Asset Protection Attorney Douglass Lodmell explains the difference between inside and outside liability and why it is important when determining how to hold your assets.

Asset Protection Attorney Douglass Lodmell explains how to use the LLC and when you need more than one and why.

Asset Protection Attorney Douglass Lodmell explains under what circumstances you may trigger an International Asset Protection Trust.

Asset Protection Attorney Douglass Lodmell explains what a car is from an asset protection standpoint and what you should do with them.

Asset Protection Attorney Douglass Lodmell explains how the Family Limited Partnership and the International Asset Protection Trust work to protect your assets.

Asset Protection Attorney Douglass Lodmell explains how traditional insurance works, and who the insurance companies really work for.

Asset protection attorney Douglass Lodmell explains the options for reducing your risk of lawsuits and litigation.

Asset Protection Attorney Douglass Lodmell explains how the legal system can and is being used to legally extort money using frivilous lawsuits and unethical tactics.

Asset Protection Attorney Douglass Lodmell explains which of your assets are already protected and how by looking at the whole spectrum of Asset Protection.

Asset Protection Attorney Douglass Lodmell looks at how our legal system has evolved and how it has moved from a system which strongly discouraged litigation to what has become known today as a Lawsuit Lottery.

Find out what the nation’s leading expert on Asset Protection has to say to one of the nation’s top CPA’s as they discuss the hottest topic in personal planning today – Asset Protection! Find out why the United States is in a Litigation Crisis and how we got there, and discover what you can do to take yourself out of the Lawsuit Lottery! (running time: 60 minutes)

Interviewer: Tom Wheelwright, CPA
Interviewee: Douglass Lodmell, J.D., LL.M.

The Shocking TRUTH about the
U.S. Legal System!
Discover the Hidden Secrets of Litigation that
Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Pray you Never Learn!

Inside this controversial report, you will learn the well-guarded and unspoken secrets of the biggest racket in America—The Legal System! You will be Shocked and aghast when you learn:

• How the Plaintiffs’ attorneys have ‘ rewritten the rules’ over the past 30 years to make it easier, and more profitable, for them to sue you.
• How Lawsuits REALLY WORK, and how lawyers use the ‘ no loser pays’ system as a tool for LEGAL EXTORTION!
• Which assets you have are ALREADY protected and which ones are not, and what you can do today to increase your protection with no expenses!
• How we moved from a system where ‘ contingent fees’ were immoral and illegal for lawyers to use, to one in which they are virtually the only way plaintiffs’ attorneys now work!
• How clever attorneys removed the prohibition against ‘ attorney advertising’ and created an industry of TV, Phonebook, Internet, and Billboard lawyers designed to stir up conflict—just for profit!
• How lawyers have changed their own ethical rules to allow the use of sleazy tactics and frivolous lawsuits!
• What Nevada Corporations really are and why you want to STAY AWAY!
• How Court Attitudes and Rules of Procedures have been modified by attorneys and courts to make it easier to sue, easier to harass, and harder to get a bogus lawsuit thrown out!
• Why all these changes make anyone with even a modest level of assets a SITTING DUCK for almost any plaintiff’s attorney!
• Why if you are a Doctor you are a ‘ triple-whammy’ target!
• How, if you are an employer, your employees are now your #1 risk!
• How ONE simple policy you can implement in your office can VIRTUALLY ELIMINATE employee lawsuits!
• What ‘Asset Protection’ really means, and why 95% of all ‘Asset Protection’ planning you hear about or find on the Internet doesn’t work, and may even get you into BIG TROUBLE!
• Why numbered bank accounts and secrecy as asset protection tools Don’t Work!
• What you CAN do that does work to protect 100% of your assets!

To receive a FREE copy of The Special Insiders Report - The Shocking Truth About the U.S. Legal System, click here.

Asset Protection is ONLY for those with very high net worth.
FALSE: It’s extremely simple: a client with a net worth of $5 million won’t be nearly as affected by a $1 million lawsuit judgment compared to a client with $1 million net worth. The client with the net worth of $5 million can pay the judgment and continue to live the life that he or she is accustomed to. Conversely, a client with $1 million in net worth who gets a $1 million judgment is literally bankrupt and the life of his or her family will change drastically.
When Lodmell & Lodmell starting providing asset protection services over 10 years ago, our main focus was those individuals with over $250,000 in net worth. At this level, our clients still fall into the category of the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans, yet they have the most to lose.

Asset protection is illegal.
FALSE: If properly implemented by a qualified attorney, asset protection is a powerful legal tool that can protect clients from future litigation judgments. In fact, The Wall Street Journal, regularly reports on the legal benefits of asset protection. To the extent that you do not seek to defraud your present known creditors, there is nothing illegal or immoral in placing some of your assets beyond easy reach of predators.

Asset protection can save me taxes.
FALSE: Asset protection should not be considered as a tax saving plan. If an Asset Protection Planner promises they will save you taxes, BE VERY CAREFUL before you engage their services. Tax planning and asset protection rarely, if ever, go together. Unlike tax neutral asset protection plans, like ours, those that attempt to get a tax benefit may draw future IRS scrutiny.

The IRS will audit me if I implement asset protection.
FALSE: Setting up asset protection planning through a qualified attorney will not make you more susceptible to an IRS audit. In fact, there are additional forms you may be required to file with your asset protection tools will actually help the IRS recognize that you have the protection properly and legally put in place.

I will lose control of my money with asset protection.
FALSE: With proper legal asset protection planning, you do not lose the control of your money. While the legal tools and planning may seem confusing at first, the net effect of a good plan will always leave the client in the position of enjoying their assets.

On-shore planning is as strong as offshore planning.
FALSE: Many planners and states claim its Family Limited Partnership (FLP) or newly devised domestic asset protection trusts, based in the United States in states such as Delaware or Nevada (on-shore planning) provide complete asset protection. While these on-shore plans are effective to a certain level, they are not bulletproof. The safest asset protection includes planning governed by a judicial body other than the United States.

I am fully protected with “just” a Family Limited Partnership or Corporation.
FALSE: Many asset protection groups claim that a Family Limited Partnership (FLP) is all that is needed to properly protect your assets. However, as mentioned above, this is onshore planning and your wealth is still governed by United States jurisdiction. Many companies tout FLPs or “Nevada Corporations” as being successful asset protection for the simple fact that they do not have access to offshore planning, or do not have the expertise to complete a full offshore plan for you. Rather than advising you on the best plan, they may be selling only what they already have “on the shelf.”

I must keep active foreign bank accounts at all times.
FALSE: A foreign bank account is not required unless you actually need to move assets offshore. In most cases, the massive deterrent factor of having the appropriate offshore planning in place is enough to dissuade anyone advancing a frivolous or meritless lawsuit.

If triggered, I must flee the country.
FALSE: In the rare event that asset protection planning is triggered to an offshore account, only the ownership of the money leaves the country, and the individual does not need to leave the United States. There is no illegal action taking place that would require the client to follow his or her money.

Asset protection can be implemented after I am being sued.
FALSE: The only asset protection planning legally recognized by the courts is planning that is set up BEFORE any threat or serving of a lawsuit. If you have been served with lawsuit papers, or believe that a lawsuit is imminent, it is most likely too late for asset protection planning, and a United States court would likely pierce the protection by calling the transfer fraudulent conveyance.

I can protect myself by transferring all my assets to spouse and/or children.
FALSE: Transferring all of your assets to your spouse and/or children will not protect you from frivolous lawsuits. Transferring your assets to your spouse and/or children opens up another Pandora’s Box. Let’s say you transferred all of your assets to your 16-year old son, and he causes an auto accident where several injuries are incurred. The other parties suing your son now have access to your assets, and so the liability still stands.

I am not a lawsuit target.
FALSE: Lawsuits are the United States’ new favorite pastime. In fact, it’s statistically easier to win a multi-million dollar lawsuit than it is to win the lottery. With more than one lawyer for every 292 U.S. residents, the number of lawsuits filed everyday will continue to rise. No one is safe from litigation-especially if his or her net worth is over $250,000. At this level of net worth, you are wealthier than 99 percent of U.S. residents and your high net worth is susceptible to frivolous lawsuits.

In an increasingly litigious and greedy society, you don’t have to be a multi-millionaire to be sued.

Are you a juicy target for a lawsuit? You may not think so. It’s true that you have a few assets-a small thriving business (emphasis on small), a home that’s nice but far from ostentatious, an income that’s, well, respectable-but wealthy? No. Wealthy is the Hollywood plastic surgeon or the dot.com gazillionaire who made a killing in the ’90s. Wealthy is Bill Gates. Those are the people who should worry about asset protection, not some small-town entrepreneur who puts in twelve-hour workdays, and coaches Little League on Saturdays. Right?

“Absolutely wrong,” says Douglass S. Lodmell, and adds, “people think that only the super-wealthy, those with more than $5 million in assets, need to aggressively guard against lawsuits. Just the opposite is true. If someone with a small ‘fortune’ of a million dollars or so in assets loses, say $700,000 in court, he will be severely affected. He may no longer be able to retire. The extremely wealthy person could pay the $700,000 without noticing a change in his lifestyle-especially considering that he probably has a strong asset protection plan in place already.”

But what about someone like you? Are you really likely to get sued? The harsh reality is that many, if not most, of the 70,000 civil lawsuits filed every day in America target small business owners and Americans with less than $1 million in net worth. And at L&L, where we serve clients who might be described as “comfortable but not extravagantly rich”-we believe assuming you won’t be on the losing end of litigation is a risky gamble.

The best way to protect yourself is to take legal steps to make yourself unattractive to potential predators. There are solid legal structures you can, and should explore. And a good asset protection attorney, one with solid reputation and experience, can guide you in weaving together a series of increasingly protective legal shields that serve to deny unwanted access to your money.

Aside from legal asset protection, Lodmell also offers the following Tips You Can Follow To Avoid A Lawsuit.

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros

In the ultimate “how to” book on attaining financial independence and freedom, Dr. Albert C. Goerig - nationally known dentist, lecturer on financial management and Lodmell & Lodmell client - provides readers with real answers to enjoying the good life without the accompanying anxiety.

From a collaboration with Kendrick Mercer comes “Time and Money,” a realistic escape plan from the economic stress inherent in living the 21st century’s American dream.

According to Goerig and Mercer, everyone’s susceptible to financial stress, whether making $20,000 a year or millions. Rest assured, economic peace of mind is within the realm of possibilities.

It begins with achieving economic freedom by living debt free and building liquid assets capable of reproducing your accustomed lifestyle throughout the rest of your lifetime. Included are several suggestions from early retirement to estate planning to goal setting. Then it explores your inter- and intra-personal experiences by simplifying life and “clearing out the junk.” It’s not just about having your cake, but also learning to savor every delicious bite.

They reveal the “secret” to achieving this end through a specific game plan aimed not only at the finish line, but at emphasizing inner peace in the process of life along the way.

“Time and Money” is based on the day-to-day philosophy of Mercer. In the late 1980’s he began Life Master, now known as Garden Company, guiding people towards the attainment of financial independence. Alone, this financial independence doesn’t create happiness -something he noticed in the lives of his clients. So he began personal growth seminars aimed at the discovery of personal fulfillment.

Goerig was particularly influenced. As he writes, “Once I mastered [Mercer’s] simple philosophy, I found I was able to live with grace and peace no matter what challenges I encountered.” Teaming up for the project, Goerig and Mercer’s “Time and Money” is, in essence, a transcript of Mercer’s financial and philosophical lessons. It aims to provide their benefits to a wider audience base.

The book is available for order online at Amazon.com, Atlasbooks.com or through the phone at 1(800) 247-6553.

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros
Who says love doesn’t cost a thing? Definitely not Joseph Bisignano of West Des Moines, Iowa.

In early 2004, Bisignano filed a lawsuit against a former love interest. It seems that for two years, Bisignano tried to woo Mary Toon into becoming his fourth bride. And after Toon said “I don’t,” Bisignano filed a suit seeking to have Toon fork over $129,000 in gifts plus pay back the $200,000 in loans and purchases he made for her. The lawsuit alleges that Toon is guilty of fraud, breach of contract and “unjust enrichment.”

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros

Ramsey and Bergen County police must pay a man who got drunk and passed out on a snow bank $850,000.

Frederick Puglisi left a New Year’s Eve party at a Ramsey County hotel in 2001 and passed out on a snow bank minutes later. Witnesses of his passing out called 911 but did not stay until police arrived. After they arrived, police conducted a cursory search of the scene, but did not find Puglisi. Puglisi was found nine hours later and had severe frostbite that lead to the amputation of several limbs. The jury in the Puglisi case found that Puglisi was only 15 percent responsible for his alcohol-induced injuries while the police, who should have found him sooner, were responsible for 85 percent.

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros

The Iowa Court of Appeals upheld a jury’s award of $41,267 to shopper Judy Krenk, who said she slipped on a grape at the checkout aisle at the No Frills Supermarket.

The store owners “claimed managers hadn’t been notified about a hazardous condition and therefore were not negligent.” The ruling noted that it wasn’t clear how the grape got on the floor, but the jury awarded Krenk $82,535. The jury, however, ruled that the accident was 50% her fault, so the award was cut in half.

How many times have you seen a grape fall onto the floor of a grocery store? Especially after the recent ruling, it’s a lawsuit waiting to happen. Do you have magazines or children’s toys on your reception area floor? Did it just rain or snow, making your entryway a little slippery? As you can see, there are many ways that a doctor is exposed to potential lawsuits that aren’t covered by any type of medical malpractice insurance.

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros

They call him “King Yob” around the streets - a name his reputation as a thug with robbery, burglary and assault convictions on his résumé earned. Yet this teenager found the court on his side after injuring himself while trespassing.

Carl Murphy, now 18-years-old, fell through the roof of a warehouse building near Liverpool nine years ago. As a result of that 40-foot fall, the English teen now has seventeen plates in his head and a partially blind left eye. He sued the warehouse, arguing about the low barriers of entry. According to Murphy, if the fence were in better condition, it would have barred him from entering and injuring himself.

Murphy just received his £567,000 compensation last week. He then told the press he was going to buy a big house and a “flash car” with it and taunted local shopkeepers - claiming he’d buy them out of business.

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros

Did you know that dogs bite nearly 2 percent of the U.S. population each year? That’s more than 4.7 million people, one out of every six of which are injured seriously enough to require medical attention.

According to State Farm insurance, dog attack victims in the U.S. receive over $1 billion in monetary compensation every year. The company also states that one out of every three homeowners insurance claims involves a dog bite.

Lawsuits tend to go hand-in-hand with dog bites. While many carriers cover dog bites, many claims are turned down because the policies discriminate against specific dog breeds. Unfortunately, if your dog is one of those breeds, you’ll end up being liable for any medical bills as well as pain and suffering damages.

Don’t let a nip from your pup take a nip out of you!

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros
By Greg Stanley, Whitehall Management

In the world of finance, several key indicators signal the health and direction of the U.S. economy. In practice there is one indicator that tells better than any other the health and direction of a professional practice.

That indicator is the number of new patients that are directly referred to your practice by other patients.

If this number is not at least 15 new referral patients per month, you can tell that your service or your clinical results are not impressing patients enough to generate natural referrals. Although you may tell yourself that patients just don’t get the big idea about comprehensive care, if your referral numbers are below the standard just mentioned, you may safely assume that it’s you that just doesn’t get it.

Cost, Convenience & Control

There are only three areas of a practice that can cause poor referral performance: “Cost, Convenience, and Control”. If you’re not impressed with your referral success, now you know where to look. The problem is always found among the “Big Three”.

Cost is more about perception than your actual fee structure. You can actually have the lowest fees in town but still be perceived as expensive. All you have to do to accomplish this seemingly impossible feat is to show and push big cases on your patients.

If your cost per treatment is priced at half that of the competition, but because you’ve presented patients with a large treatment plan as the only option, you’ll be perceived as expensive even though your fees are below average.

Patients don’t care about unit cost as much as they do about the size of the check they have to ultimately write at the end of the visit. I mention this perspective because I have so many doctors tell me that they have the “Cost” aspect of referral intensity taken care of, when in fact it’s the reason they’re struggling.

Convenience that inspires direct patient referrals can only be defined by the patients. Our definition of convenience is relative. After years of telling patients they have to wait for weeks to get into the practice, we think they should be impressed when we now tell them that we can get them on the schedule in a few days. A few days sounds like no wait at all to us, but to a patient it might sound like an eternity.

Control is a factor of case presentation. If you are too weak, patients will be confused about exactly what they should do. If you are too strong, patients feel like they are being “pushed.” When a patient is in a state of confusion, or feels like they have been “sold” something, they are uncomfortable with their perceived lack of control. And patients who are uncomfortable in your practice are not going to be good “referral soldiers.”

If you can deliver on the cost, convenience and control elements of a patient’s expectation of your practice, you’ll see your direct patient referrals expand. They will continue to expand until your increased patient volume prevents you from offering this same level of impressive care.

And getting a few referrals from rich, heavily insured patients with obvious needs, doesn’t mean you’ve created referral intensity. Referral intensity can be seen in the patient who calls several of his or her friends on their cell phone as they drive home from your office.

Team Training Camp

At our team training camps we have found a tremendous benefit to having doctors and staff working together on perfecting the “Big Three” referral intensity components in a seminar setting.

From my perspective at the front of the room, I see doctors nodding in agreement with the presentation about the ideal “cost, convenience and control” components of referral intensity.

I also see their staff shaking their head as they look over at their doctor. In other words, the doctor honestly believes the practice is referral worthy. The staff tell a different story.

Special Staff Report Card

For this reason we have the staff fill out a special report card on their doctor and his or her efforts to optimize the patient’s experience. We’ve found that the doctors with the highest staff graded performance scores have the highest referral numbers in the room.

Everyone knows that referral patients are easier to work with because they’re pre-sold on you and your practice. We’ve also found that referral patients are more likely to accept comprehensive recommendations as well as refer more patients to the practice.

The Whitehall Team Training Camp is a powerful experience and has proven itself as a cost effective tool for turning a confused group of individuals into a highly effective, well-coordinated team.

Special Team Training Camp Offer

We routinely receive a large number of requests for information about our Team Training Camps. Doctors are understandably reluctant to spend the money to transport their team halfway across the country to attend a meeting sight-unseen. To help doctors overcome this barrier to perfecting their own team, we are now extending an invitation to doctors to experience the Whitehall Team Training Camp with their spouse at no charge.

This is a chance for the doctor to come and see first hand how effective the meeting is at training and motivating staff to work together to create referral intensity. We know that doctors attending this meeting will be so impressed that they will move heaven and earth to get their staff to the next training camp.

Take this as your written invitation to attend Whitehall’s next Team Training Camp as our guest.

“Ten years ago a young man contacted our company. He had just graduated from chiropractic college and was returning to the Midwest to set up his practice. As with many young graduates, he was eager to get into practice, and he built his business fairly rapidly. After a few years in practice he had become very successful and already had a practice that was more profitable than the national average. During one of our consultations this young bachelor told us that he had met a girl and was quite smitten with her.

A few months later, I talked with him again, and it seemed he was still quite interested in her. It looked like a marriage might be in the making.

At our next consulting session he mentioned not only that they were talking about marriage, but that he had met her mother and father and she seemed to come from a fairly well-to-do family. Six months later they were married. But, the big surprise came when he told me they had recently inherited a portion of the family’s wealth, and the taxes on their portion alone were over twenty million dollars!

Now, I know what you’re thinking - he married for money! But the truth of the matter is, he knew nothing about her money until he was madly in love with her! And it couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy. They have a beautiful marriage and wonderful kids. His wife spends most of her time in low-profile philanthropic activities.

Now here’s the interesting part - his most recent calls to our office were to seek guidance about retirement. He had practiced only for about ten years and would probably have practiced another 10 or 20 years had it not been for the inheritance. Eventually, it boiled down to this: He felt guilty retiring so quickly after all the time, effort, and money he had put into his education and practice. In some way, his upbringing made him feel guilty about leaving his chosen profession. After several discussions he decided his responsibility of helping manage the family’s finances was more important than keeping his practice. He sold his practice a few months later.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

Ah . . . Retirement. What a wonderful thing! Sleep in as late as you want! And you never have to go to work again! You are now joining the ranks of the fastest-growing segment of the American population. In 1940 there were only 123,000 Americans age 65 or older. Today there are 30 million such Americans. It is estimated that in 2050, there will be 50 million Americans over the age of 65. Add to that the number of Americans that will be retiring before 65 and the ranks swell to 70 million - over one fourth of the United States population today.

Now, if retiring is so wonderful, why is it that I don’t feel quite right about doing it - in fact I feel a little guilty? That’s a common question among potential retirees. Perhaps the biggest reason is the fact that retirement is so final. As teachers, we let our teaching certificates lapse; as physicians, we place our licenses on inactive or let them lapse; and as factory workers, we realize there is very little chance to go back once someone else has been trained to take our place. This means all of our calculations had better be correct. If we outlive the money we now have, finding more will be very difficult.

Then there’s the American work ethic. All of our life we’ve worked 40 hours a week, sometimes more. Normal, respectable people work! Now, if we retire, especially if we retire early, many of our friends and colleagues who are the same age as we are will continue to go to work every day. And since we’re able-bodied, just like everyone else, somehow it just doesn’t seem quite fair. In addition, some professionals feel they have had a “special calling.” If God calls a minister into the ministry, does He call him out at some time, too? Or as a minister, am I just greedy if I want to retire early? Did I lose my first love for the profession?

Well, here’s the answer: There’s nothing wrong with retiring early, especially if you’ve done the math and other soft calculations and are sure that you are financially and psychologically ready for retirement. In truth, many of us can do more for our families, our community and our-selves in retirement than we can working our 40 hours-a-week job.

It’s time we stop worrying about what people think. After all, you are retirement age - you’re old enough to make your own decisions. It’s time to stop doing what your parents want you to do!

Doesn’t it seem ironic that for years we dream of early retirement - and it’s even considered noble to have an early retirement goal - and now that we stand on the threshold of opportunity, we seem unwilling to grab the brass ring. I say seize the day! It will give you the opportunity to do all the things you want while you’re still young and able to enjoy them.

Now that you’ve given yourself permission to retire, you may still be looking for permission from a few other sources, like your profession, your family, and your friends. As far as your profession is concerned, it can probably survive without you! A standup comic once said, “Don’t take yourself too seriously, just remember when everything is said and done, the number of people that attend your funeral will probably be predicated on the weather that day!”

Your spouse and family are a different story. You will want their approval for retirement as well as their input about your retirement. You’ve heard all the stories of the working man and stay-at-home wife. The man retires and is underfoot all day long. He is finally happy, but the wife is driven to distraction! Sharing your retirement dreams, goals, and challenges with your spouse and family early in the planning process will help meld ideas, create clearer visions and produce less friction.

Why not take your spouse on a weekend retreat with the agreement that you’ll spend quality time together talking about your future retirement plans. With time set aside for this open, candid discussion, you and your spouse will become more comfortable with the idea of retirement. Some of the questions will start to be answered, and you will begin to visualize the good life of retirement. Once you reach this point, your need for “permission to retire” will be met.

Excerpt from the book, “Going Out On Top” — The Easy to Understand Guide for a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous Retirement by David J. Kats, D.C. Kats Management

www.katsmanagement.com

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros

Although not directly involved in the car crash at issue, one jury’s verdict has a Milwaukee Catholic parish paying $17 million to the 84-year-old quadriplegic caught in the accident.

While volunteering for a parish group, the Legion of Mary at Christ King Parish, Margaret Morse crashed into 84-year-old Hjalmer Heikkinen, causing his quadriplegia. Heikkinne sued.

Faced with Morse’s insurance limit of $50,000, the Christ King Parish became financially responsible. The volunteering parish, the Legion of Mary in Wauwatosa is closely related to the Christ King Parish. As the jury publicly announced, the community outreach work between the two is “too intertwined” to be separated.

But as Philip K. Howard, chairman of an organization named the Common Good, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “The notion of $15 million in pain and suffering to a person who’s nearing the end of life needs to be balanced against who’s paying for that.In effect, they’re making this elderly gentleman’s family rich at the expense of everyone in the parish.”

Critics of the decision worry about possible effects of the judgment if upheld. They point towards the organizational structure of the Catholic Church and other religious organizations as targets for lawsuits involving the liabilities of volunteers.

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros

Lodmell & Lodmell recently partnered up with Greg Stanley of Whitehall Management to create a thorough and helpful six-tape series entitled, “You’re Hired! You’re Fired! You’re Sued!” This tape series will educate medical professionals on how to legally manage employees in order to avoid future employment litigation.

The new tape series follows the employment path from creating a job description to interviewing future employees and avoiding illegal interview questions. It also includes details for creating an Employee Handbook as well as instituting a sexual harassment policy in the workplace.

In addition to creating the tape, L&L also created the companion booklet, Employment Laws Every Employer Should Know. Included in every tape set is a coupon to receive a free copy of the booklet from L&L.

For more information on the tape series, please contact Whitehall Management at (623) 934-2108 or via the Internet at www.whitehallmgt.com

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros

In the ultimate “how to” book on attaining financial independence and freedom, Dr. Albert C. Goerig - nationally known dentist, lecturer on financial management and Lodmell & Lodmell client - provides readers with real answers to enjoying the good life without the accompanying anxiety.

From a collaboration with Kendrick Mercer comes “Time and Money,” a realistic escape plan from the economic stress inherent in living the 21st century’s American dream.

According to Goerig and Mercer, everyone’s susceptible to financial stress, whether making $20,000 a year or millions. Rest assured, economic peace of mind is within the realm of possibilities.

It begins with achieving economic freedom by living debt free and building liquid assets capable of reproducing your accustomed lifestyle throughout the rest of your lifetime. Included are several suggestions from early retirement to estate planning to goal setting. Then it explores your inter- and intra-personal experiences through the simplification of life and “clearing out the junk.” It’s not just about having your cake, but also learning to savor every delicious bite.

They reveal the “secret” to achieving this end through a specific game plan aimed at not only at the finish line, but rather emphasizing inner peace in the process of life along the way.

“Time and Money” is based on the day-to-day philosophy of Mercer. In the late 1980’s he began Life Master, now known as Garden Company, guiding people towards the attainment of financial independence. Alone, this financial independence doesn’t create happiness -something he noticed in the lives of his clients. So he began personal growth seminars aimed at the discovery of personal fulfillment.

Goerig was particularly influenced. As he writes, “Once I mastered his simple philosophy, I found I was able to live with grace and peace no matter what challenges I encountered.” Teaming up for the project, Goerig and Mercer’s “Time and Money” is in essence a transcript of Mercer’s financial and philosophical lessons. It aims to provide their benefits to a wider audience base. The book is available for order online at Amazon.com, Atlasbooks.com or through the phone at 1(800) 247-6553.

Congratulations to Dr. Albert C. Goerig on all of his contributions to “Time and Money.”

For over 15 years doctors have come to the Whitehall seminars to learn to save for retirement. Although the cost of a new home is substantial, $150,000-$450,000, it pales in comparison to the cost of retirement. Enjoying a non-inflation adjusted income of just $5,000 per month would require income producing capital of about $1,200,000 in tax free municipal bonds at toady’s interest rates. Financial planners are ever-present with their computer ledgers and aggressive investments telling us that if we don’t get serious about saving for retirement, and I mean NOW, we are in real trouble. They, of course, can save us from the horror of an impoverished retirement if we put our trust and our money with them.

To the doctor who has experienced financial setbacks due to managed care, increased competition, or unpaid income taxes, the thought of complete retirement from practice sounds like the ultimate human experience. After 14 years of practicing with too few vacations and too little rest, full retirement sounds like the perfect setting to get caught up on the life and dreams that somehow passed you by.

Unfortunately, the reality of retirement is a well kept secret. Full retirement is like death. No one ever comes back to tell us what it’s like. It may be that both departed spirits and retirees try to communicate with us, but we are not in tune with them - departed spirits because they are disembodied, and retirees because no one wants to listen to old geezers talk about the good old days. I feel like my experience consulting with doctors at all stages of financial development, including full retirement, has given me a unique perspective on retirement. I have worked with doctors that have completely retired from practice at ages ranging from 35 to 85 years of age - some with millions dollars in tax-free municipal bonds.

The great truth you may not want to know is that full retirement not only falls short of your dreams, it’s actually worse than any stress, crisis or trauma you ever endured in practice - including managed health care, malpractice suits, or bad tax audits. Having personally observed my young, wealthy, fully-retired clients lives shatter shortly after leaving their practices to live “the good life”, I am convinced that full retirement is not the perfect setting to experience personal fulfillment.

I guess if you think about it, retirement as the end-all existence is the cruelest of all lies because you put off living until the end of your life only to find that working, with all its stress and uncertainty is better than having all the time and money in the world if you have no identity. That is the part most people have trouble visualizing, not having an identity. Let me explain. In our society when someone asks you what you do they are really asking who you are. Yes, our work defines us.

In retirement when someone asks you what you do and you tell them that you used to be a doctor, they will then repeat the question and you will repeat the same answer. Unless you are engaged in a current enterprise of some sort you have no identity, therefore you are not a valid human being capable of validating others with your companionship. Until you have experienced being a nonessential human being you cannot know what full retirement feels like. A large part of the joy of life and practice is not feeling needed but feeling essential in the lives of others.

I have been asked by my clients about when I plan to retire, due to my heavy travel schedule. I would have to answer that question differently today than I would have 10 years ago. Back then I would have agreed that a person cannot work and travel like this indefinitely. After having observed my clients’ experiences with full retirement I can tell you that I will slow down as I age but I will not willingly accept full retirement.

As a consultant I am often approached by my consulting clients to help them determine the value of their practices and the suitability of them selling their practice at retirement. We have found that if they can maintain between 25 percent to 50 percent of their practice, while scaling back their overheads by the same figure, that they are financially better off to continue working the practice at the reduced rate than to sell the practice and try to live off the interest or principle of the practice sale.

When a doctor asks us how much money they will need to completely retire on $12,000 per month and we tell them that the amount approaches $3,000,000, they usually feel depressed and hopeless. I then ask them why they want to retire. They will usually say that practice has become boring or stressful. I have found that it is easier to make practice exciting and interesting than it is to save $3,000,000 over the next 15 years. Are you really willing to live out your remaining practice years depressed and bored so you can wait for retirement Shangri La? Think it over.

The financial dynamics of complete retirement definitely work against the doctor. If you take full retirement from practice at age 55 you have to compensate for inflation by living on about half of the interest your savings would produce. If you are still working just enough to pay your current living expenses, you have let inflation work for you by letting it increase your practice fees thus offsetting the increased cost of living for those years you still had practice income. By doing this, when your health finally forces you to quit, you can begin taking the delayed Social Security payments that you have coming. Because you waited until age 70 or later to take your Social Security payments you not only get 25% more monthly income, you no longer face a social security penalty for having earned income.

When you reach retirement you typically have about 12 percent of your life remaining and it is likely that in spite of your fat-free, sugar-free, cholesterol-free, salt-free diet you are not going to be as spry as you are today. The old comedian, Red Fox used to say “Someday health nuts are going to feel stupid, laying in hospitals dying of nothing”. More important than saving money for retirement, work toward a practice that is fun, interesting and exciting if you want to be rich. Remember, that to be rich without working in your retirement years requires millions of dollars saved that require exaggerated financial sacrifice. If you can still enjoy working in your later years you will be able to live a more balanced life now and a more fulfilled retirement.

By Greg Stanley President, Whitehall Management

RELATED LINKS: Whitehall Management: www.whitehallmgt.com

Does the dentist exist who doesn’t sometimes fear a malpractice lawsuit? Doesn’t the possibility of a court judgment of several million dollars at least occasionally enter your thoughts–perhaps before you go to sleep at night, when you have your hands in a patient’s mouth, or when you’re just relaxing with your family? Does the apprehension sometimes keep you from truly enjoying dentistry?

You probably spend a great deal of time determining how to market to potential patients, how to keep patients, how to provide the best technical care and how to keep operating costs down. The tragic irony though is that even after all your efforts in these areas-regardless of their degree of success-as a health professional, you’re still at high risk for malpractice, discrimination and harassment claims, as well as a variety of truly creative ones. (One grandmother who loaned her grandson $2,000 was hit with a $1.5 million court judgment after he was cited for negligence in a collision - with no liability insurance. The jury held her culpable for not knowing more about her grandson’s driving ability, even though she’d never ridden with him.) A litigious mentality is, unfortunately, an inescapable state of American society.

Are there effective ways of protecting yourself? Yes, but you must think ahead. Waiting until you’ve been slapped with a suit won’t help.

One of the best ways to cover yourself before you receive notice that you’re a defendant is the Family Limited Partnership (FLP). As partners in a 30-year old estate planning firm, we recommend it highly to every dentist who is at the slightest risk for malpractice. (That’s just about everyone nowadays.)

The Family Limited Partnership (FLP) is the cornerstone and first line of defense for safeguarding your assets not only against legal judgments, but also other creditors and taxes. Establish an FLP in the right state, and you’ll have a powerful asset protection tool. Limited partnerships have been around since the turn of the twentieth century, but in the last several decades, estate planners have increasingly used the Family Limited Partnership to protect their clients’ wealth and reduce income and estate taxes. This tool may be used effectively in conjunction with a revocable living trust, which we often use as the general partner of the FLP.

How the FLP Works

Imagine that you and your spouse own stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other assets and that you create a Family Limited Partnership. The FLP consists of the two of you as, for instance, a 2 percent general partner (GP). The GP is the partner responsible for managing the partnership and is personally liable for partnership (not personal) debts. Both of you also receive the remaining 98 percent of the partnership as limited partners (LPs). LPs are exempt from the debts and liabilities of the partnership. You and your spouse may then give small LP interests to your children or others, for example, one or two percent each. The more partners, the stronger the FLP for both tax benefits and asset protection.

FLPs as Protection Against Creditors

The unique aspect of a limited partnership, which makes it such a potent asset protector, is that laws in virtually every state provide that “a creditor cannot reach the assets of a partnership to satisfy the personal debts of a partner.” In other words, if you’re hit with a lawsuit, you may count on a high degree of protection for all those assets “owned” by the FLP.

In a coordinated estate plan with a properly structured FLP holding, most - if not all - of your liquid wealth and other assets are secured. A wanna-be plaintiff or plaintiff’s lawyer will have second thoughts about initiating a lawsuit against you, the judgment of which may be extremely difficult to collect. In our practice, we’ve often experienced the magical disappearance of a plaintiff’s lawyer upon discovering our clients have FLP protection.

This isn’t to say a judgment creditor has no remedy with regard to an FLP. They do. It’s called a charging order, and we’ll discuss it later in this article.

It’s wise to understand how the asset protection value of the FLP in an overall estate plan can be used most effectively. It’s also important to draw upon the skill and experience of a professional advisor in this field.

What to Remember in Setting up an FLP

Just as you had to make important decisions about where to set up your dental practice, the first consideration in creating an FLP is jurisdiction. The laws of the state where the FLP is registered are critical. Because you, the client, have a choice of jurisdiction, you want to select a state with very clear statutes and case law governing the charging order. We register the FLP in a non-resident state (one in which you’ve not established a residence) to further enhance the privacy aspects and because it’s just more difficult to pursue a claim there.

The second important consideration is deciding which assets to transfer to–and which to leave out of–your FLP. For maximum benefit, we prefer the “primary” FLP to own only “safe assets” (items that in themselves possess no inherent liability. For instance, you can’t injure someone with a stock certificate.) Do transfer cash, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, notes receivable, accounts receivable, stamp and coin collections, art objects, etc.

Life insurance policies may also be owned by your FLP, but analyze your insurance separately in order to look at several key issues in ownership. Do not transfer your personal residence, rental real estate, raw land, or an active business (unless the business is in a limited liability company (LLC) or C-Corp.

Generally, risky assets such as those described above, as well as autos, boats, airplanes, and motor homes, should not be mixed with safe assets in your primary FLP. To maximize your protection, some of these risky assets might best be placed in a corporation or LLC. Other items not to be placed in an FLP are tax-deferred annuities (they would lose their tax deferment), S-Corp stock (tax law prohibits it), and all varieties of retirement plans, including IRAs and KEOGHs (the law requires the individual to own these personally).

How FLPs can Reduce Taxes

Who wouldn’t like to reduce their taxes? The FLP has the ability to reduce or even eliminate federal estate taxes. It’s an ideal vehicle for reducing your gross taxable estate. As an individual, you can pass only $650,000 to your heirs tax free (1999 amount) and a husband and wife only $1,300,000/lifetime. Everything above that amount is exposed to a potential estate tax starting at 37 percent and rising to 55 percent. However, by gifting limited partnership interest of the FLP to your children (using part or all of the lifetime exclusion and the annual $10,000 per person gift exclusion), the two of you as general partners can dramatically reduce your gross taxable estate. You needn’t be concerned about losing your decision-making power. Parents as general partners control the FLP. It’s therefore not a difficult decision to gift ownership to children, since you retain effective control.

Yet the law makes it even more attractive: imagine you’ve set up an FLP comprised of $2,000,000 of your gross taxable estate. You have the FLP professionally appraised, and the appraiser calculates a 35 percent valuation reduction-valuing the FLP at only $1,300,000 for estate and gift tax purposes. This $700,000 reduction may translate into over $300,000 of taxes saved and passed on to your heirs instead of the IRS. Attorneys and others familiar with this process can structure even very large estates to have no estate tax liability. We’ve seen these valuation discounts run between 30 and 50 percent.

Setup and Administration

The cost of setting up an FLP is small, considering its great benefits - especially if you find yourself the unfortunate victim of litigation. The cost of properly setting up an FLP typically ranges from $2,000 to $5,000. Shop around for a good estate planning attorney with experience in this specialty. You’ll be required to file an annual partnership form 1065 tax return and K-1s to each partner. If your return is not too complex (because it holds mostly liquid assets), your accountant’s annual costs will be modest.

Remember that the power of the charging order is important in the selection of the jurisdiction of the FLP. The charging order serves as a kind of lien against the debtor partner’s interest. We choose only states specifying that the charging order is the only remedy available to a creditor. In this situation, the order is often referred to as a cure worse than the disease. This is because once the charging order has been served on you as the general partner, the judgment creditor becomes responsible to pay all taxes due on that interest–even though there was no distribution to the debtor partner. This has discouraged many a judgment creditor from using the charging order.

Fraudulent Transference of Assets

Beware! Assets transferred to an FLP must not be fraudulently conveyed or transferred. If after having been put on notice of a claim against you, you attempt to put assets into an FLP, it won’t work. Not only will your assets be unprotected, but you may be slapped with other penalties.

It’s also considered fraudulent if you transfer assets with an actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud a creditor. If you properly set up your estate plan in advance, however, fraudulent transfer is generally not an issue.

Don’t plan on your lawyer’s expertise to compensate for your lack of foresightedness. The codes of professional conduct for lawyers prohibit counseling in fraudulent activity.

In the area of estate planning, there’s no substitute for planning ahead.

Estate planning attorneys Gary L. Lodmell and Douglass S. Lodmell will be glad to answer your questions and may be reached at 800.231.7112.

“I never did anything to her that could be remotely construed as sexual, let alone harassing! And my wife knows I’m telling the truth!” It was “Dr. Jim” on the telephone. We had never met, but he was in a panic. He had just received a letter from a lawyer telling him he was going to be sued by a female patient for sexual harassment.

He angrily pleaded, “What’s the use of busting my tail, giving my patients my best, and building up my savings if someone can just sue me and take it all away?” Then he added, “And, no doubt, it’s because I’m financially solid.”

We empathized with Dr. Jim and tried to be as supportive as possible, while knowing he was in for a long, painful, and expensive battle. Even if he were to “win,” the price would be high. And based on the ever-increasing popularity of these harassment and discrimination lawsuits, there’s no guarantee he wouldn’t get hit with a judgment of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars

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Prevention BEFORE the Pain

Was there something Dr. Jim could have done to prevent this? The answer is yes, and, unfortunately, today the social tendency of people to sue one another makes preventive measures a necessity. With so many looking for a free ride, attorneys advertising, “No pay unless we collect for you,” and “friends” encouraging the disgruntled to sue their doctors, it’s no wonder our court system is clogged and in many instances breaking down.

So what could Dr. Jim have done to avoid a lawsuit? He could have, in the normal course of an overall estate plan, included an asset protection program. To begin with, he could have set up a Family Limited Partnership (FLP) and placed inside it all of his savings, investments, and liquid assets. Using one or more trusts, he could have insulated other assets from claims, even if a plaintiff were successful in getting a lawsuit judgment. He would have made himself a porcupine in the eyes of a sensible lawyer. He could have structured his assets in such a manner that a lawyer, especially one working on a contingency fee, wouldn’t take the case to begin with. An effective asset protection plan is like wearing a suit of armor against the slings and arrows of lawsuits; when lawyers see them, they’re strongly inclined to return their arrows to the quiver and look for an easier target.

Although in the case of our frightened doctor it was after the fact, we began developing a plan to protect him in the future. We took him well beyond malpractice insurance (which doesn’t cover harassment, discrimination, general liability, and other miscellaneous claims). When he realized what might have been, Dr. Jim asked, “Why doesn’t every medical professional have a protection plan in effect?”

For the most part, it’s because they just don’t know about asset protection and its great benefits. This is easily remedied by talking with asset protection specialists.

But, in addition to a lack of awareness, many professionals believe a lawsuit will never happen to them. The United States, however, is the most litigious society on the planet. About 94 percent of all lawsuits in the world occur in the U.S. We have more lawyers per capita here than anywhere else. The American Bar Association predicts that in the next two years one of every four business or professional people will be involved in a lawsuit.

Coordinated Plan a “Must”

In the April 1999 issue of the Profitable Dentist, Dr. Woody Oakes articulated one of his secrets for success: give your patients your clear, undivided attention. We have also found that advice to be of great value in reducing the incidence of unhappy patients. Remember, it’s generally the unhappy patients who sue you.

For added protection and peace of mind, however, you can establish an overall coordinated business, estate and financial plan that addresses every available asset protection strategy. Firms such as ours have become specialists in this field because of this need. Specialists look at the client’s picture as a whole. That means reviewing your estate plan, tax plan, insurance program, investments, and financial plan to be certain they all work together for maximum efficiency and benefits to you and your family–not the IRS or lawyers. Competent specialists will coordinate with your insurance, financial, and tax advisors.

Tools that Work

In the end, Dr. Jim’s overall plan involved a Revocable Living Trust (RLT), Family Limited Partnership (FLP), Irrevocable Children’s Trust (ICT), and Offshore Asset Protection Trust (APT). These four estate planning and asset protection tools each served a specific and desired purpose for Dr. Jim and his family.

The Revocable Living Trust is the family’s basic estate manager. It is a credit shelter trust for a husband and wife that preserves both $650,000 estate tax exemptions. That means that at death, $650,000 of the estate (per spouse) can be transferred tax-free to the heirs.

This amounts to a potential savings of $250,000 in federal estate taxes. The RLT is set up to administer the care, education, and timed distribution of the doctor’s estate upon the death of both husband and wife.

We established a Family Limited Partnership for Dr. Jim and his wife to “own” their savings and personal investments, such as stocks, bonds, and other “safe” assets. The FLP is the family’s first line of defense. With the doctor, his wife, and the four children as partners, we’ve created a very strong barrier between the assets inside it and individual claims or lawsuits. The FLP will also serve to substantially reduce the tax bite the IRS would otherwise take out of an estate.

Additionally, Dr. Jim chose to set up an Irrevocable Children’s Trust, which receives by way of a gift to their four children $120,000 worth of Dr. Jim’s paid-for and depreciated office equipment. The ICT, by leasing the equipment back to Dr. Jim’s practice, creates $24,000 of deductible business expense. This is used to pay for the children’s non-essentials, such as music and sports camps, education, vehicles, and insurance. These were all the things for which Dr. Jim and his wife would have had to pay for with after-tax, 50-cents on the dollar money.

Because of Dr. Jim’s significant personal investments and his discomfort with the lawsuit atmosphere, he also chose to establish an offshore asset protection trust. If a serious threat arises the APT, as the 94-percent owner of all the assets inside the FLP, can legally remove these liquid assets of the FLP to a foreign jurisdiction completely out of the reach of creditors, lawyers, courts, and governments.

The really great news for Dr. Jim and his wife was the result of setting up a trust for their children to own and lease back to the practice $120,000 worth of equipment. This created an additional $24,000 a year in business deductions that saved Dr. Jim over $8,000 in taxes. Even better, the $8,000 savings will continue every year until the youngest child completes college and even graduate school. We also recommend that Dr. Jim employ his children from ages 7 through 18 by his practice, therefore passing additional business deductible dollars to them.

Bottom Line

Because Jim was well aware of the consequences of not being adequately protected, he chose a comprehensive package. By the time his children complete their education, how much will Dr. Jim save through estate and tax planning, and asset protection? Over $100,000!

Dr. Jim’s total package cost him $8,900. Now not only does he have a comprehensive estate plan, but also an almost impenetrable asset protection program.

This is a brief overview of what can be done to protect your estate before you’re slapped with a lawsuit. Remember, if you wait until afterwards to begin putting these measures in place, it just won’t fly and you could be accused of fraudulent transfers.

Everyone’s professional and financial situation is different, and a plan needs to be carefully prepared and skillfully applied to meet a particular client’s needs. But remember that procrastination is the enemy of a calm state of mind. The sooner you begin, the sooner you’ll experience the kind of protection that will put you at ease and make dentistry truly enjoyable.

Lodmell & Lodmell will be happy to consult with you over the telephone–without any cost or obligation–to discuss your needs and make recommendations. Call 800.231.7112, and they’ll give you more specific information on the various tools and strategies available for protecting your estate.

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros

For parents of children with special needs, the death of a parent often raises a big question: What happens now?

Parents of autistic and mentally or physically handicapped children know their children have special needs. And those special needs generally don’t disappear with age. According to Coletta Anderson, office manager for Lodmell & Lodmell, the Special Needs Trust is for people who know they’re not going to be around forever and want to leave something to ensure the child’s care.

Parents generally want their child to be cared for, but restrictions on eligibility for Medicaid and government benefits make doing so sticky.

By putting a special needs child in your Revocable Living Trust and eventually granting these children an inheritance, parent’s leave them ineligible for government help. For a child to receive health insurance through Medicaid, they cannot have more than $2,000 in personal assets. And help through any government funded assistance program means the child must have little personal net worth.

It’s important for the child to receive health insurance through Medicaid even in affluent families. Not only does it provide a safety net when anything that could happen does happen, but it also facilitates access to certain services and machines. Some government agencies can reach durable medical equipment faster or more easily than private individuals.

Additionally, according to managing attorney Ike Devji, the inheritance left to a child runs the risk of “being eaten up by the state.” When determining the amount of aid needed, the state takes all assets into account. Before providing services to the child, the state uses up any inheritance in the child’s name - leaving little left for any needs outside the very basic costs of living.

Fortunately, a Special Needs Trust makes it possible, in the event of the parents’ death, to continue providing the child with health insurance through Medicaid without abandoning their other needs. Assets in the trust will not count against the child. So while Medicaid, Social Security and/or assisted living help the child with living and health costs, the Special Needs Trust allows for a quality of life above the basic necessities. For many people, it’s like seeing money they paid into the tax system directly benefit their children.

The trust can be used to attend a special camp or pay for a special speech coach. Instead of an economical wheelchair, perhaps they can get that motorized one.

The trust also keeps that money safe from the state as well as creditors. Once placed into the trust, assets are typically irrevocably gifted and as such are inaccessible to any future creditors of the parents.

Basically, instead of listing the child as the beneficiary in any will, retirement account or legal settlement, the trust is listed. Often, people set the trust up with their life insurance flowing into it. From there it makes distributions to a third party.

In essence, the trust pays people other than the beneficiary child for goods and services the child uses. From restaurants and swimming lessons to money allowing family and friends to accompany the child on trips, the trust gives financial stability to the child. It also allows them to secure vehicles and health insurance benefits for caregivers.

When it comes to setting up a Special Needs Trust, there are several reasons to start early. Not only does it keep those assets away from creditors, but it also helps ensure eligibility for government assistance. The state typically looks three years into the past. So a trust created within three years of an application for state aid counts against them. It may disqualify them completely from some benefits or require payment for others. Also, parents may continue to fund the trust throughout their life, facilitating a larger contribution.

Do note, once a child is over the age of eighteen, a successor trustee must be named. The parents are no longer the assumed guardians. Naming the wrong person as the successor trustee raises risks. For instance, they may put the child in a home and run off with the rest of the money.

In choosing someone, Anderson advises, “You want to make sure your successor trustee is someone safe, reliable and with the child’s best interest in mind.”

In many cases people choose an aunt, uncle or sibling of the child. Some advocacy groups for the disabled even employ professionals to serve as trustees.

After choosing someone, speaking to the successor trustee is advised. And the parents may write letters of intent. The letter is not a legal document. It is, however, an expression of the parents’ wishes for the child. It can help the successor trustee by giving them instructions on how to care for the child. It generally consists of their health history, physician’s contact information, hopes and personal wishes and information.

Knowing parents won’t be around forever shouldn’t cause stress and fears of substandard living. Special children deserve a life of happiness and stability as much as anyone else. And with a little planning in advance, the Special Needs Trust can help make it happen.

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros
WEST POINT, Miss. (2003) — Another man stole his wife’s heart, so Albert Holcombe, Jr. sued. And, the jury said his broken heart is worth $175,000.

Harry Stevens was ordered by a jury in Mississippi to pay $175,000 for breaking up the marriage.

Holcombe claimed Stevens had an affair and destroyed his marriage to his now ex-wife, Andrea Holcombe.

Stevens argued in county court documents that the marriage was over and that he didn’t break up the couple.

Andrea Holcombe said in an affidavit that by late 1996 and early 1997, the marriage was nonexistent.

Albert Holcombe’s attorney, Tyson Graham, said such cases are usually settled out of court.

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros

There’s a cat with a house and a trust fund, but will it last for all nine lives, especially in a down economy?

Time will tell for Tinker the cat, whose wealthy owner in London, England died recently leaving the feline the bulk of an estate worth just under $1 million.

But for now, Tinker is in the lap of luxury. The former stray now lives by himself in a London house valued at $500,000. Tinker also has a $160,000 trust fund to keep him in catnip, cream and fine seafood.

When Tinker dies, the estate will pass to the trustees, Ann and Eugene Wheatley, who deliver Tinker’s food and milk each day.

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros

Widow Maggie Smith and her two adult children were awarded $3.5 million by an Ohio jury in the their wrongful death lawsuit against Dr. Franklin Price.

During the trial, they convinced a jury that Dr. Price did not do enough to help the late Lawrence Smith avoid his fatal heart attack — despite the fact that Mr. Smith was 54, overweight, a long-time smoker who ate a poor diet, got little exercise, had diabetes and high cholesterol, and admitted to being stressed at work. Dr. Price said he gave Smith repeated admonitions about his bad habits, but the jury disagreed.

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros

If you’ve been reading THE LODMELL REPORT for the last year, you probably know that medical malpractice isn’t the only type of lawsuit that medical practitioners have to worry about. The courts are packed with discrimination, harassment and wrongful dischage suits. Now it appears that “old equipment” is a new worry for doctors.

In June of 2004, the Iowa Court of Appeals reinstated a lawsuit against a Waterloo, IA dentist. The Appeals Court said that a jury should decide whether the dentist was negligent when his 20-year-old dentist’s chair gave way under the patient.

According to the suit, the patient’s teeth had been cleaned and a dental assistant was raising the chair when it collapsed. The patient was then thrown against the sink and cabinet and is claiming head and shoulder injuries that have now caused limited disability. The patient is suing for $12,500 in medical bills and pain and suffering for the disability.

The Court of Appeals said that the dentist, Ronald King, “was aware of the age of the chair and its need for repair, and inspecting the chair would not prove particularly difficult.” The Court added that “a dental patient is entitled to certain expectations for his safety when he is seated in a dental chair in a dentist’s office.”

From slippery floors to upset employees, there is a plethora of liabilities in every medical office. Just remember that it’s best to keep equipment properly serviced to avoid future litigation.

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros

After ending a three-year relationship, one Californian decided to sue, claiming her ex-lover violated an oral contract.

Christopher Hill, owner of the Christopher Hill Gallery in downtown St. Helena, allegedly tricked Emma Dipadova into moving in with him, investing in his gallery and bearing his child. She maintains they agreed she would cut back or give up her career to help his gallery while he supported her for life. She also claims he unjustly fired her from working at the gallery after taking a leave of absence while pregnant.

Dipadova accuses him of violating a business partnership and of a pact they made, by ending their relationship. Allegedly Hill also gave police a false report causing her arrest during a rental car incident. According to Hill, her claims have no merit.

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros

Children performing acts of kindness can serve as reasons for litigation, one Colorado court decided. Two teenagers baking cookies for their neighbor found themselves facing a lawsuit after the delivery.

Teenagers Taylor Ostergaard and Lindsey Jo Zellitti claim they simply tried to show their neighbors that people cared about them as they baked chocolate chip and sugar cookies. They made pink construction paper hearts with the message “Have a great night” and delivered them with the cookies to nine homes in their area.

After hearing the door knock, a 49-year-old woman, Wanita Renea Young called the police out of fear - believing it to be robbers or some other danger. According to the police, no crime was committed. But the next day Young had an anxiety attack sending her to the hospital. She sued Ostergaard and Zellitti. The court decided in favor of Young, who claims the girls “showed very poor judgment.”

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros

For animal lovers, apartment pet policies often mean sifting through the options to find one that fits their needs best.

But when a Michigan woman couldn’t have a dog in her apartment, she didn’t take the typical route by searching for another place with different policies. She sued.

Joyce Grad, who suffers from bipolar disorder, moved into a complex with a no-pet policy in place. She claimed her dog is her life, and most people living with emotional disorders do better with pets.

The waiving of no-pet policies isn’t unusual to see for deaf or blind tenants, in many apartments. The complex, however, announced a refusal to waive their policies for Grad before she moved in. Despite such prior notice, she was awarded more than $300,000 after taking them to court.

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros

A bleeding mouth and a hospital visit weren’t the only things Antolos Rodriguez, received after stepping into a New York McDonald’s. Rodriguez filed a false report with police claiming his sandwich contained staples and a paper clip. He now faces charges for the false report and fabrication of evidence.

The incident occurred after a woman filed a lawsuit alleging she ingested needles from her chicken sandwich.

Rodriguez went into the same McDonald’s, ordered a chicken sandwich and took it to the bathroom. There he proceeded to take a bite and spit it out in the trashcan. According to police, he then placed the staples and paper clip in his sandwich and rewrapped it. With a razor blade he allegedly cut his mouth to complete the scene.

Claiming his sandwich contained the staples and paper clip, he alerted the police and went to the hospital. The police, however, arrested him after confronting him with evidence of the scam.

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros

In Pennsylvania, a business firm paid out over $500,000 after one of their employees was responsible for an automobile accident. The employee was driving and talking on his company-provided cellular phone when the accident happened. Even though the accident happened at 9:30 PM on a Saturday night, the Pennsylvania jury found the driver and business guilty. If you expect staffers to use phones for business, write a policy requiring them to pull over while they talk.

Contributed by Rosie Cisneros

People in the U.S. can now obtain a free copy of their credit report once a year by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com. And while it’s recommended that you take advantage of this offer by Congress, don’t try to access the above website through any pop-up ads or email messages as they are likely to be identity theft scams.

Instead, only access the site by typing in the web address above.

Reports aren’t available for all U.S. residents yet. Reports for residents in the Western states were available in December 2004, residents in the Midwest it was March 1, 2005 and East coast residents can get theirs on September 1, 2005