At Lake Norman Law Firm, we take a lot of pride in protecting our dentist clients’ assets. We believe in our methods – so much so that we will prepare an ASSET PROTECTION GRADE (and summary) for every new client that retains us, at NO COST. It’s part of our unique service offer and commitment to dentist clients. We will take your information (whether you are a solo doc; or a partnership); provide a clear summary; and give you a grade (just like in school – A, B, C, D, or F). If there are any deficiencies, we will point those out, and suggest a plan to correct the flaws.
Please take advantage of this FREE service, and learn how protected or vulnerable you are.
The goal of asset protection is to deter lawsuits – perhaps force a settlement for pennies on the dollar without an insurance claim; or perhaps force a settlement through the insurance provider without going to court. In some cases, we are able to deter the suit without the need for settlement, at all. Speaking of insurance – we want you to be insured. We want you to take advantage of North Carolina’s tort cap laws, and procure maximum malpractice insurance, and reasonable general liability insurance. However, we are careful to advise dental professionals against an automatic default decision to procure huge umbrella insurance policies. We get it. It seems like a natural thing to do. However, obtaining massive insurance policies is something of a paradox. Having a ton of insurance can actually serve as an incentive for a plaintiff’s lawyer to sue you. Ironic… right? Well, it’s true. Again, Plaintiff’s lawyers don’t sue poor people, but they do sue insurance companies. And, insurance companies may elect to settle even baseless claims – now you’ve paid years of expensive premiums, you may little say in directing your legal defense, and you get stuck with a settlement that will send your premiums skyrocketing for years to come. This happens in the grimy world of lawsuits and litigation. In sum, we want you to be adequately insured, but we would also like you to adequately protect your assets so you don’t have to exclusively rely on insurance for protection, that may actually provide incentive for a lawsuit.
Please see this Q&A section for more information on entity organization and utilizing companies for asset protection and lawsuit prevention: