In response to the overwhelming response to a June 24th news release entitled "Warning to Medical Professionals - Do Not Own Home in Spouse's Name," the National Medical Foundation for Asset Protection has issued the following addendum to expand upon the reasons for the warning.
Provo, UT (PRWEB) July 20, 2004 -- In response to the overwhelming response to a June 24th news release entitled "Warning to Medical Professionals - Do Not Own Home in Spouse's Name," the National Medical Foundation for Asset Protection has issued the following addendum to expand upon the reasons for the warning.
In addition to the reasons included in the original news release (see attached PDF), owning family assets in the name of just one spouse for lawsuit protection is an ill-advised strategy for the following reasons:
Husbands and Wives of Medical Professionals Can Be Named as Officers or "Implied Officers" in Medical Malpractice Suits.
If a doctor's spouse is affiliated with the medical practice, even in simple accounting or secretarial capacities, he or she may be named as an officer or 'implied officer' in the medical corporation. If this arrangement is discovered during pretrial investigations, plaintiff attorneys may chose to include the spouse as a co-defendant in the suit against the doctor. Under this scenario, which spouse owns the family assets makes little difference as both marital partners may be subject to pay the judgment. The non-physician spouse may, in fact, have to pay a portion of the judgment without the luxury of malpractice insurance.
The unexpected death of a spouse could cause legal and financial complications. If a doctor's spouse passes away unexpectedly while holding title to the family estate, it can create severe financial consequences for the family. In the absence of a revocable living trust, the estate would be required to go through the long and expensive process of probate even though there remained a surviving spouse. The resulting legal and financial complications and expense could be considerable.
Also, if the estate were valued over $1.5 million, it would likely be subject to federal estate taxes upon the death of the titleholder. If the deceased spouse exclusively held title to the family assets, the estate would be taxed at a significantly higher bracket than if the estate was held jointly or in an estate planning legal entity.
Transferring the ownership of assets to other's names also transfers complete legal control over them. These assets can then be 'commandeered' by disaffected family members. For instance, in a divorce, the medical professional may have a very difficult (and awkward) time recovering his or her due portion. Worse yet, if a spouse becomes angry and vindictive enough, assets could simply disappear completely. Retaining control of family assets does not show distrust for family members as much as shows regard for the doctor's children, especially in a second marriage.
Assets themselves can produce lawsuits. 'Slip-trip and fall' and other premise liabilities can produce lawsuits from personal or rental property. For example, if a neighbor child is injured in a backyard trampoline accident, the liability for the injury extends to all assets held in the name of the titleholder. If all assets are in the name of one spouse, he or she could face tremendous legal and financial liabilities alone.
To see original News Release, click here:
"Warning to Medical Community - Do Not Own Home in Spouse's Name"
To learn home ownership strategies for lawsuit protection, see attached file:
"Alternatives to Owning House in Spouse's Name."
To learn how asset protection entities rate see:
"Asset Protection Report Card"
For further questions contact Spencer Sessions, Public and Media Relations with the National Medical Foundation for Asset Protection at 1-800-296-7009 or write to NMFAP; 2230 N University Parkway Bldg. 2-C; Provo, UT 84604; spencers@nationalmedicalfoundation.org or visit http://www.nationalmedicalfoundation.org
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