Question for life gurus

[Macdaddy]

I have done the same but my LLC's are done in Nevada. Nevada has a privacy rule on their member list on LLC paperwork. You don't have to list your name nor do they have to tell anyone. Let an attorny fumble through that mess. My house, boat, car, stocks, and the like all protected.

The only problem with Nevada is it lacks legitimacy. The state laws, such as you are speaking about is why Nevada appears sleazy. Delaware on the other hand has favorable laws for businesses and is well known and used by most all major companies.

 

[Macdaddy]

The problem is, an attorney "fumbling through that mess" is just racking up the bill and if you are indeed guilty or liable for something that's just added costs. If you are in a jury trial it's all about appearance. If you have the appearance of "hiding" assets or deliberately making it tough to find what you have a good attorney is going to paint you as a con man in front of the jury.

Let's all remember that trials are not all about the law. Trials are about who appears to be honest, likable or not likable. If we think going to court is all about the law then I'm sure we all know many examples of when it doesn't quite work that way.

I am not into hiding assets, as that does produce the appearance of wrongdoing.

99% of lawsuits do not go to trial, but rather are settled. It does pay to make the opposing attorneys job more difficult because he will have to inform his client that things are more complicated and will require quite a few more billable hours than initially anticipated. The client now must either roll the dice and pay the additional fees or offer to settle and be done with the mess. Usually the offer to settle is the elected option.

Awards for additional attorney fees are only if they go to trial and even if the trial is won there is always the option of filing bankruptcy against the awarded judgment.

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

True. Unless the case is very "win-able" lawyers will require their fees paid upfront. The average person does not have time or money to sue anyone. When someone is clearly wronged generally there's a settlement. When there's not a settlement but the case is a slam dunk you might be able to get representation for no or little money upfront - in exchange the attorney will take a percentage of the judgement. Those cases are extremely rare. An overwhelming majority of cases are filed against major corporations.

I had a partner - we had a legally binding deal. About 2 months after we signed the papers he got sentenced to 6 months in jail. I had a very good partnership agreement that had a clause about criminal convictions voiding the partnership agreement. I voided it and went on to make very good money. He threatened to sue me later and told me I'd pay "thousands and thousands" in his legal fees. Lol - what he forgot was he'd have to pay those "thousands" upfront. Never heard from him again.

 

[WBunch]

I'm not hiding assets but protecting them from these sleeze ball Swoop and Squaters...We have had a major jump in this kind of traffic activity since Katrina and all of the mexicans in town. Unethical lawyer finds some mexicans, gives them money to just slam on the brakes for no reason and then has them go to his DR. friend and then brings a case against you. We had one lawyer get caught on tape in a sting. I don't ever intend to be sued for business reasons from a client. But some unisured motorist lookin for a buck thats a different story, you never know.