The cutting edge asset protection strategy nobody talks about – be kind
One of the strategies that is rarely, if ever, mentioned in the asset protection world is to be kind.
I recently read an article about a woman who lost an eye at a golf event. She was one of these spectators that stands out on the golf course, right next to all the action. A player took a bad shot and yelled the requisite “FORE!” The golf ball when flying towards the spectators along side the course and unfortunately for this woman, she took the ball directly to her eyeball.
Her eyeball exploded and now she is blind in that eye.
In an interview, the woman acknowledged that nobody was at fault. She knew it was an accident, a bad shot, from the player. She knew the golf course management wasn’t at fault. She acknowledged she was aware of the risk of being out on the course. She was a golfer herself and she knew she could get whacked with a ball by standing out along the fare way.
This is what we call a classic case of “shit happens.”
Now despite the woman proclaiming nobody was to blame and that she took responsibility for being out on the course, she said she planned to sue the owners of the golf course. Why? Because she said she felt they did not care enough about her injuries after the fact. She said after being treated for her injuries, nobody came to check on her or express their regret about the injury.
There was no follow up. No “how ya doing?”
For the reason that the woman did not feel cared for, she was going to file a lawsuit.
You could spend tens of thousands of dollars on an asset protection plan, but a simple “I’m sorry for your pain” could help you avoid a lawsuit all together.
People are people it turns out
It doesn’t come as a surprise that people are worried about saying sorry for an injury. People may worry that they are admitting guilt and making themselves vulnerable to a lawsuit by saying sorry. That is not the case as courts have ruled that saying sorry is not an admission of guilt, it’s an admission of being human and caring about others. Wanting to say sorry is just part of being a kind human being.
There is a further evidence that being kind can help avoid lawsuits. When looking at medical malpractice claims, studies have shown that doctors who spend an additional few seconds talking with their patients are far less likely to be sued. That extra thirty seconds of conversation could save you from the expense and hassle of a lawsuit. I imagine this works in any field, not just medicine.
I’m going to call this the Dalai Lama Asset Protection Strategy:
“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” -Dalai Lama
Colin Ley is an asset protection attorney and the creator of the PREP Trust®. He is also the co-founder of LayRoots along with his wife, Shreya Ley.
