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It’s no secret that we live in a litigious society. And though our right to a fair trial is one of the hallmarks of American democracy, it has also led to a lawsuit-crazy culture.

In this atmosphere, you’re at near-constant risk for costly lawsuits, many times even when you’ve done nothing wrong. This is especially true if you have substantial wealth, but even those with relatively few assets can find themselves in court.

If you’re sued, your traditional homeowner’s and/or auto insurance will likely offer you some liability coverage, but those policies only protect you up to certain limits before they max out. Given this, you should consider adding an extra layer of protection by investing in personal liability umbrella insurance.

Umbrella insurance offers a secondary level of protection against lawsuits above and beyond what’s covered by your homeowners, auto, watercraft, and/or other personal insurance policies. For instance, if someone is injured in your home, they might sue you for their medical bills and lost wages.

Your homeowners insurance will cover you up to a certain dollar amount, but you’re personally liable for anything beyond that limit. This is where umbrella insurance kicks in.

Once your underlying insurance maxes out, the umbrella policy will help pay for the resulting damages and legal expenses if you lose the case. If you win, it can help cover your lawyer’s fees.

Umbrella insurance is particularly important for those with a high net worth. But seeing that everyone has the potential to be sued, it’s a good idea even for those without substantial assets.

Indeed, if you’re sued and lose, the judgment against you may exceed the value of your current assets. In such a case, the court can allow the plaintiff to go after your future earnings, potentially garnishing your wages for years. To this end, umbrella insurance not only protects your current assets, but your future ones as well.

Most people will be adequately covered with a $1 million umbrella policy. If you earn more than $100,00 a year or have more than $1 million in assets, you may want to invest in additional coverage.

A good rule of thumb is to buy an umbrella policy with coverage limits that are at least equal to your net worth.

Umbrella insurance is fairly inexpensive. You can buy a $1 million umbrella liability policy for between $150 and $300 per year. An additional million in coverage will run you about $100, and roughly $50 for every million beyond that.

Umbrella policies are inexpensive because they only go into effect after your underlying homeowners or auto policy is exhausted. In light of this, most insurers require you to have at least $250,000 in liability on your auto policy and $300,000 on your homeowners before they’ll sell you a $1 million umbrella policy.

You can buy an umbrella policy from the same insurance company you use for your other policies. In fact, some companies require you to purchase all of your policies from them in order to obtain umbrella coverage.

If your current insurance agent offers umbrella coverage, you may qualify for a discount for bundling all of your policies. Of course, you can also purchase a stand-alone umbrella policy, so shop around for the best rates.

We don’t just draft documents; we ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love. That’s why we offer a Family Wealth Planning Session, ™ during which you will get more financially organized than you’ve ever been before, and make all the best choices for the people you love. You can begin by calling our office today to schedule a Family Wealth Planning Session and mention this article to find out how to get this $750 session at no charge. Schedule online today.

If you’ve dreamed of leaving your company to your family but haven’t sufficiently included your business in your estate plan, that dream could become a nightmare for your heirs—and for your business’ team members and clients, too. To ensure your company is passed to your family in exactly the way you desire, you want to create a comprehensive estate plan for business owners. The plan will likely include some of these key elements:

Although you might think a will would sufficiently protect your business assets, a living trust will keep your business out of court, whereas a will won’t. While a will coordinates the division of your assets following your death, a living trust is a separate legal entity that effectively owns your share of the business, though without any tax consequences or change of control until after your incapacity or death.

Unlike a will, assets put into a living trust are not subject to probate. Beyond avoiding the hassles of probate, this also means your business affairs will remain private. A living trust has several other advantages over wills: It transfers your assets immediately upon your death in the privacy of your attorney’s office; it lets you designate a successor to take control of the business; and it saves on estate taxes, court costs, and legal fees.

Unless your business generates significant cash flow—and will continue to do so upon your death—that income might not be enough to financially provide for your family. To offer a safety net for your heirs, team, and customers, invest in life insurance to provide liquidity while your family handles your affairs.

If your business has multiple owners, you’ll likely need a buy-sell agreement. A buy-sell agreement ensures that upon certain conditions—like the death or disability of a partner—the remaining owners are able to purchase your shares of the business, or your shares will pass directly to your heirs.

This will prevent your beneficiaries from getting stuck owning a business they don’t want and can’t sell, and it also protects your remaining partners from being forced to deal with new owners they didn’t count on.

Nearly every week, the news is filled with headlines announcing that some big company lost or was forced to settle a lawsuit for mega millions. While big-name corporations may be able to survive such litigation relatively unscathed, for small and medium-sized businesses, just a single lawsuit could sink your entire operation.

Even if your company has done nothing wrong, your legal defense fees (the cost of proving you did nothing wrong) can still be massive. Of course, these fees are nothing compared to what you’ll have to shell out if you’re actually found liable and must pay damages.

If your company is sued, your general liability insurance will offer you some protection, but if that policy maxes out, you could be facing a potentially disastrous gap in coverage. To this end, many businesses add additional protection by purchasing commercial liability umbrella insurance.

As the name implies, umbrella insurance is simply an extra layer of coverage that sits on top of your existing policies. Think of your general liability policy as your raincoat and this extra insurance as—you guessed it—an umbrella. If your underlying policy is unable to keep you completely covered, umbrella insurance can allow you to weather even the nastiest storms.

For example, if someone is injured at your place of business, they might sue you for their medical bills, lost wages, and even pain and suffering. Your general liability will cover you up to a certain dollar amount, but you’ll be on the hook for anything beyond that limit.

Once your underlying insurance maxes out, the umbrella policy will help pay for the resulting damages and legal expenses if you lose the case. If you win, it can help cover your lawyer’s fees.

Not all businesses need umbrella insurance. For example, if you work from home as a consultant, it’s unlikely you’d need it, unless you have clients who visit your house.

That said, in today’s litigious culture, it can be difficult to know if you face enough risk to justify such coverage. While we cannot offer definitive advice on your company’s need for coverage, you can get some idea of your risk level by considering a few questions:

• Is your business property open to the public? If you have people regularly visiting your place of business, you’re at a greater risk for accidents and premises liability lawsuits.
• Do your employees use vehicles for business? Whether it’s a company car or their own, if an employee gets into an accident while driving for work, your company could be sued.
• Is your workplace at high risk for employee injuries? While Workers’ Compensation Insurance should cover most on-the-job accidents, if your particular business operation leaves employees prone to injury, you could be sued by an employee alleging their injury was due to your negligence.

Commercial umbrella insurance is only applicable for certain types of business insurance, so it’s not something that will cover your company on its own—or even in all cases. Umbrella coverage typically applies to three primary types of underlying commercial policies: general liability, employer’s liability, as well as hired and non-owned auto liability.

In order for umbrella coverage to apply, you must first have an appropriate underlying policy in place, and that policy’s limits must be maxed out. In fact, you may not even be able to purchase umbrella insurance if your underlying policy doesn’t offer high-enough limits.

Note that for certain professional-service businesses, such as law firms or healthcare practices, umbrella coverage will not apply in cases involving malpractice or other professional liability policies.

Because each business has its own unique risks and assets, there’s no way to say exactly how much coverage your company might need without a full evaluation. But before you speak with an insurance agent, consult with us as your Creative Business Lawyer,® so we can support you in finding the right agent and evaluating your options.

We’ll evaluate your business assets, risks, and underlying coverage and then work with you and your insurance advisor to identify  the optimal levels of insurance you should have in place.

We offer a complete spectrum of legal services for businesses and can help you make the wisest choices on how to deal with your business throughout life and in the event of your death. We also offer a LIFT Start-Up Session™ or a LIFT Audit for an ongoing business, which includes a review of all the legal, financial, and tax systems you need for your business. Call us today to schedule. Or, schedule online.

With the holiday season here, you’re probably spending lots of time with your family and friends. During these moments, you’re likely reminded of just how important these relationships can be. And as we grow older, you begin to realize how precious little time we have to spend with one another.

Given life’s fleeting nature, using this time to talk about estate planning is vital for ensuring you and your loved ones will be provided and cared for no matter what happens. Though death and incapacity can be uncomfortable subjects to discuss, with a comprehensive plan in place, you’ll almost certainly experience a huge sense of relief and peace, knowing this critical task has been discussed and documented.

And though you might not realize it, estate planning also has the potential to enhance your relationship with loved ones in some major ways. Planning requires you to closely consider your relationships with family and friends—past, present, and future—like never before. Indeed, the process can be the ultimate forum for heartfelt communication and prioritizing what matters most in life.

Indeed, communicating clearly about what you want to happen in the event of your incapacity or death (and asking your loved ones what they want to happen) can foster a deeper bond and sense of intimacy than just about anything else you can do.

Here are just a few of the valuable ways estate planning can improve the relationships you cherish most:

Taking the time and effort to carefully plan for what will happen to you in the event of your incapacity or when you die is a genuine demonstration of your love. It would be far easier to do nothing and simply let you family and friends figure it out for themselves. After all, you won’t be around to deal with any of the fallout.

Planning in advance, though, shows that you truly care about the welfare of your loved ones, even when you’re no longer around to benefit from their love and companionship. Such selfless concern and forethought equates to nothing less than a final expression of your unconditional love.

Sitting down and having an honest discussion about life’s most taboo subjects—incapacity and death—is almost certain to bring you and your loved ones closer. By forcing you to face immortality together, planning has a way of highlighting what’s really important in life—and what’s not.

In fact, our clients consistently share that after going through our estate planning process they feel more connected to the people they love the most. And they also feel more clear about the lives they want to live during the short time we have here on earth.

Planning offers the opportunity to talk openly about matters you may not have even considered. When it comes to choices about distributing assets and naming executors and trustees, you’ll have a chance to engage in frank discussions about why you made the choices you did.

While this can be uncomfortable, clearly communicating your feelings and intentions is crucial for maintaining healthy relationships. In the end, it might just be the first step in actively addressing and healing any problems that may be lurking under the surface of your relationships.

Whether it’s the individuals you name as your children’s legal guardians or those you nominate to handle your own end-of-life care, estate planning shows your loved ones just how much you trust and admire them. What greater honor can you bestow upon another than putting your own life and those of your children in their hands?

Though it’s often challenging to verbally express how much you love your family and friends, estate planning demonstrates your affection in a truly tangible way. And once these people see exactly how much you value them, it can foster a deepening of your relationship with one another.

While estate planning is primarily viewed as a way to pass on your financial wealth and property, it can offer your loved ones much more than just financial security. When done right, it lets you hand down the most precious assets of all—your life stories, lessons, and values.

In fact, the wisdom and experience you’ve gained during your lifetime are among the most treasured gifts you can give. Left to chance, these gifts are likely to be lost forever. In light of this, we’ve built in a process, known as Family Wealth Legacy Passages, for preserving and passing on these intangible assets.

With this service, which is included in every estate plan we create, we guide you to create a customized recording in which you share your most insightful memories and experiences with those you’re leaving behind. Family Wealth Legacy Passages can not only ensure you’re able to say everything that needs to be said, but that your legacy carries on long after you—and your money—are gone.

We can help guide and support you in having these intimate discussions with your loved ones. And as our Family Wealth Legacy Passages service shows, we offer a wide-array of customized planning options designed to enrich your family and friends with far more than just material wealth.

With our help, estate planning planning doesn’t have to be a dreary affair. When done right, it can put your life and relationships into a much clearer focus and ultimately be a tremendously uplifting experience for everyone involved.

Proper estate planning can keep your family out of conflict, out of court, and out of the public eye. If you’re ready to create a comprehensive estate plan, contact us to schedule your Family Wealth Planning Session. Even if you already have a plan in place, we will review it and help you bring it up to date to avoid heartache for your family. Schedule online today.