We all know that honorary legal degrees are possessed by every single person on the planet, right?
I get it all of the time from potential clients: “My mom’s friend’s sister told me this is worth $8 million.” Or “My friend was in a car crash and got $400k.”
Loss, sorrow … but not necessarily millions
I get it. It’s not all about the money, but sometimes we can get pie-in-the-sky visions and lose all sense of reality.
I recently overheard a conversation between a mother and her teenaged son. It was an incredibly sad discussion about the husband/father who had recently passed as a result of injuries sustained in a crash.
The teenage son commented, “Well, at least we will be millionaires.” Surely this was an attempt on his part to find SOME silver lining, even if a crass one.
But it struck me. Is this really how people think this goes? Truly?
As with preparation for all other emergencies and unexpected events in life, it takes foresight, planning and preparation to protect yourself in this situation.
Critical to protect yourself
The value of a life is truly limitless – we understand that. But that does not mean collection is guaranteed. The factors are endless. Did the at fault party carry liability coverage? Was the at-fault driver on the job at the time of the crash? Did the injured/deceased party carry his own uninsured motorist coverage? Are there umbrella policies? Let’s assume the answers to all of these questions are no.
You’ve still lost your loved one and the chances of recovering financially have reduced to virtually none, unless your loved one was killed by an independently wealthy individual who didn’t see it fit to carry any coverage.
Moral of the story? Protect yourselves. Carry insurance, as much as you possibly can. Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage, umbrella policies, life insurance, long term disability, etc.
Just as you would prepare for the arrival of a baby with supplies, nursery, etc., you must prepare for the potential emergencies and tragedies that happen in life.