Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We don't have any assets to protect. However, I do appreciate your advice! This is what has me so worried, the fact that we have no money, or any kind of assets, so we have no idea how we can pay her anything. I have an Inheritance that has been sitting in Probate for two years, but the Executor of the Estate won't give us any info, and she yelled at me and told me not to call her anymore, I had only called her twice, I told her to have a nice day and I was sorry I bothered her and I wouldn't ever call her again, I don't figure I'll ever get the Inheritance, I refuse to bicker over money.
I am so sorry this is happening to you. It is just not right. Some people are just to greedy to realize that by doing what this lady is she is ruining peoples lives. You have a son in college and your trying to provide him with a good future and she is taking it away. While she is not getting anything now or might not ever it still takes away from your family. It takes your time (which to me is more valuable than money) and can cause a lot of anxiety, undue stress, tension and can put pressure on your son while he is trying to study and focus on his school work. URGH! People like that make me mad.
I am glad that insurance companies don't just settle right away any more. We have seen enough of that. We have a business and had someone cause an accident so they could get involved w/ a "company truck". Even the witnesses told us she was at fault and saw the whole thing happen and they KNEW it was a scam. Insurance still settled w/ them and gave them a big fat payout. I'm sure every penny was wasted on NOTHING w/in a year and did not go to at least help get their kids an education. Nowadays the insurance companies won't even pay out when it is cut and dry their driver was at fault. They will find some way to say it is up to each driver to cover their share. I've had that happen. This is why no matter what if I witness an accident I stop and at the very least give the person not at fault my name and number. There was one we witnessed and we stayed and gave statements. I had to as I saw two little ones in the backseat. Glad we did as that poor lady was a mess/wreck. Her husband was out of state to a funeral when this girl ran a red light and hit her. I got the kids out of the car and into ours and over in the gas station parking lot and out of the roadway. About 2 years later we got a card in the mail from her saying how thanful she was for us helping out and giving our statement even later when called by the insurance companies as they had FINALLY settled on the damage to the cars. No one was physically injuried but the other drivers ins did not want to pay. That is why what you are experiencing if a good witness was there they would know as well the woman was not that injured. It does take us all being responsible to make sure no one gets scammed or taken by greed.
While you may not feel you have any assets if you have furniture and own your home no matter how modest - YOU DO!!! Write up something basic that breaks down how much of everything is yours and your husbands and the value of such (mark what is "community property" and what you got as a gift and what he got as a gift). If you have a piece of furniture you got from a relative and it holds a dear place in your heart then make note of it no matter how much you feel it is not worth. It IS worth something to YOU. Put it in a safe place and then when she "comes calling" you have proof that she can only get so much blood out of a turnip and she can only squeeze your husbands turnip and not yours.
I'd really hate to see you file bankruptcy just to keep this woman from getting a dime. I'd counter sue her before that just to keep from putting that on your credit. If this woman had any sense and her attorney too they would have already looked up your family and know it was not a celebrity that was rolling in the dough that would settle just to keep it out of the limelight. If you don't have any money or assets then she can't get ANYTHING except what the insurance company will pay her. She can't force you to sell your house or your car.
Don't let this get to you and your family. Let the insurance company handle it and hopefully they will have enough sense to see the greed she is suffering from and won't settle or give her anything.
Two years is the statue of limitation for filing suit due to an accident in most cases. So of course she has waited till the VERY last second to file. Sounds like your son got the brunt of the whole thing (car and bodily wise). In MOST cases when the recipient of a settlement from an accident signs their check and deposits it into their bank account they have released the other party from further claims. What has your insurance company said? You have talked to them and if not you should ASAP! She can NOT get your house in the suit nor can she get anything in YOUR name if she is suing your husband and son (depends on the state your in - a good lawyer can discuss this with you). If YOU inherited something from YOUR family and she only named your husband and son in the suit - she can't touch YOUR belongings of your 1/2 of the assets.
If you really think she is trying to just get some money (most likely is the case) then turn yourself into a good PI. Get your camera and a good zoom lense. Follow her around (without her knowing it) and document all of her activities. If she is out moving around just like any other normal person then she is not "permanently injured". Insurance companies are starting to do this now (have for a few years really) when it comes to claims of disability, workmans comp, etc. They have proven that people that "supposedly" were injuried were out partying it up and doing all kinds of things that ANY person w/ the "injuries" they claim to have would not dare attempt. All without pain or medicine. Get several sets of pics, send them to your insurance company, have a set in a safe and then a set to take to court if it comes to that. Don't settle out of court if she is trying to pull a fast one. Take it all the way to court and a jury will see straight thru her scam. Your pictures will help (video is also a good thing as it will show her in action). If it ends up in court and she loses you can get her to be repsonsible for paying your attorney.
thats what i thought also. two years is a long time to wait and a big chance and expenses this lady is taking. I doubt she will be able to get anything out of you guys after 2 years. You had already settled everything through insurance. Then would have been the time to sue. Good luck to you guys. It will be very hard for her to prove she is injured from an accident that long ago.
Thank you all! The joke would be on her if she could force us to sell our home. We still have 25 years left to pay on our home, and we owe more on it than it's worth, I don't think I have to tell you how much Mobile Homes depreciate, and even if we sold it the Bank would get all the money, because we couldn't get enough out of it to even pay it off.
After reading some of the responses in this thread, i'll leave you with the only advice that you'll need.
Listen to your insurance company.
The insurance company will know how to handle the litigation aspect. You don't, i don't, and the "advisors" above definitely don't seem to have any idea about the process.
Let your insurance handle it, period.
Unfortuantly, I HAVE had to deal with it. More than once as a matter of fact. We have not personally been sued but we have been served on our business by false claims. When the insurance companies have gone ahead and paid out even KNOWING the claims were false it really agitates me. Yes, we have let the insurance companies handle the claims but we have also let our corporate attorney know what was going on and kept him "in the know" of the claim. One was a CHURCH! A customer/handyman had bought supplies from us to do work on this church & school and the moron was SMOKING while welding. DUH!!! Burnt his on truck to the ground as well as part of the church. The church sued us along w/ the other companies that had sold this "handyman" supplies AND the companies that MANUFACTURED all of the equipment he was using. The guy doing the work did not have any insurance so they went after the next in line on the food chain and the insurance companies PAID!
As for the assets and protecting them...... do this firsthand. In the State of Texas your spouse can ONLY give out their 1/2 of any and all community property. My husband can only use 1/2 of our Jointly owned home as collateral or claim it on his financial statement when he is filing it w/ the bank. Since I'm not a gauranteer for any business loans and only he is (do this to protect our personal assets) he can only claim 1/2. Our attorney has on file what furniture and possessions we have that were MINE by way of inhertiance and if someone sued my husband they can't get anything of mine.
Thank you all! The joke would be on her if she could force us to sell our home. We still have 25 years left to pay on our home, and we owe more on it than it's worth, I don't think I have to tell you how much Mobile Homes depreciate, and even if we sold it the Bank would get all the money, because we couldn't get enough out of it to even pay it off.
LOL!!! Go offer her a goat. Tell her she can milk it and use it for life and with the price of milk nowadays that would save her more than she could get out of you in dollars. Heck, offer her a PAIR of goats so they can have offspring. I'm bad but I'd be SOOOO tempted to do it.
LOL!!! Go offer her a goat. Tell her she can milk it and use it for life and with the price of milk nowadays that would save her more than she could get out of you in dollars. Heck, offer her a PAIR of goats so they can have offspring. I'm bad but I'd be SOOOO tempted to do it.
Thank you all!! The joke would be on her if she could force us to sell our home.
There's something called uninsured/underinsured insurance that people can and do pay additional premiums for. They do it to protect themselves from holding the bag when the person who struck them has only the minimum or worse, no insurance at all. It eliminates the need to attempt to squeeze blood from a turnip. As i said earlier, leave it to the insurance company. Otherwise, the joke may ultimately end up on you. Seal the lips, let their lawyer handle it. Good luck.
Thank you all! The joke would be on her if she could force us to sell our home. We still have 25 years left to pay on our home, and we owe more on it than it's worth, I don't think I have to tell you how much Mobile Homes depreciate, and even if we sold it the Bank would get all the money, because we couldn't get enough out of it to even pay it off.
All joking aside, isew4kidz . . . you need to pay attention to your insurance company's attorney.
You may think you have little or no assets today but losing a lawsuit and having a judgement placed again you could very well "hang around" for decades and you never know what or how much you may have in the future. Not worth the risk.
From what you are posting, I have a feeling this is just a "fishing trip" to see what may be available but I would never admit to anything and pay attention to the attorney.
I sympathize with you and the situation you're facing. In fact my story is very similar. Fifteen years ago, I was involved in an auto accident while driving a vehicle owned and registered to my grandparents. The woman I hit did not have any apparent injuries at the time. Her husband phoned me a day after the accident and assured me that she was fine and that since my grandparents and he both had the same insurance company, everything would be very cut and dry. My grandparent's car was repaired as was her vehicle and I thought nothing more of it.
Much to my surprise one Friday the 13th almost 2 years after the accident, I was served with papers saying that I was being personally sued by this woman for her "extensive" injuries, loss of ability to work, and a laundry list of other things. The woman was seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation. To this day I don't know why she chose to sue only me and not my grandparents as well, but I am glad she didn't do that. Though it was not a particularly smart move on her part really given that I had absolutely zero assets of any kind.
Regardless, my grandparent's insurance company did retain a lawyer for me and the lawyers fought it out. What followed for me though was over a year and a half of making myself available for depositions, arbitration meetings, and having court dates that were set and then re-set. The whole thing was finally dismissed one day before we were to go to court because the woman had left the state for some reason and refused to return. I'm glad she didn't get anything out of it but it did nothing to offset the almost 2 years of legal hell I experienced.
What others have stated is absolutely the best advice; let your lawyer handle everything and do exactly as they say. Most people bank on the fact that insurance companies tend to just settle rather then let the matter go all the way to court. I suspect the person you are dealing with is one of those kind of people. Hopefully your attorney will be sharp and be able to make this all go away for you. Unfortunately, the matter most likely will be hanging over your head for quite awhile.
Wow, what a sad state of affairs for your family, especially the circumstances as to how the accident occurred during a time of profound grief over the loss of a loved one. I am so sorry for your loss and that you have to revisit that time with this action. Sadly, it seems that today people think it's an entitlement to a big payday when they are hit. It's called an accident for a reason, and while legitimate claims should be paid, some of the huge awards can be out of line. I agree with everyone above who has said to follow exactly what the insurance company's attorney says to do in the situation.
I was struck from the rear not long ago by a college student in his mother's minivan, and the poor kid was so scared about lawsuits and all at the outset. He was literally shaking and I had to laugh, since he was referring to me as "sir" and was on his best behavior after the accident, and I'm not that much older than he is; but he seemed puzzled when I kept asking him if he was okay and offered him a bottle of water, etc. I told him that I was fine, and that it was damage to a car, something the insurance company would cover, and it wasn't that bad. I was concerned about his ability to drive, however, so I talked to him for about half an hour about sports or whatnot, just to make sure that he was not too upset to drive. He wasn't even cited, since it was a very sudden action when a car cut over a couple of cars up and my car stopped very quickly, preventing me from hitting anyone else, thankfully, since it was able to absorb the impact as he stopped. The insurance company paid to fix my car and while my back was sore from the impact, I never even thought about a lawsuit, since it was an accident and I made sure to go to my doctor for a follow up. I didn't even take the rental car they offered, since I had other vehicles to drive and saw no need to pad the expense to the insurance company, since the losses on claims are reflected in premiums charged.
Some people are decent in some situations, and others will get their just reward for anything that may be fraudulent or at best a severely stretched truth. And, I have a tendency to give my card to people when I witness accidents as well, so that they have independent witnesses in case of a claim.
Try not to worry about the situation too much, but do everything to assist the insurance company's attorney who is representing you. It's likely that the other party is after another payout from your insurance company to settle an injuries claim, since it's "easy money." Keep smiling, since adversity can get you down only when you let it do so!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Tell her she can milk it and use it for life and with the price of milk nowadays that would save her more than she could get out of you in dollars. Heck, offer her a PAIR of goats so they can have offspring. I'm bad but I'd be SOOOO tempted to do it. 
