Accident, wife had neck surgery, limits low, man sold house

[fizlfry]

Hi,
My wife was rear ended, had neck surgery, and now is in recovery. She has missed over 1 year of work. The accident was May 27 2003. We have a lawyer, and he says that the policy limit is low, and we might have to do an asset search. My question is this: It appears he had sold his house he lives in, a few months ago, well after he hit my wife, and moved to another part of the city. Can you sell your things to get away from litigation? We were under impression that once a lawsuit was filed or implicated, one couldnt ditch his stuff to hide it from litigation. The bills have grown such that the lawyer and the negotiated rate would be well over 100% of current liability limits. What should we do, and is that true that he can sell his things or give them away to avoid paying us???
Thank you very much,
Concerned in California

 

[lwpat]

Certain assets cannot be attached. It is called a homestead exemption and includes your home and some other items depending on state law. That is why all the crooks move to Florida and live in multimillion dollar homes that their creditors cannot touch.

Apparently you tried to save money by not having insurance in case the other party was not insured or underinsured. Now you know why most people do buy the extra protection, especially in California. If you have medical insurance you need to follow up with them on the hospital bills.

It also sounds like you got taken by the attorney. Normally cases like this are handled on a contingency basis where they get a percentage of the settlement.