affidavit of net worth should I sign it.

[stretch67]

I was recently in a auto accident and my insurance considered it my fault. The person driving the other car suffered a broken femur that required surgery and a rod was placed in his leg.

I have $100,000 personal injury coverage, My state TX has a min of $25,000

He has hired a lawyer and after only 8 weeks they want to settle for the $100,000 max but before they do that they want me to sign a affidavit of net worth form. It asks for my assets not covered under the exemptions by state law. It also asked whether I was working at the time of the accident or if I have any other ins. coverage; both are no. To me this seems like a form to decide if it is worth suing me or not.

My adjuster has stated that his lawyer has said that he will be filling an under insured claim against his own insurance.

I asked what expenses they have claimed so far and the adjuster has stated that he as about $30,000 in health cost to date and $6,000 for missed wages. How they get more than $100,000 is beyond me, but my ins adjuster seems to think that it is legit and she can see how they would get to $100,000. My ins seems ready to pay.

Questions

Should I sign this affidavit? My adjuster has stated that I do not have to sign it.

What should I put for my total assets? Let's say I have savings and some stocks worth about $45,000 I have no other assets that aren't covered by the state exemptions. I could make a big house payment or pay off my truck but I don't want to do that as I like having liquid-able money.

If I put down $45,000 what is the chance that they sue me?
At what level would they most likely not sue me?

What does it say about there thinking that they want to settle after only 8 weeks?

What questions should I be asking my ins adjuster?

 

[PILawGirl]

Even though the person you hit only has 30k in health costs and 6k in lost wages you still need to factor in pain and suffering and potential future medical costs. A broken femur (the femur is the hardest bone in your body to break), plus surgery, I would think is worth the 100k.

Most cases that involve a soft tissue injury will take much longer to settle because you generally cannot "demand" on a claim until the plaintiff is done with treatment. But, with serious injuries and a 100k limit it's not unusual to try and settle after 8 weeks.

The claim is still considered to be in "pre-litigation" if a lawsuit is actually filed your insurance company has attorney's on retainer that they hire to defend their insured. If you agree to let your insurance company pay out your limits I don't really see them suing you over that additional 45k, it would cost too much money to do that and may not even be worth it to the PI Attorney. I think they would be most interested in whether or not you have an additional insurance policy or "umbrella."

Since he is filing a UIM claim against his own insurance I think once they get the 100k from your insurance they will drop it and worry about the UIM claim, it's probably worth more to the plaintiff's attorney. I'm not sure how the law works in TX, in CA you cannot file a UM claim unless your own policy limits exceed the third party limits. In CA to file a UM claim the plaintiff would have to have more than 100k in UIM limits.

 

[las365]

To me this seems like a form to decide if it is worth suing me or not.

You are correct. To get the settlement from your insurance carrier, the injured party will release you from further liability, and it is his lawyer's responsibility to make sure it is in hs client's best interest to do so. Your insurance carrier is doing you a favor by settling this claim quickly, in my opinion.

Don't do anything cute to try to reduce the appearance of your net worth. Since the case is not in litigation, your insurance carrier has not hired a lawyer for you. It might be a good idea for you to have a one-time consultation with a personal injury defense attorney (this would probably cost you about $250-300) to learn about how these kinds of cases work and what the information you provide and the settlement mean for you, and also to get some advice regadring what coverage limits are best for you. It's a good thing that you have $100K; if you had minimum coverage they probably would still not go after you, but it would be more tempting.

 

[stretch67]

Thanks for the responses, they've been a big help. I've decided to fill out this forum and sign it to try and get this thing over with.

 

[stretch67]

Post is just to get me to 3 so I can post a link. sorry I am not a SPAMer.

 

[stretch67]

First Thanks for the responses, they've been a big help. I've decided to fill out this forum and sign it to try and get this thing over with.

So now I have a question on trying to fig out my total assets and what is nonexempt as define in chapters 41 and 42 of the Texas property code.

Link to Texas property code Chapter 41 and 42 (click on Chapter pdf icon)
http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes/pr.toc.htm

The form that has been given to me to sign states; " This is to confirm that I have no assets in excess of $_______ which would be nonexempt, as defined in Chapters 41 and 42 of the Texas property code, and which could be applied to satisfy any judgment which might be rendered."


Let's just say that I have 10K and company stock that I buy as part of a company stock purchase plan and I have about 10K in a mutual fund. I also have about 14K in a money market account and about 8K in a checking account. After that it is kind of depressing I have a house that is of course has a homestead exemption and that I owe 150K on. I have two cars one that I owe 7K on for me and the other car is for my wife that is paid for. Beyond that there is noting worth much value not even a big TV.

My questions is does the 60K described in the property code cover my saving accounts and investments? Or is it just the total of the items listed in the code?

Does owing money on my house play into this?

What should I put in the blank? (I want to do the right thing)