Physician Asset Protection

A recent article by Laura Landro in the May 10, 2016 Wall Street Journal had some interesting observations about the burdens many physicians face from malpractice suits. According to a 2013 study in the Journal of Health Affairs, the average doctor spends over 50 months — or about 11% of a 40 year career —

The possibility of a malpractice lawsuit is a constant concern for most physicians. A malpractice lawsuit can have serious personal and financial consequences. And physicians in private practice face another financial worry. They are running a business; and that business (like any other business) can face a sudden, serious downturn or even go bankrupt.

A recent on-line article

Being named as a defendant in a medical malpractice case can be emotionally devastating to a physician — even if the physician is only peripherally involved in the case. Very few people fully appreciate how troubling it can be for a doctor who is named in such a lawsuit.

An excellent article by Pauline W. Chen, M.D. in

Whether you are a physician in private practice or working for a hospital or other health care organization, you should consider some basic steps to protect your assets.  Here are a few suggestions:

  1. Maximize contributions to IRA’s and other qualified plans.  Assets in IRA’s and qualified employee benefit plans are generally awarded special protection from creditors.  Many plans

A couple weeks ago I posted some general observations about asset protection planning for physicians.  While a doctor should be taking steps to protect his or her own personal assets, physicians in a private medical practice should be taking additional steps to protect the private practice itself.  Here are some items worth thinking about:

     1. Consider

Physicians should have no hesitation whatsoever in protecting their assets to the greatest extent allowed by applicable laws.  Physicians have a greater need for asset protection planning than many other individuals simply because of the nature of their work.

If a professional baseball player consistently strikes out half of the time but gets a base