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protecting farm, and assets

D

Dave from MN

Well-known Member
from a suit if teenagers do something stupid? Such as driving like an idiot, careless, and hurts/kills some one. Or gets in a fight and really hurts some one. keep theier car in their name? What do you do when you have a careless/ reckless teen that hasnt matured yet.
 
Trip out behind the woodshed used to work in the old days, nowdays, maybe a job to pay for the car, insurance, gas, tires, license plates, if not, no car.
 
I have a friend that had a problem teenager. He would wreck a car, wind up in jail. Parents would bail him out buy him another car. On one occasion after father had bailed him out of jail, he stopped by where I was working and ask me what I would do. My response was do nothing, don"t buy him another car and don"t bail him out of jail. The next morning I went to the bank and his mother was in there sighning a note for him to buy another car. Two weeks later, He had a wreck and killed the girl that was with him. He spent 15 years in the penn. I don"t understand how some people think.
 
Best thing to do is consult a lawyer. Having said that I would incorporate the farm as a business (if not already done) and isolate assets such as the house and personal vehicles outside the business. Go as far as having the house and the lot it sits on surveyed and deeded away from the farm and its buildings. Worst thing to do is be stubborn and not do a thing because "you should'nt have to bend" or "I'll kick their tail" if somebody tries to take something in a lawsuit. Neither strategy works when things wind up in court. Not fool proof anymore as the lawyers have gotten better at breaking down the barriers between personal assets and business assets. I don't hear the praises sung about LLC's like there used to be.
 
#1, Dont let the kid(s) drive the farm equipment.

#2, be sure that he has car insurance, if not then it is his/her stupidity for not having it while driving.

#3, Knock some sense into the kid.
 
Dave, Get an "Umbrella Policy" from your Car Insurance Company there is usually a based coverage parameters you must be at first (not just base coverage). But it picks up if your child, wife, Yourself do something really stupid and Kill, or Mame someone, or property damages exceed the limits of your basic coverage (which is a farce) the base will not hardly replace too much of a car, What if the accident is with a $100K car and you burn down someone house too,
I just moved my limits up again to get more in line with reality. I have a ticket, so in one yr I will pick up my 1 Million Umbrella Policy at that time it will be about $30 or so dollars more!
GO! Get it Done!
Later,
John A.
 

I agree with Pete and Allen. Odds are that he will just do worse and bigger things, because you have enable him to feel entitled. If you don't get him under control the judicial system will put him away, hopefully before he causes good innocent people and yourself terrible anguish.
 
Mom is most often the "enabler". Some of them just want to keep the kid bound to them. I've seen some comments on here that indicated the husband wised up in time and got rid of both of them.

We had our kids put their cars in their name and take out their own insurance. Had a guy at work the didn't do that; his kid made a left turn in front of a vehicle with 5 other kids in the car - 2 kids were killed. The end result broke the family; for all I know he's still paying for it.
 
Agreed.

With lawsuit happy lawyers begging for work on TV (You may be a VICTIM and you don't even know it) the best thing you can do is have a big fat umbrella policy. Imagine a cow running out onto the road in front of a loaded school bus.
 
Get a good ins. Policy then take his keys away then by a good set of hand cuffs to hang on the wall in plain site with a razor strap.
He might get the idea especially if you pack his suitcase and put it at the end of his bed.
If this doesn't work the woodshed is always a good start.
Walt
PS
Don't let the do gooders talk you out of it if someone turns you in they will take the kid and then it will there problem.
 
Where does this careless, reckless teen get money for the car/ Money for gas? Money for dating? Clothes? Food?
Cut him off. Let him get a job and pay for everything. If he shows some maturity reward him.
Quit being the good guy and be the parent and a role model. He sees you as weak and unable to control him, Change that first. AND Yeah, the wifey has to do the same.
 
Dave, it's very,very tough to practice tough love and pull the keys and lay down the law, but you've got to do it. I only had to do it once with my son and he lost his cockyness overnight, but it was very hard to do. Prepare yourself to have an answer to knock down all the garbage that will come out of his mouth. Jim
 
Goes a lot better for you and makes you less liable. If you show due dilligence and is actively making a continued and serious attempt to halt the problem activities.
Document what you and the boy are doing. Don't be afraid to call the cops either. Tough if the boy wants to be stupid. His choice and you tried.
If you sit on your can and let the boy run wild with little to no resistance.You are in compliance and more liable.
 
If you have a careless/reckless teen that drives like an idiot then you're being very careless letting him drive! Plus you're opening yourself up to liability problems.
First: TAKE HIS KEYS AWAY!!!! Driving, especially for a teen is a privilege. You're not doing him, yourself or other drivers any favors by letting him drive like an idiot.
My parents had this problem with my brother. They had to use some tough love but he straightened up.
 
Try to straighten him out and load up on insurance until he's on his own. Some people never learn. For his own good don't give him the benefit of the doubt anymore. Make him demonstrate he can handle his privilages by earning them back. Make him pay the bills for his antics too.

Growing up a friend like to drive like Starsky & Hutch. Nice guy, smart, popular, good job, farm kid, but he always drove way too fast. In one of his worst car accidents his date, a neighbor girl, was killed, he was in a body cast for two months, and a friend of his driving the other car was in a body cast for several more months. That didn't slow him down for long, he got himself killed in another accident, all in good conditions, in good weather, and all before we were 20. The whole thing was hard on everyone in the neighborhood and completely needless.
 
Be the PARENT, not the enabler!!! Their car? who bought it? Who pays the insurance?, etc? Actually, sounds kind of late now....Better half and I raised 6 kids.....barn chores started in second Grade. Barn and farm work continued thru graduation. None 'needed' a car....they worked at home and got paid for it, last two years of HS, each left home with 5-6 grand they earned raising their pigs/steers. It was their starting college fund.

They had time for some extra-curricular activities, not much sports interest, but most in band, chorus, speech, drama, FFA, 3 in National Honor Society, one Valedictorian, another, only local grad to attend and graduate from Stanford in CA.

She's currently serving us and US in Afghanistan, fifth paratrooper in our family....she extended two years to serve with her battle buddies to finish their deployment. Share this with your youngster.....about what our troops do for them...... so they can......exist!

Sure, sounds rough, but that's the definition of 'tough love'. Tough for the parent, but best for the kid. You love your kid....and that's why it's hard to ask for advice. I'm certainly no expert, but just want to share what worked for us.....and yes, my better half...IS the better half, when it comes to raising kids. Dave, good luck!
 
BTW- last year you asked about some tax/protection issues.....I recommended CDS in Sartell, on Connecticut Avenue- just north of Perkins, north of Hennen's Furniture..... I've been with CDS/Willmar since 1988. Not cheap, but well worth the price.
 
I with a few of the other guys.

If he didn't buy the car and he isn't paying gas, insurance and repairs/maintenance takes his keys. If he did buy the car and is paying for the above.....take his keys! I watched my father in law enable his sons. By the time my oldest was 5 I told my wife that we were not buying the kids any cars.....and I didn't. Only had problems with one kid thinking he was a race car driver. He had been driving about 2 months when I pulled his driving privileges. Here in MN he had to have me sign for him to get a car or insurance (insurance is a contract, at the time you had to be 18 to sign a legally binding contract). So he rode the bus his last 2 years of HS. Seen too many kids who were given cars cause it was convenient for the parents to have them drive. You are a parent, life isn't supposed to be convenient or easy until after they move out! If he takes the car without your consent call the cops and report it stolen. Don't back down. Make sure the wife knows whats going on and just tell her unless she wants to visit him through bars or bury him she has to go along. And yea I know what I'm talking about. We raised 7 kids who are all making it on their own and have never called me "dad I'm in jail" or had a cop knocking on my door to tell me they are in the morgue. You and your wife need to grow up and deal with this NOW. Before he kills himself or others......like me or my kids or my grand kids. I live in MN too. He has no right to endanger my family.

Rick
 
Unfortunately IME most poor parents don't catch on to the fact they are the problem until it's too late. I know I didn't. If the kid is uncontrollable at 13-14 yo it's pretty likely he's going to be uncontrollable forever. The time to "nip it in the bud" is from birth to 12 yo or so on up till they move out. You can't fix a problem child overnight. Been there, done that, got the tee shirt- in spades. My problem child is 23 and just now sort of starting to get it. In s few instances coming down hard at 16-18 yo works, but it's likely the kid will be a druggie/drunk/whatever by then.

It's too bad we came up with this Dr Spock/permissive parenting crap. My parents did that. It was fine for me and my youngest brother, we were simply good kids. My younger sister and brother weren't. Sister died, next younger brother is a drunk/druggie loser. My folks thought being our "pals" was the way to do things.

You have to pass a test to get a drivers license. You don't to raise a kid/ Hence- our culture.
 
Hey Dave,
I really don't have any "good" advice regarding your concerns, so I'll remain silent. I do want you to know that I think the fact you are trying to help your son now, before something tragic happens, is a great thing. I'll let others with more experience be the ones to offer advice, but I'll be wishing you the best of luck in your relationship with your son.
 
Purchase a big umbrella policy or separate the farm/main assets into a S-Corp. Personally I went with a high dollar unbrella.
 
I'll add a horror story that did affect my family. My wife's cousin enabled her oldest boy. According to her he could do nothing wrong. A few years ago he lost control of a car he was driving. He was speeding, had been drinking (underage he had just turned 18) and skidded into a tree side ways. He died instantly and his buddy that was with him is disabled for life. His mother was devastated but still refuses to acknowledge that he did anything wrong.

You really don't want to end up like that and if you are worried about having to protect your assets because of how he drive he really needs to be off the road. If you bar him access to a vehicle he may just wise up.

Rick
 
It seems that no one here ever did anything stupid when they were young. A bunch of choirboys!

A one million dollar umbrella policy is cheap. Probably less than 200 bucks on top of your homeowners or farm insurance. It's cheap because insurance companies almost never have to pay off on it, but if they do the payout could save you from bankruptcy.

Contrary to popular opinion, putting your farm or business in a subchapter S corp or limited liability company doesn't mean a plaintiff can't come after it. A corporation or LLC is an asset, and the court can force it to be sold to pay a judgement, just like they can make you turn over your stocks and bonds.
 
Mark I don't think anyone said anything about being angles when we were kids. Guy ask for some advice.

With the way people are suing today it's a legit question too. If you knowingly allow someone access to a car/truck who you know will not or may not operate that vehicle in a safe manner you can be held liable. Now by posting this question on here he has admitted that the kid isn't operating a vehicle in a safe manner. He got good advice. So what's the problem?

Rick
 
Tanker, read the posts again. Anybody who was ever a teenager or raised one knows they all do stupid things from time to time. I don't care if you have the best kid in the world, when you put him behind the wheel of a four thousand pound vehicle and let him on the road, there's a significant chance he'll maim or kill someone. It just makes sense to protect your assets from risk. About half the responses are on the line that the OP wasn't being strict enough with his kid, and all he needs to do is crack down and everything will be fine. You and I both know it doesn't work that way: A teenager is going to engage in risky behavior and you can't watch them 24/7. That's one reason why you need insurance. Of course, anyone with significant assets ought to carry an umbrella policy regardless of whether or not they have reckless teenagers.
 
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