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> Planning > Communications State & Local
Affiliate Communications Mary Rowland Personal Finance Column for the States — April 2005
A: Naming a guardian for children is one of the most difficult tasks you face as a parent. Perhaps you could look at your situation as an opportunity to open family discussions about teenage issues like getting a job, dating, sports, choosing a college and paying for it. Certainly you wouldn’t want someone to tackle the responsibility of helping your child make these decisions if they do not understand and share your values. The money you leave to your child should be left in his name, in a trust that he will be entitled to receive at age 21. Name a trustee to manage the trust until your son receives control of it. The trustee should be a person other than the guardian of your child. You should talk this through with your son, with the person you name as guardian and the person you name as trustee. The toughest part of your decision is how to tell your sister that you are changing guardians. But you must do that for your child’s sake.
A: This is a potentially large issue and you should address it carefully. No one wants to believe his dog is vicious. But if your dog did bite the child, you have a large liability, particularly if the dog might bite someone else. Be honest with yourself. Has your dog bitten anyone before? Do you keep the dog tied up? Do you warn people that the dog is dangerous? Does it lunge and growl at people? How is your dog viewed in your neighborhood? Do neighbors complain about the dog? Are other neighbors likely to believe that your dog bit a child? Dog bites are very serious. The property/casualty insurance industry paid $345.5 million in claims for dog bites in 2002, up from $250 million in 1995, according to dogbitelaw.com, a web site with information on the issues compiled by Kenneth Phillips, a lawyer and expert in dog-bite law. Ancient law established the “one-bite rule,” which says that each dog has one bite “for free” but after that the owner is liable because he knows that his dog is capable of biting. In fact, many states have revised the “one-bite law” so that the owner might be liable even for the first bite. That said, you don’t want to just take someone’s word for it. Were there any witnesses to the alleged dog bite? Was your child at the neighbor’s home? You should try to establish whether your dog may have bitten the child. If so, you will need to take extreme caution in the future. Have a discussion with your neighbor. Don’t be defensive and angry. Try to establish what happened. If you believe the dog may have injured the child, apologize and pay the bill yourself. It’s true that homeowner’s insurance covers you for liability issues like this. But many people have a broad misunderstanding about insurance coverage. They believe that damage coverage and liability coverage are somehow “free.” In other words, you don’t pay for it. That’s simply not true. Homeowner’s insurance does cover you for liability. But the insurance company can drop you for any reason. Often homeowner’s insurers drop a client after a claim. It’s best to have a high deductible and take care of the smaller claims yourself. It’s most important, though, to settle this issue with the neighbor, to satisfy yourself on whether it is possible that your dog bit her child and to make certain that she is satisfied that you have taken care of the issue. When my son was young, he went to a friend’s house, came home and told me that the dog bit him. My son is very knowledgeable about animals. He said that when he turned his back on the dog, it began to growl. He turned back to face it and it nipped him. I called the friend’s mother, who said it was not a real bite because it had not broken the skin. I let it go but would not allow my son to sleep over at this boy’s house again unless the dog was kept in the basement. # # # Mary Rowland is a nationally known business and finance writer. The former personal finance columnist for the New York Times and former co-host of a nationally syndicated radio show, Ms. Rowland is the author of several investment books and speaks regularly to consumers and financial planners about investing and personal finance.
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