Your Most Expensive "Emergency"?

[Sunset]

still waiting for a story about unexpected legal expenses

Ok, $25,000 legal fees to defend my right to less than 1/2 of marital assets from a lying cheating (other words are left out so people are not offended) wife.
It was an unexpected expense to say the least.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

It looks like the winner here is dental issues (just an unscientific poll)! These can really pop up and can be unexpected and expensive! I would agree that most homeowner/car stuff should be planned for and not considered an "emergency". But...I think the definition of emergency is different for everyone (kinda like the term retirement? Huh, how about that?) and there are lots of variables. For me, I would most likely not have a medical cost emergency since my OOP expenses would be minimal and our house isn't a crazy McMansion, so even replacements of the complete roof or HVAC systems would be reasonable (and since we have no ocean out back, no sea wall to replace!) So...I think I have allocated the right amount of $ to the right places that would be needed for any large unexpected/emergency that might pop up.

Oh yes, very good point on legal fees. I do have that in the back of my mind...but if things were THAT bad, I would be willing to liquidate just about everything (which would be a good amount) to cover legal fees to keep me out of the pokey. Of course, if some zealous prosecutor figures out a way to stick some RICO act charges, then all the assets in the world will do NO GOOD since they will most likely be frozen!

 

[rodi]

still waiting for a story about unexpected legal expenses

Ok... I can play with that one.

Hired a contractor to build our granny flat. He was getting ahead of work done, in his billing, even by his own spreadsheets - so we refused to pay a progress payment till milestones were met. He walked.

That was a very expensive, and unexpected, turn of events. Contractor that assumed the job charged more (because he had to pick up work he was unfamilar with). Lawyer we hired to try to get first contractor to complete the work, and later to advise us as we pursued arbitration cost us money.

We collected on the contractor bonds. The CSLB pursued our complaint and we got part of a judgement paid. But our actual losses/out of pocket for legal bills and overpayments were in the many 10's of thousands.

It was unexpected when it happened... but the expense trickled over the course of almost 2 years as we pursued legal options and completed construction.

Legal bills alone were $10k. Our agreed settlement was 1/2 of our losses. And the former contractor stopped paying 1/2 way into the payoff... so we only collected 1/4 of our loss.

 

[marko]

Ours was around $35K in medical expenses when my son broke his arm. That was our share of the total cost after 3 surgeries and 3 months of intravenous antibiotic treatment, and included a fair amount of travel. We didn't have that much and were extremely fortunate that my employer gave us an interest free loan.

No wonder you're the de facto expert on the ACA!

 

[Big_Hitter]

Oh yes, very good point on legal fees. I do have that in the back of my mind...but if things were THAT bad, I would be willing to liquidate just about everything (which would be a good amount) to cover legal fees to keep me out of the pokey. Of course, if some zealous prosecutor figures out a way to stick some RICO act charges, then all the assets in the world will do NO GOOD since they will most likely be frozen!

We had a guy talk to us when I got my CHL 10 years ago. He lost everything he had defending himself from a lawsuit against his business (which he eventually won) and he was peddling pre-paid legal. I guess if you shoot someone (and they live) you can get sued pretty easily regardless if it was justified.

Hopefully this would be covered under an umbrella policy but I don't have to carry a concealed weapon any more.

(as mentioned above) I also heard divorces can be very expensive....

 

[bclover]

I guess you could catagorize this as an emergency.

$25,000 for daughter's funeral expenses. She passed away unexpectedly at 22 years old, one month from finishing college. She had no student debt as we paid for the four years and she had a job.

No that is what I call a tragedy, so sorry for your loss.

 

[bclover]

Mine was an emergency to me but many people say I should have let my dog die.

My pooch developed dog diabetes which led to him going blind with cataracts.
7K for the cataract surgery and insulin.



I am such a pet mom

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

We had a guy talk to us when I got my CHL 10 years ago. He lost everything he had defending himself from a lawsuit (which he won) and he was peddling pre-paid legal. I guess if you shoot someone (and they live) you can get sued pretty easily regardless if it was justified.

Hopefully this would be covered under an umbrella policy but I don't have to carry a concealed weapon any more.


I also heard divorces can be very expensive....

As far as a justified shooting, it really depends on the jurisdiction. Many of the Castle Doctrine laws have been modified in that if you are cleared of any criminal wrongdoing, then there is an absolute bar to civil recovery. Now of course, this doesn't mean that someone might try to sue you; but it should be thrown out of court before it goes too far (and gets too expensive). As I understand, most umbrella policies DO NOT cover use of a firearm, so in this case, a pre-paid legal service actually might be a decent idea.

I say this as someone who carries often...especially if I am going to downtown Atlanta.

 

[Big_Hitter]

As far as a justified shooting, it really depends on the jurisdiction. Many of the Castle Doctrine laws have been modified in that if you are cleared of any criminal wrongdoing, then there is an absolute bar to civil recovery. Now of course, this doesn't mean that someone might try to sue you; but it should be thrown out of court before it goes too far (and gets too expensive). As I understand, most umbrella policies DO NOT cover use of a firearm, so in this case, a pre-paid legal service actually might be a decent idea.

I say this as someone who carries often...especially if I am going to downtown Atlanta.

interesting - I'd probably do the prepaid legal now if I carried but I no longer have the need (unless I'm visiting Houston)

 

[Big_Hitter]

Mine was an emergency to me but many people say I should have let my dog die.

you made the right call

 

[NYEXPAT]

Several times after a drinking bout, I awoke to a strange woman in my bed and immediately called the pharmacy for "the morning after pill". If I include the drinking tab then that would be my most expensive emergency.

 

[MRG]

We had a guy talk to us when I got my CHL 10 years ago. He lost everything he had defending himself from a lawsuit against his business (which he eventually won) and he was peddling pre-paid legal. I guess if you shoot someone (and they live) you can get sued pretty easily regardless if it was justified.

Hopefully this would be covered under an umbrella policy but I don't have to carry a concealed weapon any more.

(as mentioned above) I also heard divorces can be very expensive....

The ability to sue the legal self defender varies by state. This state they're not allowed to but in another state it can be very expensive to defend oneself in a civil matter.

A buddy of mine paid 75k for a divorce that they backed out of and then reconciled. He won't be around here anytime soon.

 

[Rustic23]

Had to fly FIL from Vegas to Dallas on a med-evac flight. Cost right $20,000. Really not in the vane you are talking about as he repaid us shortly afterwards. It was the case that no one else in the family had access to cash.

 

[VFK57]

I'm familiar with dental implants but not a wife implant. Did you have it placed in your head, neck or posterior?

Do you try to make it funny? Some people who have no normal sense of humor always try to make fun of other people. Obviously I meant a dental implant.

 

[REWahoo]

Do you try to make it funny? Some people who have no normal sense of humor always try to make fun of other people. Obviously I meant a dental implant.

And those who totally lack a sense of humor don't get it and often think even a good-natured attempt at humor is a personal affront.

Actually I thought you meant breast implants...

 

[NW-Bound]

House expenses (new roof, new driveway, new furnace, etc), to me, are not emergency... they are part of owning/maintaining a house. We've been replacing windows along the way, put in a new driveway 18 months ago, and are looking at a new roof and solar panels next year. None of it is emergency... it's all planned.
...

+1

In recent years, my young adult son then I got some serious illness. The bills for both of us came to close to $200K after insurance adjustment, but it was only $30K+ out of pocket for us.

I considered our illnesses a hell of an emergency, as it could put us 6 ft under. But the money came out of an HSA that was set up just in case like this.

And if it was not, well, $30K+ is what a new car costs, and to buy our 2 lives with it is a heck of a bargain compared to a stinkin' car.

 

[erkevin]

I guess you could catagorize this as an emergency.

$25,000 for daughter's funeral expenses. She passed away unexpectedly at 22 years old, one month from finishing college. She had no student debt as we paid for the four years and she had a job.

I got choked up reading that. There are not words to express how sorry I am for your loss.

 

[NW-Bound]

I guess you could catagorize this as an emergency.

$25,000 for daughter's funeral expenses. She passed away unexpectedly at 22 years old, one month from finishing college. She had no student debt as we paid for the four years and she had a job.

Sorry about your daughter . My Son died suddenly at 32 . Cost $13,000 .Emotional cost billions !

My belated condolences.

As I was going through surgeries and did not know how it would turn out, I thought about my son's earlier hospitalization, and consoled myself at the thought that it would be more devastating to me if I lived and my son did not. He was only 23, and just out of college.

 

[ivinsfan]

Our youngest graduated college in 3 years and spend a year and half wandering and traveling, she supported herself and basically had a gap year backwards.

She went off our family plan automatically when she graduated college and the next day was enrolled in an individual plan that we payed for. My DH said, gotta have it, what would we give to help or fix her if she got sick? He said "We'd give everything we have"

Sorry for your loss aja8888 and yours Moemg

 

[Moemg]

And those who totally lack a sense of humor don't get it and often think even a good-natured attempt at humor is a personal affront.

Actually I thought you meant breast implants...

I thought he meant the cost of trading one wife for another .

 

[RobbieB]

I thought it was a boob job too.

 

[papadad111]

I guess you could catagorize this as an emergency.



$25,000 for daughter's funeral expenses. She passed away unexpectedly at 22 years old, one month from finishing college. She had no student debt as we paid for the four years and she had a job.

Sorry for your loss. That must have been a very very difficult time. Probably even today, it's still painful.

 

[VFK57]

And those who totally lack a sense of humor don't get it and often think even a good-natured attempt at humor is a personal affront.

Actually I thought you meant breast implants...

Ahh. Ha ha, DW has good enough. How abou
t yours?

 

[FUEGO]

Hmmm, the largest possible "emergency" would be something unlikely like getting sued beyond the $1.5-2 million limits of our insurance policies, or getting sued for something not covered by any insurance.

Otherwise, getting kidnapped and held for ransom?

Realistic emergencies? Crashing and totaling our $8000 minivan or having it stolen (no comp/collision). Severe damage to house or total loss, $2500 plus possibly some unreimbursed relocation expenses. Dental costs maybe? A $2000 crown/root canal is a possibility. None of those I would categorize as an emergency, as I expect some variety of those to happen to us to some degree over the many decades of life, and budget for those unknowns as best I can.

For example, we're going to need a new water heater in the next 1-10 years and it'll have to be a more expensive tankless model to get the install up to current building codes. That'll be $2400-3200 depending on method of installation. I don't consider it an emergency, although it is slightly higher than what I budgeted for routine water heater replacement.

In the past 17 or so years of adult life, I can't say I've ever had an emergency (a sudden and completely unexpected expense) over a couple hundred dollars. Getting pickpocketed, losing something or breaking something. Sick kid. Guess we've been lucky (or somewhat skilled at planning and at avoiding situations that lead to emergencies).

 

[papadad111]

This isn't really a good idea,dental health is a major factor for long term good health. You do actually use your back teeth it's not like they are spares.



Before you have a dental emergency look around for any dental schools/colleges that would offer you free or very lost cost care.Our smaller size town even has dental assistant program that brings in dental students for hands on work.



It would be time well spend for you to check this out in advance so you know your options.

Or head south of the border for quality dental care for 1/3 or less in Mexico. No kidding.

I just got surprised by a 28K income tax bill just a month ago. Due to a complex tax return including international income and tax credits, carry forwards, and megacorp tax equalization process.