One morning a few weeks ago, I saw two sharks swimming down the beach just a few feet off the sand. They were probably 4 or 5 feet long. I know that sharks are always there. But it still kind of bothers me when I see them. About that same time, I saw two wrecks while driving through Wilmington. A smashed-up burning car didn’t phase me. No one has ever suggested to me that we cancel a trip because we might have a wreck on the way to our destination. But vacations are cancelled when a shark bites someone’s toe.
For some perspective on this, I looked up the numbers. In 2018, three people were bitten by a shark in North Carolina and 125,454 people were injured in car wrecks. The last time someone died from a shark attack in North Carolina was 2001. The last time someone died from a car wreck was probably today. Just under four people per day died in wrecks in 2018. We tell ourselves a different story about sharks than cars. Part of that may be because humans have had to coexist with sharks for a lot of years and with cars for a few. Maybe we are hardwired to care about sharks and snakes and lightning. But maybe we just have a problem analyzing risk.
We also tell ourselves a strange and illogical story about our families. We worry about rising taxes, political stability, the real economy, coronavirus, and whether our children will be treated fairly – all of which are legitimate concerns. But we are generally not worried about them going through a divorce, being manipulated by a family member, filing bankruptcy, or being diagnosed with a debilitating illness. We tell ourselves that our good parenting will protect our children from bad luck, bad decisions, bad people, or bad policies. But the numbers show otherwise.
We tell ourselves that protecting assets is for people who are richer, older, live a more dangerous lifestyle, or have children who aren’t as responsible as ours. But bad things can happen to anyone. Making the decision to protect what you have is easier when you have already felt the impact of the problem. But then it is often too late.
When you evaluate risk, you must tell yourself the truth. The world is a hard place. Prosperity involves varying combinations of work and luck. You can only instill one of those traits in your children. One decision can change the trajectory of your family’s lives. Unfortunately, it is sometimes someone else’s decision. If you have been blessed to acquire enough to provide for your family when you are no longer here, tell yourself the truth about what could go wrong. Then ask yourself if it is worth preventing.