Richard_Tonry wrote:

OK, OK, So what do people that sell aircraft do to protect themselves
and their families????

There's a good series of articles in the EAA's Sport Aviation, starting
December 1999, on this and other similar topics. Here's an excerpt from
the Feb. 2000 article, available via the EAA homebuilder web pages if you
are an EAA member...

"The real problem in selling homebuilt aircraft is that if the buyer dies
in an accident, the buyer's minor children could bring a lawsuit against
the seller for wrongful death. The children wouldn't have been a party to
the contract and, therefore, the release would not extend to them or
other members of the family who had not signed the release. Further, a
parent generally cannot sign to release a legal right of a minor child.

Another major deficiency with the release is that if an aircraft were to
crash in the middle of a neighborhood and cause injuries, death, or
property damage to others, the agreement would most likely afford no
protection.

Saddled with these realistic limitations, I still encourage the use of
the waiver and release because it creates an obstacle or a hurdle that
the aircraft's buyer must overcome in the event he decides to bring legal
action against the seller for some defective condition with the aircraft
that caused injuries. It's generally presumed that a responsible aircraft
owner would carry sufficient liability insurance to cover any damages
caused to the public as a whole."