Originally Posted by iflyjets4food
Am I liable 5 years down the road if someone I instructed crashes after I am no longer penniless?
I'm not a lawyer, so this is purely an academic discussion:
Possibly. There are statutes of limitations on that kind of thing, often 1 year, but there is a possible exception...if you didn't KNOW that someone had done something to harm you (faulty flight instruction in this case), then the clock on the statute of limitations might not start until the harm becomes apparent. This would occur on the date of the crash.
I would think that you might be insulated if over time if the student has taken other checkrides, BFRs, IPC's, etc. so there is someone else to share the blame.
In my opinion light GA IPC's are very liability intensive...you just gave somebody an instrument checkride and a license to conduct the most hazard-prone type of operation in GA.
If you have a real-world reason for asking about this, call a lawyer.