@Royce Talbo- Don't take any of this as legal advice, and get a local attorney to advise you on your own situation. I'll talk in general about some of the things to consider in creating a partnership. You're right, there are a number of risks in creating a partnership.
1) Is it worth paying an attorney to set up the partnership correctly?
2) If you're partnering to buy a long-term asset, such as a rental property, will your heirs automatically get along with your other partner(s)? Is the survival of the asset after your death important to you?
3) It might be better to do a joint venture - a short-term partnership - with a prospective partner to see how you both get along and then see if a long-term partnership would make sense. You could just repeat your joint venture over and over (i.e., do multiple flips, wholesale deals) without doing a long-term partnership.
4) The LLC may or may not protect you depending on the type of lawsuit, where the lawsuit arose, and the state the LLC was formed in.
(The above is by no means a comprehensive list of things you should consider when starting a partnership.)