Following an accident you’ll hear a person say that they don’t need to see a personal injury lawyer, TOO expensive! In this article we will set out for you some reasons why NOT seeking, at minimum, a consultation with an accident lawyer could end up costing you a lot of money!
More often than not, regardless of whether you caused the accident or are its victim, if you do not seek a consultation with an
Becoming a lawyer in todays society is a noble goal to undertake. There are many jokes about lawyers that we all have heard, but the truth is, it takes a lot of work to become a an attorney. Pursuing a career as an attorney allows one to experience the gift of helping people in ways that most people are unable to. If your heart ever goes out to struggling individuals legal battles, then this career may just be for you.
To get into law school, you must first have an undergraduate degree from an accredited institution. Unlike Medical school, there is not really a certain type of major that is required at this time of writing. Some may major in pre-law which focuses on the government, criminal justice and aspects of politics. But it would be perfectly fine to major in math or history. As long as your GPA is high enough to get into the college and your score well on the LSAT, then you increase your chances of getting into this field. Depending on what type of law you decide to study and the school you go to, requirements for your GPA will be different. For example, in you decide to go to Harvard Law School; your competition will be fierce because most of the people applying will have 4.0 GPAs. On the other hand, if you decide to go to a law school in Hawaii, the GPA requirements will be lower because most people will be trying to go to more recognized law schools. This is not to say that non Ivy League schools will not offer a wonderful education for any individual who is focused and determined. For example, the late Johnny Cochran did not got Harvard or Yale, but received his law degree from Loyola University School of Law in 1962. In 1977 he was named Criminal Trial lawyer of the Year. Cochrane later became one of the most sought after attorneys of his time.
Another point to mention is cost. Cost varies greatly depending on the affluence of the school. The tuition at Harvard is quoted on their website at 35,000 per year with an estimated 21,000 a year for living expenses. A law school in Hawaii is around 10,500 per year. Idaho is reported as one of the lowest with tuition cost of 6,700 per year. However, with inflation these costs are increasing each year. The Law college experience lasts three years currently. After this opportunities open up for Private Practice, Corporate Law, Military and teaching, just to name a few. This is an immense field and again, can offer some very rewarding experiences in your life if you choose to pursue this career.
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Did the 14th Amendment do away with State Citizenship?
The Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, ratified in 1868, creates or at least recognizes for the first time a citizenship of the United States, as distinct from that of the states. Black’s Law Dictionary, 5th Edition, p. 591 [1979.
The answer is absolutely not.
In fact the leading and controlling case on State Citizenship and United States Citizenship is the Supreme Court case, The Slaughter-House Cases (16 Wallace 36: 21 L.Ed. 394 [1873). In this case, the Supreme Court distinguishes between State Citizenship and United States Citizenship.
It is quite clear, then, that there is a citizenship of the United States and a citizenship of a state, which are distinct from each other and which depend upon different characteristics of the individual. The Slaughter-House Cases: 83 U.S. 36, 74.
The importance of the case can hardly be overestimated. By distinguishing between state citizenship and national citizenship and by emphasizing that the rights and privileges of federal citizenship do not include the protection of ordinary civil liberties such as freedom of speech and press, religion, etc., but only the privileges which one enjoys by virtue of his federal citizenship, the Court averted, for the time being at least, the revolution in our constitutional system apparently intended by the framers of the amendment and reserved to the states the responsibility for protecting civil rights generally. Cases In Constitutional Law by Robert F. Cushman, 5th Edition, pp. 250-251 (College Law Textbook) [1979.
Citizenship is elaborated in two privileges and immunities clauses of the United States Constitution. . . . The Slaughter-House Cases [1873 83 U.S. 36, 21 L.Ed. 394, emphasized the distinct character of federal and state citizenship. Slaughter-House held that privileges and immunities conferred by state citizenship were outside federal reach through the Fourteenth Amendment. . . . Federal citizenship was seen as including only such things as interstate travel and voting. While subsequent decisions have extended the meaning of citizenship in the Fourteenth Amendment, Slaughter-House is still controlling in that it precludes use of privileges and immunities language in protecting citizens by federal authority. Constitutional Law Deskbook – Individual Rights, by Chandler, Enslen, Renstrom; Second Edition, p. 634 (Lawyers Cooperative Publishing, 1993).
The Fourteenth Amendment did not obliterate the distinction between national and state citizenship, but rather preserved it. Slaughter-House Cases. 103d Congress, 1st Session, Document 103-6: The Constitution of the United States of America; Analysis And Interpretation: Annotations Of Cases Decided By The Supreme Court Of The United States To June 29, 1992, p. 1566. 1
In addition, the Supreme Court in The Slaughter-House Cases concluded that there are two citizens under the Constitution of the United States:
The next observation is more important in view of the arguments of counsel in the present case. It is, that the distinction between citizenship of the United States and citizenship of a State is clearly recognized and established.
It is quite clear, then, that there is a citizenship of the United States, and a citizenship of a State, which are distinct from each other, and which depend upon different characteristics or circumstances in the individual.
We think this distinction and its explicit recognition in this Amendment of great weight in this argument, because the next paragraph of this same section, which is the one mainly relied on by the plaintiffs in error, speaks only of privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States, and does not speak of those of citizens of the several States. The argument, however, in favor of the plaintiffs rests wholly on the assumption that the citizenship is the same, and the privileges and immunities guaranteed by the clause are the same.
The language is, ‘No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.’ It is a little remarkable, if this clause was intended as a protection to the citizen of a State against the legislative power of his own State, that the word citizen of the State should be left out when it is so carefully used, and used in contradistinction to citizens of the United States, in the very sentence which precedes it. It is too clear for argument that the change in phraseology was adopted understandingly and with a purpose.
Of the privileges and immunities of the citizen of the United States, and of the privileges and immunities of the citizen of the State, and what they respectively are, we will presently consider; but we wish to state here that it is only the former which are placed by this clause under the protection of the Federal Constitution, and that the latter, whatever they may be, are not intended to have any additional protection by this paragraph of the amendment. The Slaughter-House Cases: 83 U.S. 36, at 73-74.
The expression, Citizen of a State, is carefully omitted here. In Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1, of the Constitution of the United States, it had been already provided that ‘the Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.’ The rights of Citizens of the States [under Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1 and of citizens of the United States [under The Fourteenth Amendment are each guarded by these different provisions. That these rights are separate and distinct, was held in the Slaughterhouse Cases, recently decided by the Supreme court. The rights of Citizens of the State, as such, are not under consideration in the Fourteenth Amendment. They stand as they did before the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment, and are fully guaranteed by other provisions. United States v. Anthony: 24 Fed. Cas. 829, 830 (Case No. 14,459) [1873. 2
This provision [The Fourteenth Amendment protects only those rights peculiar to being a citizen of the federal government; it does not protect those rights which relate to state citizenship. See Slaughter-House Cases 83 U.S. (16 Wall.) 36, 21 L.Ed. 394 (1873). Jones v. Temmer: 829 F.Supp. 1226, 1232 [1993.
In regard to that amendment [The Fourteenth Amendment counsel for the plaintiff in this court truly says that there are certain privileges and immunities which belong to a citizen of the United States as such; otherwise it would be nonsense for the Fourteenth Amendment to prohibit a State from abridging them, and he proceeds to argue that admission to the bar of a State of a person who possesses the requisite learning and character is one of those which a State may not deny. In this latter proposition we are not able to concur with counsel. We agree with him that there are privileges and immunities belonging to citizens of the United States, in that relation and character, and that it is these and these alone which a State is forbidden to abridge. But the right to admission to practice in the courts of a State is not one of them. This right in no sense depends on citizenship of the United States. It has not, as far as we know, ever been made in any State, or in any case, to depend on citizenship at all. Certainly many prominent and distinguished lawyers have been admitted to practice, both in the State and Federal courts, who were not citizens of the United States or of any State. But, on whatever basis this right may be placed, so far as it can have any relation to citizenship at all, it would seem that, as to the courts of a State, it would relate to citizenship of the State, and as to Federal courts, it would relate to citizenship of the United States.
The opinion just delivered in the Slaughter-House Cases renders elaborate argument in the present case unnecessary; for, unless we are wholly and radically mistaken in the principles on which those cases are decided, the right to control and regulate the granting of license to practice law in the courts of a State is one of those powers which are not transferred for its protection to the Federal government, and its exercise is in no manner governed or controlled by citizenship of the United States in the party seeking such license.
It is unnecessary to repeat the argument on which the judgment in those cases is founded. It is sufficient to say they are conclusive of the present case. Bradwell v. State of Illinios: 83 U.S 130, at 138-139 [1873 3
Therefore, State citizenship and United States citizenship are provided for in the Constitution of the United States. A citizen of a state is to be found at Article IV, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution of the United States whereas a citizen of the United States is located at the Fourteenth Amendment.
1 … [Undoubtedly in a purely technical and abstract sense citizenship of one of the states may not include citizenship of the United States. United States v. Northwestern Express, Stage & Transportation Company: 164 U.S. 686, 688 [1897 get case
2 Appellant does not invoke the commerce clause, and is neither a citizen of a state nor of the United States within the protection of the privileges and immunities clauses of Article IV, Section 2 of the Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment. Paul v. Virginia, 8 Wall. (US) 168, 177, 19 L ed 357, 359; Pembina Consol. Silver Mining & Milling Co. v. Pennsylvania, 125 U.S. 181, 187, 31 L ed 650, 653, 8 S.Ct. 737, 740, 2 Inters Com Rep 24; Selover, B. & Co. v. Walsh, 226 U.S. 112, 126, 57 L ed 146, 152, 33 S.Ct. 69, 72. Asbury Hospital v. Cass County N.D.: 326 U.S. 207, 210-211 [1945 get case
3 This case was decided one day after The Slaughter-House Cases (Slaughter-House, April 14, 1873; Bradwell, April 15, 1873). This is a practice of the Supreme Court of taking a legal principle decided the day before and changing its status. The status of the legal principle before was that of stare decisis or settled, its new status is that of being well settled.
? Copyright 2005 Daniel Joseph Goodman
Questions? Comments! xGoodmanx@excite.com
Dan Goodman, known as J.D. Goodman or J.D. is a legal researcher. Other articles authored by J.D. relating to the area of law are, How Well Do You The Constitution and Is The Bill Of Rights Necessary?.
Like doing your own legal research. I invite you to try my website, The Legal Connection, at http://www.angelfire.com/nb/thelegalconn/index.htm.
This article is written to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is written with the understanding that the author is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or, other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.
The author, therefore, disclaims any responsibility for any liability or loss incurred as a consequence of the use and application, either directly or indirectly of any information presented herein.
In Colorado, lawyers for various fields are available. Lawyers practicing Business Law, Commercial Law, Franchising, Litigation and Taxation are available for Colorado. The lawyers and law firms are bound to the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure and other Colorado Laws.
Lawyers practicing in Business Law perform a number of jobs for their clients. They can assist and suggest the nature and type of organizational entity under which one should operate and various other business law details.
The lawyers work closely with their clients in the formation and business planning stages. They also assist in the various preparations of agreements, obtaining financing and funding for various business operations, sale and purchases of businesses and dissolution.
Matters pertaining to director and shareholder liabilities, their rights, franchising, dissolution, reorganizing, and joint ventures are also handled by lawyers in Colorado.
Estate Planning and Probate lawyers are also available in Colorado. These firms handle the entire range of estate planning matters, ranging from life planning to complex dynasty planning.
Lawyers in this area deal with disability planning, entitys property at the time of death, wills, taxes, insurance, property, benefits, and trusts. Lawyers work towards their clients getting full benefits of various laws.
Various law firms also handle franchising. Their job profiles range from preliminary examination to final negotiation. Lawyers in Colorado are available for franchisees. They are hired for remedies through courts, arbitration and negotiation.
Litigation is another strong area for which lawyers are available in Colorado. Their profiles range and include lawsuits to settlement. Various law firms also represent clients in Colorado in matters of tax implications and other inherent tax problems.
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You needed legal representation. You received a recommendation from a colleague and arranged for an initial consultation. You briefed the attorney on your case and liked his/her strategy and proposed timeline. The attorney drew up the contract and you negotiated terms. Congratulations! You have now officially retained legal counsel. But who is really handling your case? What do you mean who?s handling my case? The attorney I met with and hired ? we even shook hands on my way out of the office ? that attorney, my attorney. Well, maybe.
Law firms, particularly larger firms can employ legal assistants, law clerks, title examiners, abstractors, searchers, legal secretaries and of course attorneys. Attorneys may be partners, managing partners, associates, junior associates, supervisors, board members and the list goes on. A large law firm is a corporation and each person in that corporation has a role to play in the running of the business.
Only attorneys can represent you but the entire case can be built with your attorney doing little more than ?supervising.? If you are a retainer client, it is almost certain that much of your legal work is being done by someone other than your attorney.
Of course it makes sense that a legal secretary would type your documents and that a searcher would do legal research, this is effective and appropriate delegation. However, do you want to pay an inexperienced associate 20 hours of billable time, albeit at lower rates when an experienced attorney could have handled it in 10? To put it simply if the firm charges $300 per hour for Associates and $500 per hour for Senior Attorneys, you would pay $6000 for the Associates work rather than $5000 for the Senior Attorney. What initially seems like a cost savings can actually cost you money by using resources that are not as experienced.
Associates are most often recent law school graduates beginning their corporate law career at the bottom of the feeding chain. All Associates have the same goal, learn from the best and climb the corporate ladder of success to Partner. Senior attorneys will have Associates do legal research, prepare documents and perform non-billable tasks. In larger firms, attorneys may rarely see the inside of a court and will not make key decisions on ?their? cases for as much as 10 years. In essence you may be paying for the training of an associate. In firms with a higher billable hourly rate, typically more work goes to the associate.
Even if you have negotiated an alternative billing arrangement (which by the way is a wise move) that is not based on hourly billing, you could be losing on the experience that you hire. If the majority of your legal work is handled by someone other than the attorney you hired, you may be losing the benefit of their expertise. In example, you may hire a firm because one of the Partners specializes in international law. The firm has several associates who do work for all of the partners. One of the Associates is assigned research on your case. The Associate will do a fine job of research but will he or she go in the same direction that someone with an expertise in International Law would have gone?
Furthermore, associates are promoted in large part due to their contribution to the firm profits, i.e., how many hours they bill each year. One consequence of this is that associates look for billing opportunities, not necessarily opportunities to deliver value to the client.
The answer is not as simple as having your attorney do more of the work, but in ensuring that you do not lose expertise, or efficiency when the work is delegated. Associates need tutelage just as medical residents need to work with Attending Physicians before they can work on their own. However, the client should receive the same level of expertise and efficiency no matter how many other team players are involved, and not pay for the time partners spend to mentor or supervise associates.
In answer to this dilemma, some firms outsource legal research to attorneys or other experts. Some attorneys prefer to work at a lower billable rate as a subcontractor for other firms. These attorneys are able to work within their niche and provide a high level of service for a fair price. In this arrangement, a law firm would hire an attorney who specializes in the area of expertise for legal research. The outside attorney would charge much less than the senior attorney in your firm (and often lower than the Associate) but you would not lose the expertise that you hired.
Law firms may also outsource to experts in other cities or countries. We have grown accustomed to services being outsourced to India and this also happens in legal work. However, outsourcing is not simply confined to India for the cost savings but involves hiring expertise. For example, if you have a licensing dispute in China, the firm might outsource to someone in China, which would save time and money. In the same way, perhaps your business and law firm are located in Pennsylvania but a real estate dispute arises in your California office. Your firm might outsource to a real estate expert in California. In hiring established expertise you also gain productivity. If a firm handles twenty real estate cases per day they will be able to resolve a similar case much faster than a firm that handles one such case every six months or so.
There are many ways to gain expertise without the attorney handling every logistical detail. However, it is up to you to communicate, question and monitor so that you will always know who?s on first.
Youre in the attorneys office and you are about to sign a retainer agreement and enter into an agreement with the attorney, but do you really have a clear understanding of your agreement? Before you enter into any sort of an agreement with the attorney, you would be wise to consider the following points.
(1) Read the attorney-client agreement
(2) Purpose of the agreement
(3) Financial terms of the agreement
Read the attorney-client agreement
As trivial as it may sound, it is imperative that you read the entire contract or attorney-client agreement before you sign it. Often times one may feel rushed or feel that the attorney-client agreement is just a standard form that all attorneys use. Although it may be true that the attorney-client agreement may be a common contract, the language in the contract may vary vastly from firm to firm. Therefore, it is important that you read the agreement to know exactly what you are agreeing to. Additionally, an attorney should give you as much time as you need to review the contract and answer any questions you may have. Further, you would be wise to get a copy of any agreement you sign before leaving the attorneys office.
Purpose of the agreement
The attorney-client retainer agreement sets forth the ground rules for the attorney and client relationship. It is also supposed to build good will between the client and attorney. However, this is not always the case. For example, when the attorney-client agreement is not fully explained to you or if it is written unfairly to benefit the attorney, it can create complications and negatively impact the attorney client relationship. Be sure you understand the ground rules of the agreement before you agree to it.
Financial terms and conditions
Be sure you fully understand the financial terms and conditions of the agreement before you sign it. The type of fee agreement may be contingent, hourly, flat, or a mix or combination of each. Other costs such as filing fees, photocopies, mailing and couriers, mileage and travel, parking, and telephone calls should be clarified. If the attorney charges per hour, you will want to review the minimum billing unit or minimum time increments you will be bill for a task. For example, some agreements may state you will be charged in bill units of .10 of an hour (or 6 minutes) or perhaps .25 of an hour (or 15 minutes). To further illustrate, if an attorney charges $200 an hour and bills in minimum increments of .25 an hour, a task that took an attorney one minute would cost you $50! In general, a bill unit of .10 of an hour (or 6 minutes) is common. The fee agreement should be fair, reasonable, and fully explained to you. If you have questions about the fee agreement, be sure to ask and get clarification before you sign it.
Attorney-client agreements lay out some important ground rules and financial terms and conditions for the attorney and client relationship and before you enter into any sort of an agreement with the attorney, you will want to make sure you understand the agreement and its terms and conditions before you sign it.
2006 Child Custody Coach
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Child Custody Coach supplies information, written materials, online materials, and coaching services to parents in the field of child custody, namely, divorce, custody evaluations, parenting, and all child custody related issues. Custody Match is an online matching service to help consumers find the right family law attorney, divorce lawyer, or custody attorney in their area. |
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Law enforcement serves and protects citizens and maintains the peace and order in a given area. Within law enforcement, there are many other sub-branches. Substantial training is required in order to become an effective law enforcement official. Each branch of law enforcement requires even more specific training.
Being an effective police officer requires not only physical and psychological wellness, but more importantly, discipline. Training in the police force can become quite harsh. The training includes shooting practice, simulations of real-life situations that require law enforcement intervention, and crime scene investigation education.
Whether you end up as a detective or a uniformed police officer, it is important that you know how to search for evidence or scenarios that are unusual or out of place. Being able to notice the right small detail could potentially solve the case you are handling. Training also teaches would-be policemen and policewomen these tactics.
If you are interested in becoming a part of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) division, you should expect to undergo even more demanding training. You will not only need more physical training, but you will need to be familiarized with the weapons and strategies involved in a scenario that requires your services.
SWAT police usually have to work under intense pressure. As a result, they are trained both physically and psychologically to respond quickly and intelligently to life-threatening scenarios. SWAT also makes its officers undergo intense teamwork training. SWAT officers need to be able to work as one unit for their plans of attack to be effective.
Law Enforcement provides detailed information on Law Enforcement, Law Enforcement Jobs, Law Enforcement Training, Law Enforcement Equipment and more. Law Enforcement is affiliated with Bail Bond Companies .
My mom told me she has a living will. That way she’s going to avoid probate
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this when a new person finds out I was a living trust lawyer.
They go on to say, She got one of those forms at the seniors’ center. You know, the one she can fill out herself. They even witnessed it for her.
I hate it when this comes up, because I have to set the record straight, I have to let the person know that a living will and a living trust are two different instruments that serve two different purposes.
One, the living will, is your statement that If I am terminally ill or mortally injured (I’m using simple language here to get the point across), then don’t hook me up to life support that will never return me to life. It’s the issue that’s currently being fought in Florida, with Governor Bush signing a law to keep a woman alive over her family’s wishes and a court ruling.
Her living will has nothing to do with avoiding probate. It is a health care document. Really it should be called a death desire, but our society can’t handle that bluntness.
A living trust, on the other hand, IS a probate avoiding document.
Basically, probate is used to transfer property you own when you die. If you have a will, your executor uses the probate court to carry out the terms of your will. If you die without a will, the laws of your state has statutes that describe where your property goes and who is in charge of getting it there.
So, if you don’t own any property when you die, then (generally…there are always exceptions) there is no need for probate.
This is where the living trust steps in. It called a living trust because it is created while you are living.
When you create a trust, you transfer title to your property to the trustee of the trust. You, as an individual, no longer own the property.
So, if you die, no probate is needed (remember, there are always exceptions), since YOU don’t own the property. The property is owned by the trustee of the trust. The trust instrument instructs him/her on what to do with the property upon your death.
A living trust is a LOT more complicated to set up and maintain than a living will. They accomplish different tasks.
So, when you hear that a loved one has a living will to avoid probate, it might be smart to ask a few questions.
Good luck and until next time,
Phil Craig
P.S. Feel free to forward this on to any friends.
Phil Craig, All Rights Reserved
Phil Craig is a licensed attorney and entreprenuer. He started practicing law at age 25 in 1979. He does not take on any more clients, but is advisor to some of the biggest names in the internet world. He shares his knowledge gained over the last 25 years at his Living Trust Secrets newsletter site: click here=========>http://www.LivingTrustSecrets.com
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Mesothelioma is a malignant tumor of the mesothelium caused by exposure to asbestos fibers. There is some important information one should be aware of if he is considering pursuing an asbestos mesothelioma lawsuit. Prior to pursuing a lawsuit, he should seek advice from a reputable mesothelioma lawyer for a better understanding of mesothelioma law. A mesothelioma lawsuit can also provide one with adequate compensation that will help cover his legal, medical, and ongoing expenses related to the mesothelioma cancer.
Previously, due to exposure to an asbestos related substance, there have been cases in which the mesothelioma cancer sufferers have received thousands of dollars in compensation for their diagnosis of mesothelioma. Recently, mesothelioma lawsuits help the person who has developed with mesothelioma by providing various benefits. Lawsuits have included people who have been exposed to asbestos related substances through their work environment, and companies are required to compensate their present or previous employees for non-disclosure of the risks involved with handling asbestos and related substances.
Mesothelioma law works on the premise that this exposure to an asbestos or related substance without prior knowledge has lead to the injury, and sometimes death of the asbestos mesothelioma sufferer. Beginning your lawsuit early will ensure that you acquire adequate compensation in time to help with your medical expenses and ongoing support and treatment. In order to begin a lawsuit, you will need to find an experienced mesothelioma attorney or lawyer, and they can usually be found at reputable law firms.
It is important that you disclose all information surrounding your asbestos mesothelioma cancer, including your diagnosis and prognosis to your mesothelioma attorney or lawyer, as this will help him to form a solid lawsuit for your case.
You should also try to provide your attorney or lawyer with details pertaining to the period in which your exposure occurred, who you were working for at the time, and any details regarding whether you had prior knowledge of your exposure. All this information is considered to be important and will ensure that your mesothelioma attorney or lawyer will be successful in your mesothelioma lawsuit. One is always recommended to seek legal assistance as soon as the person has diagnosed with mesothelioma.
Mesothelioma Lawsuits provides detailed information on Asbestos Mesothelioma Lawsuit, Failure To Diagnose Mesothelioma Lawsuits, Mesothelioma Lawsuit Attorneys, Mesothelioma Lawsuit Directories and more. Mesothelioma Lawsuits is affiliated with Mesothelioma Law Firms.
My mom told me she has a living will. That way she’s going to avoid probate
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this when a new person finds out I was a living trust lawyer.
They go on to say, She got one of those forms at the seniors’ center. You know, the one she can fill out herself. They even witnessed it for her.
I hate it when this comes up, because I have to set the record straight, I have to let the person know that a living will and a living trust are two different instruments that serve two different purposes.
One, the living will, is your statement that If I am terminally ill or mortally injured (I’m using simple language here to get the point across), then don’t hook me up to life support that will never return me to life. It’s the issue that’s currently being fought in Florida, with Governor Bush signing a law to keep a woman alive over her family’s wishes and a court ruling.
Her living will has nothing to do with avoiding probate. It is a health care document. Really it should be called a death desire, but our society can’t handle that bluntness.
A living trust, on the other hand, IS a probate avoiding document.
Basically, probate is used to transfer property you own when you die. If you have a will, your executor uses the probate court to carry out the terms of your will. If you die without a will, the laws of your state has statutes that describe where your property goes and who is in charge of getting it there.
So, if you don’t own any property when you die, then (generally…there are always exceptions) there is no need for probate.
This is where the living trust steps in. It called a living trust because it is created while you are living.
When you create a trust, you transfer title to your property to the trustee of the trust. You, as an individual, no longer own the property.
So, if you die, no probate is needed (remember, there are always exceptions), since YOU don’t own the property. The property is owned by the trustee of the trust. The trust instrument instructs him/her on what to do with the property upon your death.
A living trust is a LOT more complicated to set up and maintain than a living will. They accomplish different tasks.
So, when you hear that a loved one has a living will to avoid probate, it might be smart to ask a few questions.
Good luck and until next time,
Phil Craig
P.S. Feel free to forward this on to any friends.
Phil Craig, All Rights Reserved
Phil Craig is a licensed attorney and entreprenuer. He started practicing law at age 25 in 1979. He does not take on any more clients, but is advisor to some of the biggest names in the internet world. He shares his knowledge gained over the last 25 years at his Living Trust Secrets newsletter site: click here=========>http://www.LivingTrustSecrets.com
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If you do use the material please send us a note so we can take a look. Thanks.
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