Avoid getting burned by Statute of Limitations

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

This is the scenario: about 10 years ago, someone was named as executor of the will of her father and stepmother.  Then, the father passed away at age 86 three years ago.  However, the child did not know who was the attorney nor was given a copy of either wills.  Several months passed and they sold their home.  The stepmother sold all the family’s belongings in a yard sale and eventually moved out of town without notifying the children.

Since the father owned a business before retiring, he had accumulated a great deal of wealth.  However, the stepmother moved to another town and ceased all communication with the family after the cremation.

First of all, you shouldn’t wait for three years after death before beginning the estate process.  The fact that you were named as executor means that you have the right to be appointed as personal representative.  So if the second wife should open the estate, you would be given notice.  Also, if the father placed all funds in the joint accounts and transferred the home to the wife, nothing would be left to pass under the will.

In this case, there is huge delay in tending to business causes.  It causes several problems because of the statutes of limitation created to end the litigation.

Tags: attorney, estate, executor, litigation, personal representative, stepmother, will, Wills
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Recession Divorce

Monday, May 25th, 2009

Cost effective legal divorce is now a welcome path for those people who wish to end their marriages. The stalled housing market, increased unemployment, and deepening recession have negatively impacted the financial situations of most parties. In fact, high mortgages and declining values caused many homes of divorcing couples to stay “under water.”

In addition, even those divorcing couples who are still fortunate to have home equity cannot sell the houses due to a slow real estate market. If you combine these with plummeting real estate values, you will be looking at a bleak marital asset balance sheet.

Historically, divorce rates tend to increase during recession. But attorneys today still see a decline, maybe due to a severe economic downturn. For those with limited resources, it might be overwhelming to incur expenses for two households. On the other hand, net-worth clients may take advantage of diminished values of their properties to decrease financial responsibility.

And to look on the bright side, there are other support alternatives and marital asset division that attorneys can do to help the divorce resolution. Probably, a neutral financial planner can find solutions for custody issues or parenting coordination.

Although some cases would really need to go through litigation, there are other options that the parties could attempt to utilize. These alternative resolution methods may be in the form of a collaborative law model or mediation.

Tags: attorneys, collaborative law model, cost effective, custody, Divorce, divorce rates, divorcing couples, litigation, mediation, parenting coordination
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Accident Injuries: Decide whether to Go to Court or Not

Wednesday, April 15th, 2009

Some claims for accident injuries will be settled before going to court. However, a few will definitely proceed to litigation and trial.

Unless you are advised by your attorney, settling out of court will always be in your best interest. Therefore, it’s important to make sure that you are represented well.

It would be helpful to research your attorney’s past experience before hiring them. Have they taken many injury claims to trial? Or maybe their track record is filled with settling cases before going to court? Some accident attorneys have reputations of being good and tough – this might deter your opponents from the desire to take the case to trial.

Of course, litigation can be tiring and stressful. Aside from the costs associated with it, the preparation for the case will never be taken lightly. Then during the hearing, you will be required to face the lawyer of your opponent who has questions specifically designed to confuse you or trigger some negative emotions.

It’s true that there are some cases where you really need to go to trial in order to get your claim. An example of this includes a dispute on whether the injuries you sustained were really caused by the accident. So if you can find a good accident attorney, he or she has the responsibility to prepare you and inform you of the scenarios you’ll expect in court hearings.

Tags: accident attorneys, court, dispute, injuries, litigation, trial
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