Keeping Probate Costs Down – Useful Tips
Whether or not you have a will, your estate will be probated. And the probate process can be an expensive proposition, no matter the size of the estate. ...
Criminal Law
Dumping or Transferring Patients Is Nursing Home Abuse
Nursing home residents, who are transferred, dumped or evicted from long term care facilities are victims of nursing home abuse — and can fight back....
Does discrimination have to be intentional to be unlawful?
Most commonly, when people think of discrimination, they think of intentional discrimination or of purposely treating someone differently on the basis of gender, religion, age, race, disability or oth...
What is specific performance?
Specific performance is a remedy sought in civil court, instead of money. It requires a defendant to actually go through with a certain action he promised to do, instead of just paying money for not k...
What is replevin?
Replevin, also known as claim and delivery, is a law that allows people to use a lawsuit or some other legal means to recover goods that they believe are rightfully theirs and that are being withheld ...
What kind of recovery can I expect from a lawsuit?
The amount of recovery you can expect from a lawsuit is going to depend solely on the type of case you are bringing and on the extent of your damages. There is no average recovery amount, since every ...
What happens if I die without a will?
If a person dies without making a will, or intestate, his or her property must go through the probate process in order to have the legal title to the property transferred to their heirs. The probate p...
What are liquidated damages?
Liquidated damages are damages that the parties to a contract specify will have to be paid in the event of a breach. Liquidated damage are not used in every contract, but they may make sense in certai...
If I am sued and I win, does the losing party have to reimburse me for my court costs and attorney fees?
Generally, according to the American Rule, each side pays their own attorney's fees and costs. However, under some circumstances attorney's fees and costs are awarded statutorily to the winning party,...
What are nominal damages?
Nominal damages are a damage award issued by a court when a legal wrong occurred, but where there was no actual financial loss as a result of that legal wrong. Typically, when a nominal damage award i...
Is Probate Necessary?
Is probate required? Whether probate is necessary depends on what property the decedent owned and how it was held, and on the law of state in which the decedent died and the laws of any states where t...
What Is Elder Abuse & What Can Be Done?
Every year, thousands of elderly Americans are abused in their own homes, in relatives' homes, in nursing homes and in other facilities responsible for their care. This article discusses the signs an...
When is a government employee acting under ‘color of law’?
Filing a civil rights claim under section 1983 requires first demonstrating that the defendant was acting under'color of law.' But what does color of law mean? In general, color of law is a broad term...
What is reformation?
Reformation, when used in a discussion of contract law, is considered one of the legal remedies available for use when a breach of contract or contract problem occurs. In a situation where two or more...
Disputing IRS Tax Collections: It Can Be Done & You Do Have Options
Can you fight the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) if you believe that you don't owe what the IRS claims? Absolutely, encourages Justin Hein, Managing Attorney for Roni Deutch, A Professional Tax Corpo...
The Cost of Probate – Administration Expenses
The cost of probate is not easy to get a handle on because it will vary from state to state and by practice and custom in your community. The size of the deceased's estate will also affect the cost....
Plea Bargains
A plea bargain is an agreement between a defendant and a prosecutor in which the defendant agrees to plead guilty in exchange for a lesser charge or lighter sentence. While a defendant can request a p...
Juvenile Records: How Confidential Are They?
Consequently, a juvenile's 'criminal' offenses are considered civil matters, but unlike most civil cases, the court files are not open to public inspection....
Punitive Damages: What They Are and How They Work
Punitive damages are designed to punish a defendant and deter bad conduct. Unlike most compensatory damages for civil suits, the purpose of punitive damages is not to make the plaintiff whole, but to ...
Illinois Passes a Law Limiting Use of Jailhouse Snitches
In a victory for advocates of fair trials for individuals accused of crime, the State of Illinois has adopted a law that will restrict the use of jailhouse snitch testimony by prosecutors....
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