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Sibling Rivalry: Can You Contest the Will of Your Parents?

Not everyone can challenge a will in NSW. The probate laws state that only “interested persons” are able to challenge a will, which include spouses, heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, children, and relatives. This means that only those people who have a solid “standing” have the right to contest a will.

The chilling thing about sibling disputes over an inheritance is that it can lead to a dreadful family rift as tensions emerge. While it is possible to challenge a will, you must understand that any person is entitled to leave their assets and estate to whoever they want to, which is overruled by any verbal promises the deceased may have previously made. Everyone has the right to exclude people as beneficiaries such as their children or spouse, but interested persons have an equal right to contest a will.

Challenging a will can be one of the most complicated areas of law. For instance, business contracts are grounded in facts. A will, on the other hand, is grounded in personal decision. It is inevitable to have people getting upset because of an unfair will. This is particularly common among families and would-be beneficiaries.

Can a Step-Child Contest a Will?

The law treats a step child as a child as far as contesting a will is concerned. However, stepchildren are not automatically eligible and will need to prove that they were once dependent of their step parent and lived under one roof. This can be difficult to prove especially if the marriage occurred late in their parents’ lives.

Under the law, you do not cease to be the step child of a step parent even after the passing of your parent. However, if your parent divorces your step parent, you are no longer considered a step child and will not be eligible to contest a will.

Disinheriting Minor Children and Spouses

Minor children and spouses are protected by the law. Assuming that money is available, whatever financial support they are entitled to receive under state law, they will get regardless of the will of the deceased.

When the name of a child is not mentioned in the will, it is often considered by the court as a mistake or inability to update the document. The court will not keep people from getting inheritance they deserve.

Disinheriting Adult Children

It may be cruel to disinherit a child but people have reasons for doing so. At times, the parents think that the adult child is well off and does not need inheritance. Other times, there is no longer a relationship between the child and the parent.

There comes a time when the role of a parent and a child are reversed and the child takes on the responsibility for taking care of his or her parents. The parent may feel indebted to his or her child and as a result, fails to mention the other children in his will. Depending on the situation, the other children have the right to contest the will of the parent.

 

Guidelines for Filing Your Workplace Fall Claim

To file a claim for compensation for a workplace accident that you experienced you must have the proper documentation submitted quickly after it happened. This will assure you of more accurate details and receiving a timely claim that can help you to pay your bills. No one expects to suffer a fall and be injured at work, but if this has happened to you, you should follow some helpful guidelines that can make the claim go much more smoothly. Your workplace equipment should be inspected regularly and deemed safe for use, but if something went wrong you want to be able to file a claim with your solicitor that makes life just a little less stressful for you. Let’s look at some guidelines to use that make filing your claim an easier task.

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  1. An injury at work claim will travel through the appropriate channels more quickly if the information that you provide is complete and offers the employer a comprehensive account of what happened. What has happened to you must be avoided with other employees so your employer will want to review the details of your claim so that they can fix what went wrong on. Make sure that all of your information is dated and that it states clearly what transpired to cause your accident. If you used faulty equipment that had been reported, make sure that your solicitor is aware of these reports. If your supervisor asked you to perform a duty that went beyond the safety measures of company policy, make sure that you have a copy of this policy. You should record the work instructions that you were given verbatim so that this element of your accident will be included in the paperwork.
  2. The professionals at http://shireslaw.com recommend that you gather as much information as possible before you have the initial meeting with your solicitors. You should ask your doctor to provide their diagnosis, prognosis for treatment and therapy, and the extent of your injuries and how they relate to you returning to work. The solicitors can then begin to calculate how much your claim will be. By being organised and methodical with your information gathering process you will be a big help to those helping you file your claim.
  3. Keep copies of every bill that you pay and document any lost income caused by being away from work. Your goal should be to cover all expenses that this accident has caused you and be able to continue to pay your bills even though you are off work. Your employer is responsible for workplace accidents that are caused by negligence on the part of supervisory staff or substandard maintenance work. The more documentation you have, the better picture you will paint of your accident. This makes the job of your solicitor much easier and the likelihood of a satisfactory claim more successful.

 

Image courtesy of sippakorn/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

Hire an Attorney to Defend Yourself

At some point in your life, you may find yourself being accused of a crime. This can be a very scary and difficult situation to be in. This is especially true if you are completely innocent of the charges against you. If you are ever in this situation, it is critical that you find the best criminal defense attorney to take your case. The attorney that you choose will be all that stands between you and being convicted of a crime. Your attorney can help you to avoid fines, jail time and a criminal record that will haunt you forever. Here is why it is so important to hire an attorney to defend yourself who has many of years experience as a defense attorney.

1. Have the charges dropped

This is the most desirable outcome if you have been charged with a crime. If your criminal defense attorney is good enough, he or she will be able to assemble a case that provides proof that is compelling enough to get the case against you thrown out of court and the charges dropped. Defense attorneys will also look for loopholes as a way of getting the case against their client thrown out. For example, the police mishandling certain key pieces of evidence could be enough to get your case dismissed. It is your defense attorney’s responsibility to explore every possible avenue in order to win your case.

2. Have the charges reduced

Criminal defense attorneys will also work tirelessly in order to have the charges against their clients reduced significantly. This is important because if their client does eventually get convicted, the punishment will not be as severe. Having the charges reduced often comes as a result of the defense attorney coming to a plea deal agreement with the attorney who is prosecuting the case. If you are in the process of finding an attorney in Detroit, you should stop by http://www.federalcriminalattorneysofmi.com/contact-us.php to gather info on attorneys you might want to hire.

3. Assemble a solid defense strategy

It may not be possible for your defense attorney to get your charges dropped. Therefore, you will be going to court unless your attorney can work out a plea deal. If your case goes to trial, it will be up to your attorney to assemble evidence that supports your innocence. Expert and character witnesses may also need to be called to testify on your behalf.

The field of personal injury

Personal injury lawyers make up a large percentage of lawyers in the legal world. This makes sense as the field of personal injury is so large it easily accommodates the high number of lawyers who focus in this area. Personal injury is very complex and often allows a lawyer to specialize in specific sections within personal injury and still make a respectable living. From aggressive to negligent torts, personal injuries can be very in depth matters that require the expertise of a lawyer to successfully navigate a strong approach for filing a claim and proving their client’s need for justice in the courtroom.
Nashville_TN_personal_injury_lawyer

To break it down even further, different cities or areas have varying needs. For example, a city like Nashville, TN or Pittsburgh, PA would likely see more personal injury cases involving trucking companies, but a small tourist town like Edenton, NC would probably see more slip and falls because their colonial-age site-seeing locations. So a Nashville TN personal injury lawyer will be more adept at handling motor vehicle crashes and fighting defenses of large companies who often have a legal department that minimizes damages against the company. An Edenton NC personal injury attorney would be more focused on property damage and a greatly reduced volume of vehicle crashes.

If you have been injured and are looking for a personal injury lawyer to file your claim for you or settle an issue, keep these points in mind. You will want an attorney that specializes in your particular kind of injury or at least has a lot of experience in it, especially if you were injured by a company. Finding the right personal injury lawyer for your needs can be daunting and time consuming, but taking the time to research and find the appropriate lawyer that suits your needs will make a huge difference in your case and can result in receiving the proper compensation for your injury.

Things to Ask Potential Defense Attorneys

If you have been arrested, you are probably scared. There are a lot of decisions to make and the first is, what should you do about your legal representation? There are some questions you should ask before hiring an attorney. Most law offices provide a free consultation so take advantage of that. The lawyers at Scott and Medling recommend you ask these questions.

 

  1. What is your experience with my kind of case? Like physicians, lawyers specialize in different areas of law. If you were charged with attempted murder, you need something different from someone who was charged with a DUI.
  2. What is their track record? How successful are they both at trial and with pleas? Most criminal cases are settled before going to court so you need to know if they are good at negotiating pleas. If you do plan to go to trial, how good are they at that? If you go to trial and lose you will end up with a longer sentence than if you make a plea.
  3. Are there alternatives in sentencing other than jail? Your lawyer may be able to make a deal that includes probation, work release, etc.
  4. How much will it cost? You need to know up front what to expect in fees but also in other costs such as the investigation. If law enforcement has experts who will testify against you, you need some on your site.

 

Being charged with a crime is no joke and getting the right lawyer for you and your case will make all the difference for you.

Why You Need a Good Defense Attorney

Everyone has bad days. Some though, are worse than others. If you’ve been, say, arrested for selling drugs and you need a lawyer, you need the best lawyer you can get. Don’t do it yourself. Find someone who can do all the jobs necessary to giving you the best possible defense.

What are those jobs?

The first is simply navigating your case through the legal system. On top of be acquainted with the law, he or she will also know who to speak to about your case to move things along smoothly and efficiently. Sometimes it isn’t just what you know, it’s who you know.

Finding a good local drug distribution defense attorney, if that is the charge, will make your life easier, by doing the hard job of getting statements and finding witnesses to corroborate your story. Your defense lawyer can also find and hire investigators to look into prosecution witnesses to help provide that ‘shadow of doubt’ that could be the difference between you going to prison or not going to prison.

Your defense attorney can also, if you end up going to prison, help shorten your sentence. He will be able to fight for you, get you a plea bargain deal where you simply won’t have the tools available to do that job.

Everyone has bad days, but if you’ve had that bad day, you can make it better with proper legal representation.

 

Cowbells

there are many exciting things about music that every person including lawyers should definitely know about. For starters, there are always chachita cowbells, but I am glad that there are many other accessories as well that I have never heard about before. I look forward to hearing more about them, but maybe you could shed some light on some of them? I look forward to hearing what you would have to say about some of them.

Legal CRM significantly reduces cost and increase profitability for legal professionals

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“We are led by lawyers who do not understand either technology or balance sheets” Thomas Friedman

Legal digitalization or paper less law firm is dream for legal professionals. Data structuring and data gathering is a daily task, legal professionals drive hard to survive and reach the peak of growing economy. Legal CRM is designed with main objective to associate relevant client data in structured manner and benefits legal professional to achieve highest level of client satisfaction, generate recurring orders and more referrals business

CRM stands for Client Relationship Management that combines people, processes and technology to help build and maintain strong customer relationships. Ultimate goal of CRM is customer satisfaction, if you have contented clientele; it’s likely to re-engage them in repeat business in some form.

Information access on fingertips helps serving clients better and provides means for gathering internal business intelligence. Legal CRM for lawyers, attorneys, and law firms will facilitate easy communication with current and future clients by enabling collaboration amongst team members and overall increases cross-functional department efficacy.

Significance of Legal CRM.

If lawyers can better manage client relationships and associated information, they’ll benefit from happier customers, repeat business, and referrals. Legal CRM Software is aimed for single goal; making lawyer’s hectic day easier so they shall focus on productive tasks that overall increases firms performance and profitability. On a single platform, entire staff and legal practitioners can effectively manage all their activities in web-based CRM designed only for Lawyers, Attorneys and Law Firms.

Having a dashboard view of current case load as well as ability to see historical information quickly can make big difference on productivity levels. It takes just a few keystrokes and a matter of drag and drop to continually keep your dashboard current and those few keystrokes shall result in an exponential amount of streamlining.

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Legal CRM Elements

Besides the basics – like case management, contacts organizing, time entries, billing, invoices and activity scheduling; a good legal CRM should include additional modules such as intellectual property management, campaigns management, marketing automation and advanced reporting.
A customer portal and web interface along with mobile access for both lawyer and clients will be most powerful, integration with Outlook for emails and calendar for activity planning is a must. A manual legal CRM consist of papers in manilla folders in boxes on shelves in a large warehouse area. An automated system keeps all the information – plus more in a organized database on cloud or private server which is accessed anytime, anywhere.

Is there a system that offers everything mentioned?

Yes! A great Legal CRM that includes everything listed, plus a whole lot more is offered by FyNSiS Legal CRM – delivering everything a law firm needs to maintain and improve client relationship.

It’s a niche system designed to organize clients and cases in SuiteCRM to gain 360 degree clients view from anywhere, anytime. It automates internal communication and enhances firm productivity. SuiteCRM is built on opensource platforms (Linux, Apache, PHP and MySQL) most widely used and proven technologies available today.

FyNSiS deliver nothing but ROI on every penny you spend on technology. If we don’t deliver promised results, we don’t get paid. Simple? Thats how life ought to be’

Get access to our Legal CRM and get hands on at no cost. Just submit your demo request: www.fynsis.com/legal-crm

 

How to Discuss In-Home Care Needs with Your Parent

Aging has obvious effects on the elderly including both physical and mental deterioration. But aging also has some serious implications on adult children, watching their parents grow weaker with time. Transitioning from being cared for by a parent, into the caregiver can be difficult for some, especially when it involves discussing long-term needs. However, understanding how to approach these sensitive issues can dramatically affect the outcome of this crucial conversation.

  • Rather than focusing on the negative effects caused by aging, turn the conversation into one with a positive approach. Discuss the need for independence, and how long-term care can help your parents to accomplish this.
  • Make sure your parents are aware of the need to take care of affairs in case of an emergency. Sometimes disease can strike quickly, leaving the elderly or their offspring to tackle complicated issues. Legal advice can protect assets and avoid additional stress.
  • If your parents are still living together, consider talking with them about how in-home care can reduce stress on their partner. Help with minor medical care, food preparation and the like can remove some of the toll ailing seniors and their spouses face. Focusing on the benefits for the partner can allow you to reach even the biggest skeptic.

Personal Injury Lawyer – Pointers To Help You Out

personal_injury_lawyer_expertIf you have suffered an injury recently are looking to hire the services of personal injury lawyers, here are a few important points that you should always remember:

  1. First few consultations are usually free

Many people tend to avoid calling a lawyer because they believe it will cost them a lot of money in fees. However, a good lawyer will be keen to discuss the basics of your case and tell you whether he thinks you have a case or not, for free. For instance – Villarreal and Begum Law group in San Antonio, Texas offers free consultation to guide victims on how the firm can help them.

  1. Experience is important

Usually, good lawyers tend to limit their practice to just a few specializations. If you are hiring a lawyer to represent you, ensure that he has experience in personal injury cases.

  1. Say no to Ambulance Chasers

Ambulance chasing is essentially illegal in most States. If you got in an accident and get a call, letter or a mail from a lawyer immediately afterwards, beware. Consult with friends and family about the lawyer before you hire any lawyer.

  1. It is not necessary to file a lawsuit always

Many cases settle without having to go to trial, some cases do not even require a lawsuit to be settled. A lawyer can get the vital information to the insurance company for the defendant and thus enable to settle the case without even having to file a lawsuit. This is not just faster, but even less expensive.

  1. Find the fee structure of the lawyer

If you hire a lawyer, you will have to pay him his fees. Most personal injury lawyers tend to work on a “contingency fee.” This means the lawyer does not get any fee for his work until you get paid. This kind of a fee gives you more freedom to hire injury lawyers without having to pay upfront. Many good and reputed lawyers like Alex Begum work on this model of payment. Make sure to understand the fee before you hire the services of the lawyer.

  1. Expenses are not a part of the fee

While the fee states the percentage of your settlement, that fee will only pay for the lawyer’s time. Incase the lawyer has to pay someone else for work on your case, he pays what is known as “expenses.” Most lawyers pay the expenses on behalf of the client and then you will be billed for the expenses at the end of the case. Thus, inquire about expenses before signing the contract.

  1. It takes time for the cases to complete

Every case takes a lot of time to complete. When you hire a lawyer, ask how long the case will take. Good lawyers will be able to give you a realistic estimate. Beware of false promises regarding quick settlements or quick cash, these are never true.

  1. No Guarantees

Lastly, if a lawyer guarantees you results, don’t hire them as it is not necessary to always get positive results. A good lawyer will give you an honest opinion regarding your case.

 

Unlawful Reasons to Fire an Employee

There are many reasons a person may get fired from a job. However, some of those reasons may be illegal. If you have been unjustly fired, you may need to find a local unlawful termination attorney in St. Louis. Here are some of the reasons for discharging an employee that are illegal.

Discrimination

This is usually the main reason for unlawful termination of an employee. Categories of discrimination include: race, color, nationality, gender, religion, pregnancy, disability and age. There are anti-discrimination laws on all levels, federal, state and local.

Retaliation

Sometimes an employer will fire a worker for something he or she has done. For example, if an employee is a whistle blower and exposed safety violations, he could sue the employer for firing him.

Medical or Family Leave

An employee has the right to take a leave of absence under certain situations. As long as the reason for the absence is listed in the Family and Medical Leave Act, an employee cannot be fired.

Not Following Company Termination Procedures

If the employer does not follow company rules, the employee may have grounds to sue. If a termination procedure is outlined in the handbook, it must be followed.

Illegal Acts

If an employer asks a worker to do something illegal and the worker refuses, that is not legal grounds for termination. This would also apply to unsafe situations where the worker is put in jeopardy.