Legal Articles, General Practice

Over one month ago, we had a big hearing in a big fight over the following facts:

When you're floundering in debt, having some of it cancelled or forgiven sounds great. Be careful. You may be trading a junk-yard dog for Godzilla.

To some bankruptcy practitioners, the second holding may not be obvious. Yet, it applies an established rule to seemingly new facts. The first holding restated what we already know.

Bankruptcy courts frame this issue in statute of limitations and issue/claim preclusion theories.

I stumbled on retired Bankruptcy Judge Charles Case's video for folks considering bankruptcy relief. It's the first time I said "amen" after a video.

You’re paying for a ride thanks to a driver you’ve contacted through an app like Uber or Lyft. Whether it’s just for convenience, because you can’t drive because of a medical condition or the fact that you’ve had too much to drink to safely drive, you’re on your way to your destination when the driver makes a mistake. Your vehicle strikes another and you’re injured. Who will compensate you for the harm you’ve suffered?

Practically every driver has been tempted by the sight of an accident. This practice of switching attention from the road to the crash location, colloquially known as “rubbernecking,” can sometimes lead to serious and even fatal outcomes.

Most of the time people believe that their estate is all “set-up,” even though most of the time it is not. It’s just the process of having gone to an attorney for a plan, like the couple above. Much of the failure of estate planning is the misunderstanding of consequences. Often, a legal hearing is required to take control over family member’s financial and medical decisions when planning is no longer possible. Probate is the court procedure that interprets the Last Will and Testament or follows the rules of asset transfers when the documents aren’t available. Probate could easily be avoided through proper estate planning. The following documents are covered under the definition of basic estate planning. 1. Power of Attorney; this is the document that provides authority to enable others to make financial decisions for the benefit of the one who set-up the Power of Attorney. 2. Health Care Surrogate; This is the document that provides authority to a trusted party to make health care decisions for the benefit of the grantor if and when unable to make such decisions. 3. Living Will; This is the document that provides authority to enable a trusted party to make end-of-life decisions. 4. Revocable (Living) Trust; this is a document that control’s how assets are to be handled during one’s lifetime and after death. The trust-maker has the ability to make changes during one’s life. 5. Last Will and Testament. This is the document that handles assets at death and assets that are not properly funded by the trust through the court process called probate.

“Do it yourself” projects related to crafts and furniture may be very trendy and popular at the moment. Who doesn’t love adding your own twist for a lesser price?

How does Division of Marital Property in Colorado work? Parties can decide how to divide their property and memorialize their agreements in a written document called a “separation agreement.”