When an insurance company is negotiating with its policyholder following an accident, a fairly common scenario involves the insurance company delaying payment of the claim for replacement of the damaged car to gain an unfair advantage in negotiating the value of that car. Typically, the adjuster will not send the claimant a check for the [...]
During a divorce, a spouse has to be very careful that he or she does not get in trouble with the judge in handling property and accounts. Recently, we handled a divorce where the husband and wife purchased numerous movies, television episodes, songs, books, and apps through iTunes (as a couple). During the divorce, the [...]
A much anticipated ruling on the legality of California's Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is expected to be handed down by the Supreme Court this month. In March, the Justices considered oral arguments from attorneys representing both sides. Below is a concise summary of some of the more likely outcomes, provided by [...]
Employee Warning: Charging Your Phone At Work Could Get You Fired Recently, a client contacted our firm regarding a wrongful termination case. The client works for a large company. The client’s battery on his iPhone was low so he plugged his phone into his company computer to charge it. While the phone was charging, the company’s IT [...]
Check out the latest video installment of the New York Times “Retro Report,” which is an innovative documentary created by the New York Times that attempts to peel back the layers of some of the most perplexing news stories of our past with the goal of encouraging the public to think more critically about current events [...]
Clients often ask what will happen to the mortgage on their property if their son or daughter inherit the home and money is still owed on the mortgage. Can the bank take the house back or does the bank have to honor the mortgage and continue lending to your son or daughter? Ultimately, the simple answer [...]
In talking with clients looking to create estate plans, one of the main issues we regularly encounter is the misconception that estate planning is only for the rich. This could not be further from the truth, and unfortunately, this pervasive misconception leads to complacency and a false sense of security. Our typical estate planning clients [...]
The child custody mediation process is one in which parents attempt to work together to devise a parenting plan that is mutually acceptable to both parents. This parenting plan may be quite structured (specifying day-to-day timeshare as well as holidays, vacations, and other special issues). The most important aspect of custody mediation is that parents [...]
WHAT IS AN ADULT ADOPTION? An adult adoption is when an adult adopts a person who is over eighteen (18) years old and not related to the. Adult adoption may be done for various reasons including: to establish intestate inheritance rights; to formalize a step-parent/step-child relationship or a foster parent/foster child relationship; to restore the [...]
You have been involved in a car accident and your car is totaled (this means that the car costs more to fix than it is worth). If the insurance company offers you a settlement on your total-loss claim, the following six (6) items are things your insurance company definitely does not want you to know [...]
