One should hire a family law attorney for
the following reasons :
For Legal Protection
The knowledge that a family law attorney
has will really help your case related to family law. Combining their knowledge
with their past experience family law attorneys can get favorable results for
you in your case. They know how to present evidence and arguments to the judge.
If you do not have a family law attorney beside you but your opposing parties
has then you are likely to lose the case even when you deserve to win the case.
To Save Money
In cases where you have to pay child
support and alimony, a family law attorney can help you avoid paying too much.
The differential between alimony and child support payment you are obliged to
pay when you have a lawyer and when you do not have a lawyer is usually more
than your lawyer’s fee. They will also be able to get you a higher amount of
child support or alimony. You usually are denied child support or alimony when
you do not have a lawyer.
To Avoid Threat
Without a family law attorney, your
ex-spouse may threaten o take your children away from you. They can also
threaten to take your property and make you poor. If you d not have a family
law attorney, you may be forced to accept their demands. A family law attorney
will make sure that you do not have to give in to unfair demands.
To be sure that the right documents are
filed
Legal documents related to family law cases
are not straightforward. you can make mistakes while filling the,. You may also
file them at the wrong time. These things will really hurt your case. In many
cases, the judge may reject your case altogether. If you have a family law
attorney by your side then it will surely not happen.
Peace of Mind
Handling cases like divorce, child custody,
e.t.c can be very stressful. Your emotions may trump your logic in such cases
that involve people close to you. A family law attorney will make sure that you
will not have to take stressful steps during the case.
To resolve the cases quickly
Many cases may become longer due to unfair
demands made by your spouse. But, if you have a good family law attorney by
your side, they will probably drop those demands knowing very well that they
will not be fulfilled.
Why You May Need a Family Law Attorney for
Your Divorce
Child Custody
Things can quickly become complex when
children are involved in a divorce. It’s natural for parents to want more time
to themselves, but it’s only fair to the children to have relatively equal
access to both parents. When you work with a family law attorney, you can rest
assured your child’s best interests are considered so you can come to an
agreement on how to handle matters of custody.
Property
Dividing property is also often an area of contention
for many couples who are going through a divorce. However, this isn’t always as
simple as deciding who gets the living room set and how gets the bedroom set.
If the couple owns a home or other more significant properties, dividing it up
may require the expertise of a family law attorney. They can help you decide
whether the property should be sold or what the best course of action would be.
Significant Financials
Another problem often occurs when a couple
has significant financial assets. This can further be complicated if one party
received a large family inheritance or one individual had a large bank account
prior to the marriage. A qualified family law attorney can provide guidance on
the best way to split assets that takes all of these factors into
consideration.
The Family Law Act
The Family Law Act came into force on March
18, 2013. It replaces the Family Relations Act.
The Family Law Act puts the safety and best
interests of the child first when families decide not to live together anymore.
The act also:
Encourages families to resolve
their disputes out-of-court
Clarifies parental
responsibilities and the division of assets when couples separate and divorce
Addresses family violence, and
Provides a framework to
determine legal parentage
The Ministry of Attorney has prepared
resources to support transition to the new act:
The Family Law Act Explained
details the act section by section. It describes the intent of each section and
notes where a section replaces, changes or carries-over a section of the Family
Relations Act.
The Family Law Act Regulations
Explained details the regulations section by section.
Answers to common questions
about the act and the regulations.
The Table of Concordance lists
corresponding section numbers between the Family Law Act and the Family
Relations Act, and details which Family Relations Act sections the new Family
Law Act sections carry forward, in full or in part.
Amendments to Court Rules gives
information about amendments to the Supreme Court (Family) Rules and the
Provincial Court (Family) Rules that reflect the Family Law Act.
Car accidents can be expensive, time
consuming and serious. But it’s hard to
know whether you need a lawyer’s help to resolve your case, especially at the
beginning. When should you get legal
help, and when shouldn’t you?
The general answer is to always check with
a lawyer who offers a free consultation.
If the consultation is free, it means you can get a professional legal
opinion without risk. This is a two-way
street: lawyers don’t take on every potential case they find, so offering a
free consultation is a way for them to get the basics of your claim and see if
you have a case before they commit. You
can use this same meeting to your advantage, and find out what they think your
claim may be worth if you go forward.
This approach is smart in any car accident
case. But it is true that a lawyer is
more useful in some types of cases than others.
We’ll look at a few of those circumstances below.
What kinds of car accident cases don’t need
lawyers?
Sometimes, the amount of money you could
recover is so small that having a lawyer won’t really help you win much
more. For example:
If your injury was minor pain
and discomfort such as mild whiplash, and
Your injury did not require a
specialist doctor or expensive tests, and
You have completely recovered
from your injury after a few chiropractic sessions…
Should i get a car accident attorney if…
The Car Accident Caused Serious Injury or
Death
If anyone was seriously injured or killed
in the car accident, contact an experienced accident lawyer right away.
Accidents involving serious bodily injury or death can result in a complicated
lawsuit (or multiple lawsuits). You may need to file a personal injury lawsuit
against the at-fault driver to recoup the cost of the medical treatment for
your injuries.
You could also face a personal injury or
wrongful death counterclaim. The court will have to consider multiple legal
issues, and the amount of potential damages could be very high.
You should never represent yourself in a
lawsuit filed after a serious car accident. These types of civil legal cases
involve complex issues that require expert advice. Your car accident attorney
can help calculate the amount of compensation you deserve, guide you through the
legal process, and represent you against any possible counterclaims.
You Can’t Work Because Of Your Injuries And
Need Ongoing Care
If you were hurt so badly that you can’t
return to work after a car accident, a lawyer can make sure that you maximize
the compensation you receive. Some people are injured so severely in car
accidents that their earning capacity is impacted for life.
An experienced personal injury lawyer will
know how to calculate the amount of compensation to which you’re entitled under
Texas law. This compensation will take into account any missed work and the
cost of medical treatment you need now or in the future.
Multiple Parties Were Involved in the
Accident
If you were in an accident involving three
or more vehicles, this can complicate the insurance claim settlement and
negotiation process and lead to multiple lawsuits. Some accidents involve other
parties such as pedestrians, property owners, or commercial entities.
For example, the driver of a commercial
delivery truck may fail to stop at a red light and enter an intersection
illegally. A driver of a passenger vehicle may swerve to avoid the delivery
truck in the intersection and hit a motorcycle in the neighboring lane. This
type of multi-vehicle accident would likely result in a complicated lawsuit or
even multiple lawsuits.
If you were hurt in a car accident and more
than one other party is involved, contact a lawyer to talk about the case. A
car accident lawyer will fight to get you the compensation you deserve and keep
your liability to the other parties as low as possible. An attorney can also
help communicate with the lawyers for the other parties and their insurance
companies.
What You Should Do When Making Car Insurance
Claims
Pain and suffering, loss of work, medical
bills and further damages can occur from a single automobile accident. Property
damage can occur, death or life-long injuries. If you take the wrong approach
following an accident, you can have a lasting impact on your claim.
There are a lot of things that you can do
to protect yourself following an accident:
Call your insurance agent as
soon as possible.
Review your current policy and
understand what your coverages are.
Consider other policies that
may offer coverage, such as homeowner policies.
Take pictures of the accident
scene, damage and injuries.
Remain honest the entire time.
Your insurer needs to know all the facts pertaining to an accident.
Document everything from your
medical bills to expenses incurred as a result of your accident.
The
Biggest Mistakes Victims Make
You Gave (or Will Give) a Recorded
Statement
Most insurance claims adjusters tell
victims that they need a recorded statement before making a settlement offer.
Nonsense.
You Demand Too Much or Too Little
The consequences of asking for too little
is obvious. But just as damaging to your effort to maximize your settlement is
demanding too much in your demand letter. “Too much” does not mean asking for
more than the insurance company will pay. But if your demand is beyond what the
case is worth on its best day, you are sending a red flag you don’t understand
the value of your accident case. (Here’s some information to help you
understand case value.)
Assuming the System Makes Sense
So much of Maryland accident law has
evolved over time. These rules are fashioned to meet very different objectives
to achieve fairness. The result is a very Byzantine system that mostly works
but is, in the micro, very counterintuitive.
Taking the Insurance Company’s “Final”
Offer
Insurance companies often directly or
indirectly present their proposal as a final offer. People representing
themselves have no psychological leverage to push for a higher offer because
the threat to sue – at least not in a serious case – is hollow without the
means to do it. Many victims take the first offer and leave their money on the
table. In our business, there is a final offer, and then there is a final,
final, final, offer. They are usually different numbers.
Settling the Case Without Knowing the Full
Extent of the Injuries
If you have been seriously injured and are
looking for a quick settlement, you are almost invariably going to get less
than the value of your accident case. To give the insurance company a reason to
make something approaching a reasonable offer, you need all of your medical
bills and records and often a written analysis of your case from a doctor –
either a treating doctor or “independent” medical expert – as to the extent and
scope of your injuries. If you settle a case before you have all of the
documentation you need for your claim, you have little chance of receiving fair
value. Our law firm will not even consider taking a case if the client is
trying to settle the case before her doctors understand the full scope of her
injuries.
There are a few reasons for that.
Legal Deadlines.
There are several deadlines that you will
need to meet, and a good car accident lawyer can make sure you meet them. The best-known deadline is the statute of
limitations, which is generally two years in Georgia under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33
(although it is subject to certain exceptions).
The statute of limitations sets the time by which your case must be
filed with the trial court.
There are other, lesser-known deadlines
that you also need to know about. Depending
on what types of insurance are involved, an insurance policy may require that
you notify the insurer about the collision “promptly” or “as soon as
practical.” Deadlines like this are most
common in underinsured motorist insurance policies. If a governmental entity is involved (for
example, because the at-fault driver worked for the government or because of
negligent roadway maintenance), then you may have to meet “ante litem”
deadlines that can be as short as six months or one year.
Missing these deadlines can be a big
problem. Sometimes missing a deadline
can meet that you cannot win your case.
Preserving Evidence.
Evidence might not last very long. One example is surveillance camera
footage. In some cases, we found
surveillance video from businesses near the accident that proved what happened
and who was at fault. Obviously, video
like that is very important, but it may not last very long. Most businesses delete or record-over their
surveillance camera footage in days or weeks, so if you want your car accident
lawyer to have a chance to obtain video of the collision, it’s best to move
fast.
Another type of evidence is what we call
“roadway evidence.” Roadway evidence
includes skid marks, car accident debris (such as broken-off pieces of headlights),
or wheel gouges on the shoulder of the road.
If there is a dispute about who was in the wrong, it’s important to
visit the scene of the collision and preserve this roadway evidence. An accident reconstruction expert can then
use the roadway evidence to prove how the car accident occurred. But the evidence can disappear if a lawyer
doesn’t move fast because rain, wind, and other traffic can scatter it.
Medical Treatment.
If you have personal relationships with
your doctors or have good health insurance, this many not be an issue. But some people who have been hurt in car
accidents may not have health insurance and may not know where to turn for
medical treatment. The local emergency
room or urgent care clinic can only do so much.
If you need medical treatment but don’t have health insurance and don’t
know where to turn, a car accident lawyer can point you in the right direction.
Witnesses.
Memories can fade and witnesses can lose
interest. Sometimes immediately after a
car accident, witnesses are ready to come forward and share what they saw. The witness may have vivid memories of the
injured person in pain, or may be angry at the at-fault driver for not paying
attention. But over time, witnesses can
forget about what happened and become less motivated to share what they
saw. They may dread the idea of talking
with lawyers or the possibility getting called to court to testify. If witness testimony is important, it is
almost always best for a car accident lawyer or investigator to reach out to
the witness quickly, before the witness’s memory (or motivation) fades. The attorney can often take a verbal or
written statement to preserve what the witness remembers.
