In Texas It's Better To Have an Estate Plan Than Not

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    April 22, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- It may come as a surprise but the majority of Americans, 55 percent, do not have wills. Often, people are either too busy to make an estate plan or believe the choices involved in the process are so complicated that decisions are never made. The creation of an estate plan is important, beneficial and does not have to be complicated. Without an estate plan, an estate in Texas is subject to the default distribution rules, which means your assets and heirlooms may not go to the folks you want to receive them.

If you have children, they are most likely your most important asset. It is extremely important to have a willbecause as a parent you want to ensure your children are taken care of if something were to happen to you. A will can name a guardian in the unlikely event you pass away and they still need care. One common problem many parents face is figuring out who to name as guardian. To make the choice, think of the person who first comes to mind. The selection of someone is better than never making the choice, and as time passes and relationships change you can update your will to reflect these changes.

If you own a home or other property, such as a vacation home or investment property, it is also beneficial to have an estate plan. In Texas a will is subject to probate, and if you prefer to avoid probate a trust may be the appropriate estate planning tool. A trust may provide better asset protection and tax benefits than a will, and because a trust can generate income it can provide support for your heirs after your death. The support that a trust creates can provide for a child with needs or a cause of interest.

The creation of a will can also require you to think about two other complimentary estate planning tools: a power of attorney and a healthcare directive. A power of attorney allows another person to manage your financial affairs without becoming an owner of the assets, and a healthcare directive, also referred to as a living will, provides direction on the type health care you would like to receive if you become incapacitated.

Finally, even if you do not own a home or have children, chances are that you have assets of some sort. Bank accounts, retirement accounts, mutual funds and life insurance policies allow you to name a beneficiary, and these assets are also not subject to probate. It is important to name at least one beneficiary, and beneficiaries should be updated as you progress through life. For instance, you may want to change the beneficiary of an account that names a parent to the name of a child as time passes.

Contact an experienced estate planning attorney to create the best plan for your specific circumstances.

Article provided by Criss & Kraft LLP
Visit us at http://www.crisskraft.com/

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Accidents Will Happen: The Aging of Connecticut's Streets and Highways

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April 22, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Jessica Post tripped, fell and was injured on her way to work in Stonington. She suffered lacerations and swelling in her leg, but why she was injured was the real story. She had stepped and falling in a sinkhole on the street in front of her home.

Sinkholes are not often thought to be exceptional, but like a "canary in a coal mine," they are not simply a sign of a deteriorating street in Stonington, but an exemplar of a growing problem for cities across Connecticut and the nation.

Are They Really Freeways?

Streets and highways are a deceptive thing; they are so common and ordinary that most drivers never give them a thought. Unfortunately, politicians have taken that attitude for the better part of the last 40 years, and we now all are beginning to pay the price.

With the advent of the automobile, a great program of road construction began last century. Roads were paved, bridges built, two-lane roads became four, six and eight-lane superhighways. The national interstate highway system was built.

If You Build It, They Will Drive

With the highways came the drivers. In 1955, the national highway system carried 65 million cars and trucks. According to the American Association of State Highway and transportation officials, the number in 2007 had increased 246 million.

No New Taxes

The completion of Interstate highway system in the 1980s coincided with a movement to cut government spending. New spending was limited, and as the years when by, maintenance and repairs were increasingly deferred. This policy was feasible when the bulk of highways were new. Now, as all levels of infrastructure reach or pass their design life, it becomes more problematic.

As the Great Recession drags on, states and cities struggle to meet the demands placed on them. Much road maintenance is funded by gas taxes, which often have not been increased in decades and the revenue has fallen in recent years, as people drive less due to job loss and the poor economy.

Roads can cause many types of accidents, whether because of poor design, becoming out dated for current traffic conditions, or due to a failure of adequate maintenance, and some accidents and injuries can be more severe because of these deficiencies.

While many cities and municipalities in Connecticut have deferred maintenance and repairs, people, like Jessica Post, continue to suffer injures. The municipalities cannot defer lawsuits that stem from their failure to maintain their roads.

Article provided by Mills Law Firm LLC
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Former Student Convicted of Bias Intimidation for Webcam Spying

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    April 21, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Former Student Convicted of Bias Intimidation for Webcam Spying

In a case that has garnered national controversy, a jury has convicted a former Rutgers University student of bias intimidation, invasion of privacy and evidence tampering, convictions that could bring as many as 10 years in jail. Dharun Ravi, the student convicted, was born in India and also likely faces deportation. The charges, and subsequent conviction, arose from an incident where Ravi used a webcam to spy on his gay roommate. Shortly after seeing Ravi's tweets about the incident, his roommate, Tyler Clementi, committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge. The spying occurred in September of 2010, and Ravi was convicted in March of 2012.

Webcam Spying

On September 19, 2010, Ravi and another student used a webcam to spy on Clementi and another man as they engaged in intimate acts. After the incident, Ravi tweeted friends and invited them to watch the next proposed liaison, which was going to occur a few days later. Ravi and another student pointed the webcam directly at his roommate's bed in anticipation of spying on the intimate acts. That time, however, the actual spying never occurred: at trial, Ravi claims he moved the webcam before the spying could take place, but the prosecution claimed that it was Clementi who changed the angle of the webcam.

The second attempt to catch Clementi on film may have decided the case for the jury. "A reasonable person would have closed it and ended it there, not tweeted about it," one juror told The New York Times regarding the first webcam spying.

Plea Deal Rejected

Early in his criminal defense case, Ravi would have been able to take a plea deal that would have resulted in no jail time. However, Ravi rejected the deal, claiming to have done so because the deal would have forced him to admit his acts were the result of hatred to homosexuals. In a recent interview with Chris Cuomo of 20/20, Ravi said "[I]n 18 years of life, I don't see how someone could have so much hate towards a group of people for any reason."

Technology a Factor?

Ravi believes that technology may have made it seem more likely he was intentionally targeting his roommate on the basis of his homosexuality. "If you take all the technology out, this is just like I looked into the window and then left ... and then told a bunch of people about it," Ravi told 20/20.

This unique prosecution and conviction in this case shows how serious the penalties are for hate crimes. If you have been charged with a hate crime, contact an experienced criminal defense attorney who can defend your rights, as well as negotiate and advise you on plea bargains and other legal options.

Article provided by Feeley & Sayegh LLC Attorneys At Law
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Protecting Retirement Assets in Divorce: What You Need To Know

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April 21, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- You have been responsible, you've worked hard for years to build up your retirement accounts. Yet, you may not be aware that if your marriage falls apart, your ex could be running off with a significant portion of your retirement savings.

Retirement Accounts Subject To Equitable Distribution

Ohio is an equitable distribution state, meaning that in divorce, assets will be divided based on what a court sees as fair -- not necessarily what is equal. A number of factors may come into play in the court's decision, including the length of the marriage, attributes of given pieces of marital property (liquidity, indivisibility, inherent tax consequences, etc.) and each party's relative contributions to the accumulation of assets (including nonmonetary contributions, like those made as a homemaker).

Of course, you and your former spouse may come to a property settlement agreement outside of court. Nonetheless, even in out-of-court settlements the legal standards for division of marital property are important, as they underlie all aspects of negotiations.

Get the Most Out Of Retirement Funds in Negotiations

Any Ohio family law attorney will tell you that retirements accounts are one of the biggest assets in most divorces. Your former spouse may try to dip into a pension plan, profit sharing agreement, 401(k), IRA or stock options. So how can you safeguard your retirement?

Planning ahead with a properly executed prenuptial agreement is one way to hedge against the risk of divorce. Yet, even if you did not enter into a prenup before marriage, it does not mean you must inevitably face a retirement asset free-for-all.

There are many ways to help keep your retirement savings intact through your divorce. For one thing, you'll want to carefully document any retirement assets -- gather all pertinent records. You should also prioritize your retirement accounts in negotiations. In return for a higher stake in retirement funds, many individuals choose to relinquish assets that are less easy to replenish and do not have such significant returns over time (like the family home, which, as an added ownership disincentive, usually comes with vast post-divorce upkeep costs). Finally, avoid raiding retirement funds to pay for your divorce -- it will severely impact your potential savings growth, and there are other sources of quick cash that do not have early withdrawal penalties.

Call an Ohio Family Law Attorney for Legal Assistance

An experienced family law attorney can help you develop additional strategies for protecting your retirement assets in divorce. If your marriage is headed for divorce, contact a lawyer today to ensure you have the best chances at a bright retirement.

Article provided by Amy M Levine & Associates LLC
Visit us at www.ohiowvlaw.com

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Florida Rolls Out significant changes in personal injury Protection

21 April 2012 /24-7PressRelease / -Florida Rolls Out significant changes in personal injury Protection

Big changes for the protection of Florida, PIP or injuries, insurance system are coming soon. Several legislators say the medical state, providers and consumers have suffered too much fraud in recent years and that the new law will return PIP to its initial objective of benefits for emergency treatment after car accidents. The new law aims to lower insurance rates and to ease the burden of litigation PIP to the Florida courts.

Auto insurance premiums

According to The News-Press, Florida auto insurance rates more than 50 percent higher than the average national. The new law responds to this problem by requiring insurance in Florida to reduce the premiums PIP, with few exceptions, at least 10 per cent in October 2012 and at least 25% by 2014. Critics of the new law say that the protection of motorists to Florida for injuries suffered in a car accident will be limited in exchange for lower premiums.

Coverage restrictions

From January 2013, complete coverage of the PIP in the amount of $10,000 will be available to injured motorists with "medical emergency". Medical professionals certified by the following State will be allowed to determine whether an injury accident is a medical emergency:
-Doctors
-Doctors ERS
-Dentists
-Physicians assistants
-Advanced nurse practitioners

Massage therapy and acupuncture services will not be covered. However, up to $2,500 for the treatment of non-emergency injury by a physiotherapist or chiropractor may be available depending on the extent of the injury.

A significant motivation for these changes is the problem of fraud in the State, believes that the cost of Florida and taxpayers up to 1 billion dollars per year, according to the news-press. In a recent case, 15 people were involved in a scheme to accidents of food-truck scene in Miami and collect hundreds of thousands of dollars through fraudulent insurance claims. In another case, two Cape Coral clinics have been closed and 12 people were arrested and accused of defrauding insurers of millions of dollars.

After minor, moderate or serious injuries in a car accident in Florida, motorists should contact a lawyer of competent and experienced personal injury who will fight to their account for the compensation to which they are entitled under the Act.

Article by counsel for the Parvey & Frankel, P.A
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Congressional Republicans Call for Federal Sentencing Reform

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April 21, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- According to a recent NPR report, some Congressional Republicans believe that the current federal sentencing protocol is not working. They contend that a number of disparities have arisen, and that uniformity must be restored across federal districts. Congressman James Sensenbrenner, (R-Wisconsin) explained to NPR that federal crimes should be punished equally regardless of where the crime was committed. As an example, he highlighted that federal judges in New York City commonly imposed sentences below the guidelines, while judges in Upstate New York were still following them.

What Are the Federal Sentencing Guidelines?

Born from the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, the federal sentencing guidelines have long been a topic of heated debate. The guidelines call for federal judges to use a point system that considers the severity of a particular offense, unique offender characteristics and other relevant factors when determining criminal sentences.

Before the guidelines, sentences could vary greatly from district to district as federal court judges weighed factors subjectively based upon their interpretation of the facts involved. As such, lawmakers sought uniform punishments that would apply across all districts. Congress envisioned modest increases in costs and incarcerations to implement the new guidelines, but the federal prison population quadrupled over the next 20 years, so costs exploded accordingly.

Financial implications aside, the guidelines have seen a number of challenges. Federal prosecutors and defense attorneys have had continual difficulties defining offender behavior and determining how they fit into guidelines. This was especially problematic in dealing with the crack epidemic in the 1980s and early 90s. Convictions for five grams of crack cocaine would yield the same five-year minimum sentence as 500 grams of powder cocaine, which is essentially a 100 to 1 sentencing disparity. Also, as Internet pornography became more pervasive, those who unwittingly downloaded illicit photographs faced stiff mandatory minimum sentences that did not necessarily reflect the crime committed.

In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court made a fundamental change in how federal judges would apply the guidelines. Through U.S. v. Booker, the Court essentially made sentencing guidelines "advisory", instead of mandatory, in order to protect criminal defendants' Sixth Amendment rights. The Booker decision followed a number of constitutional challenges to sentences meted through the guidelines.

Nevertheless, calls for change continue to arise.

Douglas Berman, a law professor and sentencing expert at Ohio State University told NPR that many judges think the guideline punishments are too tough, especially in the areas of corporate fraud and child pornography, where presumptive sentences can start at 20 years in prison. Racial disparities still remain a concern, as the U.S. Sentencing Commission recently reported that average sentences facing black males were 20 percent longer than those for white males.

In the meantime, the House Judiciary Committee is planning more hearings on the issue of sentencing reform, and the Sentencing Commission will continue to study feedback from judges in making recommendations. If you or a loved one is facing a federal crime charge, working with a skilled defense attorney with insight into the federal sentencing guidelines and the way in which particular district judges apply them can make a huge difference in the outcome of your case.

Article provided by Kohn & Smith
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