Law Advices and Legal Tips

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The Texas Legal Directory is published by Legal Directories Publishing Inc. located in Dallas, Texas. The directory provides information concerning individual attorneys, judges and law firms that are licensed in the state, as well as information regarding federal and state courts.

Attorney and Law Firm Information
1. The Texas Legal Directory provides geographical, biographical, contact and area-of-expertise information for individual attorneys who are licensed to practice law in the state. The directory also provides an updated alphabetical roster of all state-licensed law firms and includes each organization’s telephone number, location and area of specialization.

Courts
2. The directory has a section that provides information regarding both federal and state courts. The information includes the jurisdiction of each court as well as the court’s location and rules of procedure.

Judicial Information
3. Information on judges who preside over Texas courts is listed in a special pictorial section of the directory. The section includes professional information for each judge as well as biographical and background information.

If you and your spouse intend to part ways permanently, divorce doesn’t have to be costly. In fact, you can get free legal advice from a variety of nonprofit programs and pro bono organizations in your area. But before you seek free legal advice, educate yourself about your state’s divorce laws.

Know Your State’s Laws
1. Each state has its own body of law that governs divorce and issues of child custody and child support. These statutes will educate you on your state’s residency requirements–how long you or your spouse must have lived in the state to file a divorce.

Some states require only a brief residency. Other states require a year of residency (e.g., Connecticut, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York).

Your state’s laws will also tell you on which grounds you can file for divorce. While all states have some type of no-fault ground on which to file, some states make it more difficult for you and your spouse to get a divorce by imposing mandatory separation requirements for a no-fault divorce. For example, Illinois requires a minimum separation period of 6 months, and in New York, it’s a year.

Your state’s laws will also contain statutes that spell out what courts consider during the divorce process. When you read your state’s statutes, pay close attention to the words “must” and “shall.” This is authoritative language and makes application of a particular statute mandatory.

For example, courts are required to take certain factors into consideration when determining what’s in the best interest of your child. However, if you note the words “may” or “can,” this is permissive language. These statutes give courts permission to consider additional factors at their discretion.

This applies not only to child custody, but also to issues of marital property division, spousal support (alimony) and child support. Every state will have a formula for calculating child support contained within its statutes.

You can get an idea of what your state’s statutes look like by accessing the link divorcesource.com (see Resources). However, because state law is ever-changing and subtly modified after each legislative session, it’s a better idea to purchase a copy of the most recently codified version of your state’s divorce laws.

If you don’t have access to a bookstore that specializes in legal texts (or if your library doesn’t keep updated versions of your state’s laws), these books can be purchased online. Read the rest of this entry »

Maneuvering in the legal world is a tricky process best aided by a trained attorney. However, for those who wish to attempt this feat alone, there are some general principles to keep in mind.

Type of Law
1. Each branch of the law and the lawsuits brought under those laws have different policies and procedures that must be followed to be successful in court. Law is divided into two categories, criminal and civil.

In criminal law cases, you are charged with a crime, which is a violation of a statutory law enacted by the government that prohibits certain behaviors. The case is usually brought by the state. Depending on the severity of the crime in question, a person found could lose his or her liberties by being sent to jail or prison.

In civil law cases, there is a dispute between private parties who have asked the courts to intervene to help reach a settlement.

Criminal Law
If you are representing yourself in a criminal law case, keep the following in mind:

1. Most misdemeanors are strict liability, so expect to pay a fine if found guilty. However, if the fine is too large for you to pay, mention this at your trial and the court might reduce it on hardship grounds.
2. If you are arrested, do not say anything to the police officers that may impute guilt.

3. Unless the state is offering an exceptional plea bargain, plan on pleading not guilty.
4. When going before the judge for an arraignment, which is a reading of the charges against you in court, if you plead not guilty, the court will set a trial date. Unless the crime was substantial, a bail amount may be set if you have been jailed.

5. In felony cases, a defendant may request trial by jury or a bench trial in which the judge determines guilt or innocence.
6. If at any time during the process it becomes overwhelming, ask for an attorney to represent you.

7. Unless the prosecutor does something during the course of the proceeding that violates the defendant’s constitutional rights or is in violation of the court’s rules of procedure, an appeal of a guilty verdict is unlikely to be granted. It is highly recommended that you use an attorney to ensure that all of your rights were protected and that the trial procedures used were valid. Read the rest of this entry »

A legal contract is a set of promises that the law will view as duties of the promising parties. Those parties must perform their promises; should one party fail to do so, the law will enforce a remedy for the other party. Parties should seek the advice of an attorney before drafting a contract.

Mutual Assent
1. A legal contract requires mutual assent by the parties. Mutual assent includes both offer and acceptance. One party (the “offeror”) must demonstrate to the other that the offeror is willing to enter into contract. The other party (the “offeree”) will then have the power to create a contract by accepting the offeror’s terms.

When the offeree does accept, there is mutual assent. In deciding whether there was a valid offer and acceptance, courts will look at outward, objective behavior, rather than what was in the parties’ minds at the time.

Consideration
2. Even if there was mutual assent between parties, every legal contract still requires valuable consideration. Consideration means that each party has changed its legal position in return for the other party’s promise. However, this change in position must be of legal value.

For instance, let’s say John is legally bound to pay child support, and then he makes a contract with Mary in which his end of the bargain is a promise to pay child support. The law will not recognize any legal value in John’s promise, because he was already obligated by law to perform it. The contract would fail due to lack of consideration on John’s part. Read the rest of this entry »

Grantors, especially the elderly, designate an individual with power of attorney to ensure their wishes are met and decisions are made in their best interest in case of their inability to do so.

Parties
1. A principal is the person who gives the power of attorney to the attorney in fact. The attorney in fact must be a competent adult over the age of 18. When the principal grants power of attorney, the attorney in fact has the legal authority to make decisions on behalf of the principal.

Types
2. There are three types of power of attorney. A durable power of attorney grants a specified person the immediate legal power to make decisions on behalf of the grantor even if the grantor becomes incompetent or disabled.

Non-durable power of attorney grants immediate legal power to make decisions on behalf of the grantor, but is no longer valid if the grantor becomes disabled or incompetent. A health care power of attorney allows a designated person to make health care decisions on behalf of the grantor.

Considerations
3. A power of attorney can be revoked by the principal any time. Consult an attorney when creating the power of attorney to ensure all necessary elements are included, including length of validity.

The Illinois Notary Public Act sets out the requirements to become a notary public, as well as the duties and responsibilities of the job. Becoming a notary public in Illinois is a rather straightforward process once the eligibility requirements are met.

Eligibility
Illinois has certain requirements that must be met before a person can become a notary. The person must be: 1) an Illinois resident for at least 30 days prior to the application; 2) a United States citizen or a legally admitted permanent resident alien; 3) 18 years old; 4) able to read and write English; and 5) free of any felony convictions.

A resident of a state bordering Illinois who is otherwise eligible may be appointed as a notary in Illinois if the person has a place of work or business in Illinois and the bordering state allows Illinois residents to become notaries in that state.

Application and Appointment
The person applying to become a notary public must file an application form with the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office. A filing fee is required ($10.00 in 2010) along with an Illinois Notary Public Bond for $5,000 issued by a surety company qualified to issue such bonds in Illinois.

Once the completed application is accepted, the applicant must record her commission with the county clerk and pay an additional fee ($5.00 in person/$10.00 by mail in 2010).

Term
Illinois residents are appointed for a term of four years. Nonresidents are appointed for a period of one year. At or prior to the end of the term, the notary must apply for reappointment. Read the rest of this entry »

Notaries public are regulated by and responsible to the secretary of state’s office in the states in which they reside. For this reason, verifying notary public commissions and authenticity is often quite easy, since all authorized notaries are registered with the state.

Notaries—public servants who oversee and verify the signing of important documents and administration of oaths—act as officers of the state to deter fraud and make sure legal documents are signed appropriately.

1. Review the notary’s certification. This should show the date of certification, the notary’s legal name and the state in which it was issued. In some states, an identification number may be associated with the notary’s certification.

2. Check the notary’s certification at your state secretary of state’s website. Most states have searchable databases of authorized notaries. Verify the information you find there against the information you collect from the notary. Review any discrepancies with the notary and, if necessary, with the secretary of state’s office. You also can visit the secretary of state’s office in person.

3. Search an online database of notaries public in the United States; many of these are available. As with the secretary of state’s website, you should verify the information you find in your search against the information collected from the notary public. Read the rest of this entry »