Protection Under Law

Cycle of Life

2007-11-05T16:20:00.000-07:00

"The rules of cycling also apply to life. Take care of yourself. Set goals. Learn from the experts. Share your wisdom. Be prepared." --Karen Bliss Livingston, Olympic cyclist

I recently saw this quote in an industry e-newsletter, and immediately saw it's application to affordable, accessible, pre-need legal services. Life happens while you're doing something else, or going somewhere else, and being prepared for life's events becomes increasingly important with each passing day.

Marriage. Divorce. Adoption. Employment contracts. Rental agreements. Leases. Traffic tickets. Real estate transactions. Home Owners Association rules. Club memberships. Service contracts. Defective merchandise. The list of law-related situations goes on and on...

So whether or not you cycle, you're travelling down a road filled with calculated routes as well as unanticipated twists and turns.

You've probably set goals for your future at work and in your personal life. You probably carry health insurance (which takes care of your physical self and medical needs), automobile insurance and home owners' or renters' insurance (which takes care of your property--sometimes!). At this point in your life, it's time to learn about a legal program that will protect you and your family now and in the future--from both planned and unplanned events. It's been said, "Bad things happen to good people." Protect yourself. Be prepared. Click CALL ME to find out more.

Teenage Drivers

2007-05-25T17:18:00.000-06:00

My son is a high school senior and has been driving for over a year; he tends to be fairly cautious. However, he is a teenager and often his accelerator foot is disproportionately heavier than his braking foot! It was particularly heavy on a recent senior campout in the northern part of our state. He had travelled 2 hours up the highway at the prevailing posted speed of 65 miles per hour. Upon exiting onto a local road to get to the campsite, he didn't slow down quickly enough to the posted 40 miles per hour. A law enforcement officer was perched at the exit, clocked him at 60, pulled him over and issued him a 6-point, $150 summons!

To add insult to injury, in addition to the points and fees, there was a mandatory appearance in a court with parent on an appointed date. So let's recap: 6 points (teenager loses his license at 5, insurance goes up), mandatory court appearance (near 2 hr drive, teenager misses school, Mom misses work and gives up a day's pay), and $150 fine. What do you do?

Fortunately, I subscribe to a legal services plan that covers myself and my son for situations like these. So, I picked up the phone, called my provider law firm, faxed over the summons and put initiated the process of resolving this legal problem. A lawyer with the firm who specializes in motorvehicle issues contacted the jurisdiction in which the traffic violation occured, negotiated on my son's behalf and resolved the situation to our satisfaction. The charges were reduced several points (saving my son's license and mitigating the insurance impact), and neither one of us had to travel 2 hours and miss school and work (a savings of both time and money). All we had to do was send the check that we would have had to pay regardless.

You too can get a legal services plan like mine. Click on Get Help Now or the CALL ME button, for more information or to subscribe today. Be prepared. Plan ahead.

What's in a Name?

2007-04-29T14:42:00.000-06:00

A Rose by Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet...

In Shakespeare's time, people didn't have to contend with identity thieves--out to use their names for not-so-sweet activities. A recent article in a Vermont newspaper posed this question: "Is identity theft protection worth paying for?" That same day, a broadcast news story reported: "Sex offender charged with identity theft." These two stories juxaposed begs an interesting question: "Do you want to know when a sex offender is pretending to be you?"
Not only do you want to know, you want to know before he does what comes naturally and you wind up paying for his crimes or in jail yourself as the alleged perpetrator.

What about the hottest new target--medical records. Can you afford to be denied medical attention because someone else has compromised your medical records and used up your insurance? Worse yet, can you afford to be treated for a disease you don't have, because someone else is seeking treatment for their medical condition using your indentity?

There are plenty of services out there that purport to offer identity theft protection and restoration--to prevent you from becoming a victim and to come in after the fact to help you put things right. Unfortunately most of them don't deliver on their promises--they notify you well after your identity has been compromised and then offer you a packet of papers to fill-out and mail!

What you want is daily monitoring of your credit file and an immediate alert to any changes and illegitimate or questionable activity/transactions. Then, in the event that you're identity has been compromised, you want restoration and recovery--handled by your service provider (not landing back in your lap). Be prepared. Plan ahead. Don't wait for a "911" moment. For the most comprehensive Identity Theft protection available, "click" Get Help Now to enroll or the Call Me button (right-hand column) for additional help and information.

You Carrying Someone Else’s Liability?

2007-04-12T10:18:00.000-06:00

Are you inadvertently being exposed to a large liability, law suit or insurance claim because another party has failed to fulfill their legal obligation? This happens more often than you think. Take Larry, he lives in a nice townhouse in Littleton, CO where all structural concrete work (i.e. sidewalk, driveway, porch steps etc) is the direct responsibility of the Home Owners' Association. In fact the by-laws specifically prohibit him from changing or modifying anything at all that involves exterior structural components.

The first winter after purchase, he noticed a drainage problem existed around the step and stoop of the house main entry. This was a problem because it would create an extended icy, slippery area and unsafe conditions for anyone using the main door. Larry addressed the issue with the HOA (Home Owners' Association) multiple times over 3 years, repeatedly asking that the problem be corrected. Even after having one of his older children fall and smack her head on the walk, he continued to get a “deaf ear" response from the HOA. They simply failed to handle their legal responsibility – and he knew he was going be held liable by anyone that got hurt or injured as a result.

Larry figured it would cost a few hundred dollars to correct the problem if he did it himself, but in truth he wasn’t even allowed. So he handed the issue over to his PrePaid Legal Services law firm (a service he pays only $26/month for). The firm reviewed the issue, drafted a letter to the HOA and within a few days, Larry got a call from the HOA stating the problem was going to be addressed. During the construction contractor’s review it was also found that the porch step failed to comply with county regulations and the entire walkway was replaced and brought up to code.

What Larry had spent 3 years trying to resolve with no success, was resolved in 3 weeks to a level better than he could have imagined. PLUS he has rid himself of a liability that wasn’t really his to begin with. All this was a result of Larry's being able to have affordable access to legal services and thus gain back the “balance of power.” Click on the CALL ME button or web link in the right column to get this same advantage for yourself.

Losing the Gold from the Golden Years

2007-04-08T21:12:00.000-06:00

Each year a staggering number of people fall prey to Identity Theft. Author, Jason R. Rich ("Dirty Little Secrets: What the Credit Bureaus Won't Tell You) speculates the number could be as high as ten million! The fastest growing segment of that unfortunate population is seniors. Perceived as trusting and vulnerable, they present easy targets for identity thieves. And everyone has advice for seniors.

My personal favorite statement from the "experts": "Don't become a victim." Then they proceed to offer a list of the obvious ways to protect yourself, like:

Be selective about who you share your personal information with
Shred documents with personal information on it
Be wary of certain offers (i.e. credit cards) in the mail

Some "experts" would scare you into avoiding the Internet altogether, for transactions of any kind!

Reality is, be smart, be cautious, but most importantly plan ahead and be prepared. Have a program in place that monitors your credit reports daily, and should you become a victim, assigns a licensed investigator to prepare and followup on the credit repair/restoration paperwork, plus perform proactive searches of applicable local/national databases for compromised information you may not even be aware of. You can get such a program today. Just hit the CALL ME button on the right.

The Unforseen Hazards of Teaching

2007-03-16T20:00:00.000-06:00

As if teachers don't have it tough enough--low salaries, long hours of combined prep time and instruction, mountains of paperwork to meet state and federal guidelines, as well as grading homework & classwork, disrespectful students, sometimes weapons and drugs, and uninvolved/uncooperative parents. Now they have to worry about what might "pop up" on their computer screen unannounced and unrequested.

That's just what happened to an unsuspecting substitute teacher named Julie in Connecticut, one fateful day in October 2004. On that day, the regular teacher was there before class to log Julie into her computer at the front of the classroom. Substitutes didn't have their own accounts, and were specifically ordered not to log out or shut down computers. After being logged on, and while the regular teacher was still in the room, Julie stepped out briefly. When Julie returned to the classroom, the regular teacher was gone and students (some of whom didn't even belong in the class) were surfing the Web on the teacher's computer. Unbeknownst to Julie, the computer had no antispyware software because the school district had allowed its Web-filtering software support contract to expire!

So, when one of the female students decided to visit a hairstyle Web site, she was immediately redirected to another site that advertised adult products. When Julie tried to close the site down, a flood of pornographic pop-ups started. Julie is not a computer wiz--she can perform basic computing functions, but that's about it. When she couldn't get rid of the pop-ups, she turned the screen away from the students' view and chased away any student who approached her desk. What else could she do--she was forbidden from shutting down the computer?

During her next break, Julie sought technical help--to no avail. No one in authority in the school or with technical expertise would return to the classroom with her. She was repeatedly told not to worry about it. Shortly after the incident, Julie was arrested for "child endangerment." In January of this year, she was convicted of four counts of "impairing the morals of a minor." She is due for sentencing March 29.

Julie is a law-abiding, good and honest person who never thought she'd need legal assistance. In a school environment, unpredictable situations can arise--and as a substitute teacher, she doesn't even have the legal aid or union reprentation that full-time teachers have. There is, however, a legal services program with special features and benefits for teachers and school personnel that addresses the issues/occurences unique to their profession. For more information, see side bar on screen.

Verbal Contracts Count...

2007-02-21T15:18:00.000-07:00

Don’t get caught holding the short end of the stick because you believed someone’s words.

One evening, several months ago, I got an unsolicited call from a very pleasant and persuasive young man named Zack, a manager for Calypso Cay Resort. He enthusiastically informed me that he had an incredible vacation opportunity for me and up to 3 friends. He outlined it for me: 3 nights in Orlando, 3 nights in Daytona and 3 nights in Miami, plus a 3-day Caribbean cruise. All I had to do was agree to tour the Calypso Cay property in Orlando and listen to a short time-share sales pitch. That was the only condition for this fabulous vacation at the "special" price of $298. God, he was good and convincing!

Zack told me that a "vacation package" reiterating all the wonders he'd described would be sent via mail. He clearly stated other conditions: I had up to 18 months to use my vacation package, it could be extended another 6 months for a small fee, AND I had 90 days to cancel. He repeatedly assured me that after reviewing the package, if I wasn't interested, I had 90 days to cancel and receive a full $298 refund. Even though the "Terms & Conditions" state a 30-day cancellation policy, he said that Florida law provides for 90 days. It seemed like a no-risk no-brainer (operative word "no-brainer"). I gave Zack my credit card number for the $298 charge, and anxiously awaited my dreamy vacation package.

My credit card was charged nearly immediately on September 1, and I finally received my package on September 20. I reviewed the information, calculated airfare between my home state and Florida, cost of a car rental to get between the cities in Florida, and tried to figure out when I could get away for twelve consecutive days. By mid-November, this vacation seemed like more of a challenge than an opportunity. It just didn't compute as such a great idea after all. So, I decided to cancel. That's when my "dream" turned into a nightmare!

As my "buddy" Zack had instructed, on November 15 (only half way to the 90-day cancellation period Zack assured me I had) I called Calypso Cay. I told them I'd decided to cancel and asked them to refund my $298 via credit to my charge card. I was told 45 days exceeded the 30-day cancellation period. I relayed my lengthy conversation with Zack (dates, times, details from written notes I’d made), and was told that I must be mistaken or misunderstood what I'd heard. I was instructed to return the package, as cancellation put me "out of compliance with their terms and conditions." Then, I was told that they would not refund my $298, either. In other words--no vacation and no money back!

So I called my credit card company, Capital One, who credited my account for $298, charged-back Calypso Cay, and initiated an investigation. Fast-forward two months and a UPS envelope arrived at my door. In it was a letter from Capital One informing me that Calypso Cay had refuted my claims and my credit card account was being re-charged $298. Capital One offered me the opportunity to respond to Calypso Cay's rebuttal and told me that my reply had to be received by January 31, 2007. I faxed a letter to Capital One, alerting them to the fact that I was now turning the entire matter over to my attorney--boy was that a good feeling!

On January 31, my attorney sent a letter to Calypso Cay outlining my claims and requesting my refund. On February 14, I received my $298 refund.

You see, I prescribe to the Boy Scout motto: "Be Prepared." My peace of mind is priceless, so I've planned ahead. I belong to a legal services program that enables me to contact an attorney whenever an unforeseen situation arises. You can too! For more information, contact Tom. See Get Help Now in the sidebar at right.

Playing the Numbers Game

2007-02-05T22:00:00.000-07:00

"Life was much simpler years ago," as our parents would say. And in fact, a consumer's life certainly was. The average person interacted one-on-one with the local grocer, butcher, baker, hardware store, dry cleaner, drug store, dress or suit shop--and received quality products and services, with a smile, a handshake, a decipherable receipt, and a results guarantee.

Locally owned and operated establishments had a vested interest in the community and good customer relations. If they didn't satisfactorally meet the needs and expectations of their customers, they lost business--and that mattered to them. Today, we deal with cell phone companies, cable providers, health clubs, retailers, mega stores--national and sometimes international corporations and chains with no reason to value individual customers. You can't even get the same company representative on the phone twice in a row. And if they provide unsatisfactory products or services, and they lose your business--it seldom matters and usually they don't even know. They create a complicated system of recourse and resolution for a complaint and often count on you giving up. Government statistics are proof positive that consumers are increasingly getting the short end of the service stick.

According to AARP magazine: "In 2005 more than 400,000 fraud-related complaints were filed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), compared with just 16,500 in 1996." And there are more numbers to consider:

240 minutes is the average time a consumer spends resolving a complaint, according to the Arizona State University National Customer Rage Study--with only 5% of complaints being resolved immediately! Don't you have something better to do with your time?
$152,000,000 in fraud losses was reported to the FTC in 2004. Was any of that money yours?
40% is the percentage of people who reported that a company did absolutely nothing in response to their consumer complaint. Don't you want a better result?
70% is the percentage of people who had a negative service experience. And they call it Customer Care! Who, cares?
15% is the percentage of consumers who wanted to seek revenge on a company that had wronged them. Justice is the best revenge--eliminate frustration that way!

Turn the numbers around. Put yourself on an equal footing with merchants and businesses and make them accountable for the quality of their products and services, and your satisfaction. Level the legal playing field now --add a law firm at a price you can afford to your team! See Get Help Now in the sidebar at right.

HOA--Home Owner Aggravation?

2007-01-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

It Can Also Mean Home Ownership Abridged!

Conceptually, HOA (homeowner's association)-governed communities are good for people. They provide a sense of connection, neighborhood infrastructure, and a wide-variety of social opportunities—and are often considered to have a positive impact on maintaining home resale values. However, an HOA can wield a tremendous amount of power over the people, property and community it governs—including the ability to foreclose on your home.

It's not just about the color you paint the exterior of your home, where you place a fence or whether you left your garage door open. An HOA is a contractually authorized pseudo taxing agency—and as leverage to enforce that tax, it can foreclose on your home for even a minor perceived infraction of its rules. And the board of an HOA often assumes the license to change the rules! The real irony is, if you fight the rules you must do so in court—and when you do, you’re paying your attorney fees and your opponent’s (via your HOA dues)! This is where the bad and ugly stories come pouring in!

For instance, a man in Rancho Santa Fe, California supposedly violated his HOA's "architectural design rules" by planting too many roses. This "gardening crime" cost him his home. Or how about the 82-year-old Texas widow who owed $814.50 in back dues to her HOA. As a result, she lost her $150,000 home to foreclosure. Then there's the case of the Arizona couple who had a mere $66 homeowner's association debt and yet faced the loss of their home; to save it, they spent more than $7,000 in lawyer's fees! This is not to say HOAs don’t have value—I only point out that they hold a lot of “legal” clout. Thus it’s pretty easy to get in a situation where you’re forced to deal with their attorney or the court. There's got to be a better way than going it alone if this happens!

AARP Magazine reports, "6.5 million 50-plus households resided within an HOA environment in 2005 (almost double that of the 3.7 million in 1995)." That's a staggering statistic that represents a high number of potential legal problems for people that believe “I’m a quiet, honest hard-working person—why would I ever need an attorney?” Don't wait for an innocent issue to make you an innocent victim of a potentially over-reaching authority. Be prepared. Plan ahead. See Get Help Now in the sidebar at right.

Your Declaration of Independence...

2007-01-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

Have a Lawyer Read It Before You Sign It!

For over fourteen years, Sadie--a retired math teacher--has lived happily and independently in a modest one-bedroom apartment in a retirement community in southern California. At 88-year's old, she enthusiastically pursues a variety of activities and attends cultural events regularly. An avid reader, Sadie stays up-to-date on current events, politics, and the economy. She needs some help with certain daily tasks and has hired private aides when necessary. So what has given Sadie the shock of her life?

The retirement community in which Sadie resides has decided that because she needs (some) assistance, she should be removed from her one-bedroom apartment and placed into a hospital-style single room in the assisted living section of the community. Sadie is self-sufficient, sharp as a tack and in full control of her faculties. Even her family and doctor agree that she isn't ready to trade her privacy and autonomy for a small room where only a curtain would separate her from an assigned roommate, and "lights out" would be at 8:30!

The retirement community maintains that residents "contractually agree" that the company operating the community (acting as health care provider) gets to determine the appropriate level of care they receive and the time, place and manner of that care. Time to read the fine print. Time to have a lawyer review the contract before signing. Time to ask questions. Don't leave your future or the future of a loved one to chance, fine print, or the discretion of another authority. Maintain your independence. Assert your rights. Be prepared. Plan ahead. Go to Get Help Now in the sidebar to the right.

Tags, Threads and Search = Legal Power

2007-01-17T11:18:00.000-07:00

“Knowledge is power” but knowledge comes from information, and we are often overwhelmed with that today. This posting highlights 3 core techniques impacting information management that originate from the Internet: Tags, Threads, and Search. These are digital techniques every attorney must understand and every person using an attorney - should be applying to their own information.

Digital storage has acutely impacted the amount and manner in which we capture, manage and research available information. This is particularly true in the legal and judicial process. Whether a lawsuit, court proceeding, or the process known as “discovery” in legal proceedings (1), having solid control over recall and access to information has become not only handy, but often critical.

The concept of placing files in folders and keeping good chronological order alone is NOT sufficient to handle the overwhelming volume and complex inter-relationships of data and information. This includes all communications, such as emails, text messages, chats, voice messages etc plus related documents. Recall and access is often the critical difference between a favorable or unfavorable outcome in virtually any legal matter.

TAGS--a (relevant) keyword or term associated with or assigned to any piece of digital information (such as a picture, document, article, or video clip), effectively labeling the item in ways that permit extremely fast lookup and categorization via digital tools.
THREADS--a threaded communication occurs when an electronic link exists between many disparate elements such as emails, instant message chats, posted comments etc. that may be stored either on a person’s PC or stored on a network.
SEARCH--(engine) Yahoo, Google, etc. are information retrieval tools that can process literally billions of potential matches and within milli-seconds limit the results to match our exact criteria.

The influence and power this provides in legal situations can not be under-estimated. For proof of the critically important role these digital techniques (tags, threads, and search) will play in judicial process - one only need consider the recent federal legislation listed below. If you want more information on how to apply these techniques to your information - then click on Call Tom Right Now.

(1) Effective Dec 1, 2006, new regulations and changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Rules 26 and 34 through 37), which cover the issue of e-discovery of critical evidence take affect. In litigation, for example, these changes mean producing within 30 days relevant e-mails, text documents, spreadsheets or IMs that were originated weeks, months or even years prior.

Home Is Where The Heart Is--Not...

2007-01-14T18:14:00.000-07:00

According To Some Insurance Companies

Here's a simple scenario: A life-long wage earner, Los Angeles resident, and now elderly (late 80's) woman takes out a long-term insurance policy that pays up to $100 per day for home health care. She pays her premiums diligently over the next two years. Her health starts to deteriorate, and her ability to care for herself diminishes. She's diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and realizes that she's actually going to have to use the policy she's been paying for (what a concept!). That's where the situation stops being simple.

Independent of her Alzheimer's disease, she contracts a serious infection that requires an unexpected hospital stay. When she's released from the hospital, she's too weak and disoriented to care for herself, and subsequently moves into her daughter's home. The insurance company immediately stops the mother's home health care payments, claiming her change of residence invalidated the terms of the policy. Her daughter is forced to sell her mother's house and quit her job to provide the needed home health care that the insurance company now refuses to pay. As for the billion-dollar insurance company:"Mums the word." They've decided to save the definition of "home" for a court and judge.

A loving, caring daughter and her elderly, incapacitated mother--who carefully prepared in advance for medical conditions--have learned painfully the need to also be prepared for the unexpected legal situations in life. Bad things can and do happen to good people--plan ahead. Go to Get Help Now on sidebar at right.

"You Can Never Be Too Rich or Too Thin..."

2007-01-05T13:43:00.000-07:00

Or Too Prepared for the Unexpected!

Picture this: You're an upstanding, hardworking, educated, professional woman and single mom. Your son is developmentally disabled. To maintain contact with him throughout the day, you purchase a cell phone for him. At the store, you tell the manager that you want only basic service and very limited options on the phone because of your son's "special circumstances." The store manager says "sure, no problem." Next month, you receive a cell phone bill for over $2,000 on that phone--for the exact services you were assured would not be included in your son's plan!

You contact customer service immediately. They deny any verbal agreement, and stand firm on the $2,000 debt. You think the only choice you have is to pay the full amount or risk a derogatory on your credit report. What do you do? Pay the bill to avoid the hassle and time off from work to fight "the big bad phone company," or contact a lawyer which you figure will be too expensive? Suddenly a customer service issue has become a legal matter.

Before you find yourself in a position like this, check out Get Help Now (in sidebar on the right). Plan ahead. Be prepared.

"Man has only those rights he can defend" - J. M.

2006-12-28T17:09:00.000-07:00

Jonathan James McCoy is the Executive Assistant District Attorney for New York County (borough of Manhattan) in, of course, the state of New York on the highly successful television show, Law & Order. Popularly known as Jack McCoy, his character has such a strong persona that he's present on MYSPACE.COM, including a personal history, list of friends and Blog entries. Additionally, certain lines he has said on the show have been established as recognized quotes; i.e. "Man has only those rights he can defend".

Who would have ever guessed a TV show which is basically about attorneys could be so popular? The main reason is that ultimately, the show's scripts are all based on "real life" situations (disclaimer: the names and story lines are modified to protect the innocent). These fictional presentations permit us to experience an aspect of "reality" most of us hope, and often believe we'll never have to deal with personally. True, the percentage of citizens involved in the highly complex and severe criminal plots portrayed on the show is low--yet the percentage of citizens that get exposed to legal situations is rather high. Statistical studies show we have a near 3 times greater chance of being in a legal situation than we do of being admitted to the hospital! (36 Mil Hospitalizations vs. 93 Mil Court Filings - 2002 Statistics from American Hospital Assoc and Examining the World of State Courts)

When we do get involved with a legal situation (civil or criminal) we often think our "rights" are just automatically protected by mere existence of the law. However we only have "rights" if we're able to effectively understand and apply the law for our defense within the judicial system. If you lack effective legal counsel (such as an attorney) you effectively have no rights. So while the character Jack McCoy is fictional, the words he speaks have much truth: "Man has only those rights he can defend". To be sure that you actually get to exercise the "rights" presented in our constitution and laws - be sure you have immediate access to legal services, an attorney's knowledge and the ability to have them directly represent you if and when necessary--get Protection Under Law (see right column of this Blog site).

Identity Theft Protection Schemes...

2006-12-27T15:00:00.000-07:00

Some Are All Bark and No Bite!

On December 12, 2006, the New York Times reported the not-so-strange case of Melody Millett. She was shocked when her car loan company asked her if she was the wife of Abundio Perez, who had applied for 26 credit cards, (would you consider that a NORMAL amount?) financed several cars, and taken out a home mortgage using a social security number belonging to Melody's real husband, Steven. Beyond her shock, she was angry.

Just five months earlier she and Steven had subscribed to a $79.99/year service from Equifax which promised to monitor any access to their credit records. But it never reported the credit activity that clearly would have signaled that they were victims of identity theft. And Equifax is not the only culprit making money on our fears. Experian, Trans Union, credit card companies, direct marketers and banks claim to offer services that "protect" you by providing an "early warning system so (consumers) can limit the damage and take care of the problem right away"--according to John Danaher, president of TransUnion's online consumer services arm.

Most of these providers fall far short in timeliness, thoroughness and follow-through with the most important step--Identity Restoration! As the Milletts found out painfully, the service they obtained only provides consumer alerts that some institution has made an inquiry. There is virtually no provision for manpower assistance in the extremely time consuming and costly process of identity recovery/restoration. Yet there is a program that provides true daily monitoring plus direct recovery/restoration in the event of identity theft. It is very affordable and sold through a 30-year old, NYSE-listed company and backed by the largest risk management company in the US. (See Get Help Now)

At My IRS Audit, I Thought My Accountant Would Be Most Important

2006-12-18T14:45:00.000-07:00

...Boy was I wrong!

I'd been separated from my husband for two years. My divorce was final. My life was moving forward as a single Mom. I went to work everyday, paid my bills, paid my taxes, obeyed the law, maintained a civil but clearly separate relationship with my ex-husband—lead a rather ordinary existence! Then came THE LETTER.

In it, the IRS claimed that I had failed to respond to a previous correspondence--which I never received. In it the IRS notified me that my now ex-husband and I were being audited for 2004--the last year we filed a joint return. I contacted "our" accountant--who is in a state where we used to live, reviewed the worksheets and copy of the return, looked frantically for backup/support documents, spoke to my ex-husband, and made an appointment with the IRS auditor.

Attending that audit without legal representation was a hugely costly mistake. So many of an auditor's decisions are arbitrary and based on "gut-instinct"—they can choose what and/or who to believe or not believe. After deciding to disallow many of the deductions (including our older son's college tuition!)—on a whim, the auditor decided to set another audit for an earlier year! It had become clear that the auditor had it in her mind that she set all the rules and was going to pursue us to whatever degree she desired.

The second audit resulted in an additional new debt to the IRS. Although a slightly smaller one than the first, the combination of the two years equalled $20,000! How ironic to now have a joint debt to the government when my ex-husband and I no longer have a joint anything else! The real questions became: Who was allowed to negotiate on my behalf? Who was responsible for repayment of the $20,000? Who was accountable if the responsible party failed to make repayments? In talking with the IRS it became clear that they would hold me liable for the entire amount, plus associated penalties and interest, if my ex-husband (considered the "responsible party") failed for any reason to repay the debt.

The greatest irony is this: had I not committed in writing in the final divorce decree to share in repayment of any IRS debt incurred during our marriage (of which I was unaware at the time of the divorce), my share of the $20,000 debt would be zero! My ex-husband is considered the primary taxpayer for those years and only his social security number is indicated on the debt & repayment plan. Any monetary contribution of mine would have been considered voluntary. So I have to ask myself: Should I have had an attorney more closely review the tax obligation portion of my divorce decree? Should I have had an attorney available at the first audit hearing? At the second audit? Yes, Yes and Yes—because I certainly now know that having an attorney negotiate the repayment plan, and protect me should my ex-husband not fulfill his obligation would be priceless…

I’m a good and honest person, I used an experienced professional accountant and paid my taxes on time—why would I ever need an attorney?

If Only a Thief Put This Much Effort Into Real Work...

2006-12-10T21:32:00.000-07:00

My friend went to our local gym and placed his belongings in a locker. After the workout and a shower, he came out, saw the locker open, and thought to himself: "Funny, I could have sworn I locked the locker. Hmmm." He dressed and just flipped through his wallet to make sure all was in order. Everything looked okay—all cards were in place. A few weeks later his credit card statement came—a whooping $14,000! He called the credit card company immediately and started yelling at them, saying that he did not make those transactions. Customer care personnel verified that there was no mistake in the system and asked if his card had been stolen. "No," he said, but then took out his wallet, pulled out the credit card, and lo and behold—a switch had been made. An expired similar-looking credit card from the same bank was in the wallet. The thief had undoubtedly broken into his locker at the gym and switched cards.

Unfortunately, the credit card issuer said that since he did not report the card missing earlier, he would have to pay the amount owed to them. How much did he have to pay for items he did not buy? $9,000! Why were there no calls made to verify the amount swiped? Small amounts rarely trigger a "warning bell" with credit card companies. It just so happened that all the small amounts added up to big one!

What do you do if you're unaware that your credit or identity have been compromised? You certainly can't report it to the credit card issuer if you don't know about. So many of us have been lead to believe that we are somehow protected by the credit card company themself (obviously not). Then, who do you turn to? This is when having quality legal representation is critical to a positive outcome.

Big Brother is In The (My) House

2006-12-03T19:00:00.000-07:00

According to a recent article in the Rocky Mountain News, a district judge ruled against a couple who sued to invalidate a no-smoking rule approved by their local homeowners association. In other words, this couple went to court to fight for the right to smoke in their own home--and lost. How in their wildest imaginations could they have believed that their home "was not their castle," and that they could so easily be challenged on "what they did in the privacy of their own home"?

"I'm a Good and Honest Person..."

2006-11-26T14:44:00.000-07:00

"Why would I ever Need an Attorney?"

That's a common thought most people have when the issue of attorney or legal services is even discussed. Most people think they have total control over the events that may cause them to need or benefit from the services of an attorney. Yet, 100's of times a day people get pulled into simple and sometimes complex legal situations due to no fault of their own. Technically the judicial system allows us to "defend ourself" but that is seldom a good idea. Additionally the legal system has become very complex over the past 100 years. It involves many elements of "civil procedure" court room protocol and sometimes just local tradition. Failure to know, understand and adhere to all these factors can greatly work to your disadvantage - invalidating a solid case and rendering all your efforts and preparation worthless.

America is the land of the free, and one privilege that provides is the freedom to sue anyone. If someone seeks to take you to court and is willing to spend the money to do it, you have no option but to appear in court to defend yourself. No matter how frivolous a situation may seem to one party, the other party has the right to pursue court action. Will you have what it takes to effectively defend yourself?

Sometimes it's your personal freedom or civil liberties that are threatened, such as when a homeowner's association seeks to not only control what you can with your home - but also what you can do inside your home! The worst case scenario is having your identity stolen, and through illegal acts of the perpetrator operating under your name - you gain a criminal record! What would you do then?

This Blog is dedicated to presenting and discussing the crazy array of legal situations (often through no fault of the person) that arise for people regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity, religious persuasion, health or economic status. We explore today's lifestyle circumstances that cause us to want (and need) - readily available access to legal services and attorneys in the same manner we expect to have access to medical services and doctors - at reasonale cost.

Read our postings to gain new awareness, and learn of ways to protect your life and well being by having access to services that will gain you "equal justice". If you have a story you'd like to share or comments you would like to make about the stories presented, we gladly welcome your input !